10. The Axe Factor
In some ways Freema Agyeman was always doomed in her portrayal of the Doctor's companion, Martha Jones. Suffice to say, she was already under a colossal amount of scrutiny before she had even stepped aboard the TARDIS owing to the fact that she had signed on as the successor of the ever popular Billie Piper. It didn't really help matters that her character was being constantly compared to Rose Tyler on screen, too, so when she left the role after just one series in 2007, it did all look rather suspicious. Unsurprisingly it didn't take long for the tabloids to come forth with their concocted claims that Freema had in fact been axed from the series after producers decided her performance wasn't strong enough to justify a return. One paper even went as far as describing her as "a struggling actress" which was pretty uncalled for really. It was suggested that her untimely exit from the series would be explained in a new storyline in which the Doctor randomly lost her and embarked on an epic mission through the universe to find her. That would've been somewhat careless, even by his standards. Freema responded to the rumours by confirming that it had always been the plan for her to leave after her initial 13 episode stint and the character went on to prove the naysayers wrong by returning to the show not once, not twice but three times between the years of 2008 and 2010 - and she even even left her mark on its spin off by reprising the role for three episodes during the second series of Torchwood. Not too shabby for an actress who "just wasn't right for Doctor Who", eh?
Dan Butler
Doctor Who Editor
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
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