Doctor Who: 10 Actors Who Could Play The Next Companion

Few actors command a room quite like Denise Gough. Right now, she’s probably best known as Andor’s Dedra Meero - a relentless and self-righteous imperial officer who can be genuinely terrifying at times.

What’s most impressive about Gough’s performance though, is the fact that she’s able to inject such a cold and often cruel character with a surprising amount of humanity and relatability. She strikes a similar balance of steely detachment and vulnerability as Yennefer in the video game adaptation of The Witcher, bringing life and depth to a character who, on paper, could so easily read as fairly blunt. Off screen, Gough has a different personality entirely - one that’s brimming with mischief and quirkiness - an ingredient I reckon would round her out very well as a companion.

Gough would bring a no-nonsense energy to the TARDIS, the sort that cuts through the technobabble and moral posturing, not entirely dissimilar to a full-time companion version of The Waters of Mars’ Adelaide Brooke, but with the charm of Sarah Jane Smith. This would be a character brimming with intensity, be that a seething anger or quiet sadness. She could even play a more duplicitous companion with her own motivations - a modern day attempt at doing a Turlough-type arc, but properly this time.

The vision: A distinguished UNIT scientist, secretly reporting back on the Doctor’s movements. I see her best paired with a zany incarnation that can press her buttons and maybe occasionally force her to crack a smile - one cut from Tom Baker’s cloth.