10 Doctor Who Episodes You MUST Watch Before The 60th Anniversary

The 2006 Christmas special is where it all started for the Doctor and Donna. Well, technically they first met in the closing moments of Doomsday, but let’s not split hairs.

When Catherine Tate made her Doctor Who debut seventeen years ago – as a character conceived to star in one story and never be seen again – nobody could have predicted the legacy she would have.

If you’d told viewers at the time that this brash bride-to-be would go up against the Ood, the Sontarans, and Davros, that her granddad would inadvertently cause the Tenth Doctor’s regeneration, and that she would one day be regarded as an all-time great companion, they’d have laughed you out the room.

Sure, Donna would be toned down somewhat when she returned full-time, and the character we see here is more like a parody of the person she’d become. But there are hints of Tate’s depth as a performer – in the rooftop scene, for instance, or the episode’s closing moments. And her chemistry with Tennant is undeniable.

Above all, it’s mad to think that this is where the seeds for the 60th anniversary specials were planted! Just imagine the path the show might've taken had Tate not made such a success of Donna.