10 Doctor Who Episodes More Important Than You Realised
2. The Runaway Bride
On Christmas Day 2006, The Runaway Bride proved that Doctor Who could survive without Billie Piper's Rose by introducing Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, an important moment in the history of the modern era.
The Runaway Bride took on added significance in 2020, when it was the subject of one of Emily Cook's lockdown tweetalongs. Rewatching her debut story had a real impact on Catherine Tate, who mentioned to RTD how marvellous it would be to do more episodes as Donna.
Tate then spoke to David Tennant, who predictably voiced a similar desire to return to Doctor Who. RTD dutifully reported this news to the BBC, who were struggling to find a way to keep the show going.
In fact, Chris Chibnall was so sure that the BBC would rest Doctor Who for a bit that he left the ending of The Power of the Doctor open-ended. To be clear, the Chibnall era did not "kill" Doctor Who, it was more that the BBC were out of options for a viable replacement showrunner.
That was until a giant Welshman kicked open the doors of the BBC, offering them the way forward. If it hadn't been for a 15-year-old bit of television, then we may not have a brand-new season of Doctor Who to come in 2024.