Doctor Who was almost unrecognisable when it made its grand televisual comeback back in 2005, and not only because none of the sets wobbled and (most of) the special effects were actually convincing. One of NuWho's biggest modern conventions is that the Time Lord's companions are now keepin' it in the family like never before and Jackie Tyler was the one who started it all. And here she is proudly brandishing her knickers in the air like she don't just care... and that's probably because she doesn't. Rose's mum was introduced alongside her daughter back in Series 1 and it's safe to say that she got tongues wagging (and in more ways than one) when one her first scenes involved her giving the Doctor an offer he found it very easy to refuse whilst flirtatiously propositioning him in her dressing gown. Fiercely loyal to the bitter end, this blonde bombshell subsequently established herself as a firm fan favourite and it was like Christmas had come early - unless it actually was Christmas, of course - for her legion of devotees whenever Rose realised that she hadn't bothered to contact her own mother for several months and proceeded to pop back home for another obligatory visit (and, of course, to get her washing done). Jackie got her own unique happy ending in the Series 2 finale, Doomsday, when she was reunited with a parallel version of her deceased husband, Pete, and moved over to his alternative universe to star a new life with her old flame. Perhaps more importantly, though, she was the first person in NuWho to slap the Doctor, and nobody will ever be able to take that away from her. All hail Jackie Tyler!
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.
