10 Spectacularly Bad TV Ideas That Turned Out To Be Awesome

6. Doctor Who

Brought back against the odds and flying in the ratings with David Tennant's Tenth incarnation proving to be one of the most popular Doctors ever, season four presented a problem €“ a vacancy in the console room after the harshly-judged Martha Jones. The performance of Billie Piper as Rose was proving hard to follow so they decided to go in a different direction. Yet to say Martha had not worked is simply not correct €“ Freema Agyeman was taking over from a well-loved character and trying to forge her own identity. In hindsight, history shows that her unreturned affection for the Doctor was more irritating than sweet and undermined the positive aspects of her character. Following this, the next companion would need to be more independent, not easily overwhelmed or a love sick puppy-dog. Basically, they would need to be able to hold their own. In steps.... Catherine Tate. Wait, hang on. THE Catherine Tate? Comedy actress of 'Am I bovvered' fame? The one who tipped up in a Doctor Who Christmas Special a while back as a mouthy bride with limited redeeming features? Are you sure? When the idea broke fans seem to vary from unhappy and disgusted through to downright unhappy and disgusted. This was perhaps harsh on Catherine herself, as she was a classically-trained actress and was given a paper thin character in 'The Runaway Bride'. The fans were not for shifting and like the Time lords themselves, they were seeing a future where Doctor Who ceased to be once more. Shall we just have a short hop in our television Tardis then and see how it worked out then? Well, it turns out she was brilliant, providing a nuanced performance balancing drama and comedy with a character holding the Doctor to account like never before. Plus, she had a granddad played by Womble-master Bernard Cribbins. Allons-y!