10 Most Hated Doctor Who Characters

2. Mel Bush

Doctor Who Bonnie Langford as Mel Bush
BBC Studios

Mel Bush, as played by Bonnie Langford, suffered slightly from how she was introduced to the audience. During Terror of the Vervoids, part of the Trial of a Time Lord serial, she is shown travelling with The Doctor as he stands in court. This was before he had actually met her, making her the first companion to meet the Doctor out of sync.

Though generally warm and affectionate, with a genuine interest in working with the Time Lord to investigate, resolve and improve, her piercing scream became something of an irritation to audiences. Her first serial with the Seventh Doctor, Time and the Rani, does not rank highly in Doctor Who serials, which also contributes her placement here.

Her backstory, such as it was, described her as a computer programmer, though this rarely affected her actions. She was more concerned with getting the Doctor to eat a healthy vegetarian diet and exercise. Both Peri and Ace, her predecessor and successor, were more interesting to the audience and were given greater scope to expand. Thankfully, Langford has returned for the Big Finish audio dramas. Through these, Mel has finally received her debut story with The Doctor, along with greater character development.

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Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"