Doctor Who: 10 Best NuWho Recurring Characters

When someone mentions the TARDIS team, most fans' first thought is likely to be of a Doctor and his companion or companions. For example, the team of Eleven, Amy and Rory, or Five, Nyssa, Tegan and Adric. However, there have been a number of characters who pop up every now and again as enemies or allies who augment this team. One of the most famous examples of this during the Classic Series was the Brigadier, who first appeared alongside the Second Doctor and then had adventures with Four, Five and Seven as well as being a series regular during the Third Doctor's reign.

However, having lots of returning characters has been especially true of the new series. This is thanks to a number of reasons, most notably the companions' families getting a stronger focus in the Russell T Davies years, the groups of the Doctor's allies cropping up during Steven Moffat's time in charge and the recurring allies from both eras of the show.

Each recurring character has added something extra to the show that has helped it to rise to its current popularity. As such, many have become firm fan favourites and here's our defintive countdown of 10 of the very best so far, analysing just what makes them so appealing.

Episodes: The Day of the Doctor, Death in Heaven

She's only had two episodes so far but, despite being killed in the most recent one by Missy, she's confirmed to return for Series 9. It looks like the numerous fan theories suggesting that her Zygon duplicate from Day of the Doctor was either the version that got killed - or a version of the character that could come back - are about to be paid off.

However, it only took those two appearances for Osgood to become a fan favourite,. Seen by many as an in-show embodiment of the fanbase, Osgood is just as much a fan of the Time Lord as many of the viewers, dressing up in his old costumes. It's a quirk that endeared her to many Whovians who were delighted to see themselves represented on screen.

On top of that, Osgood was portrayed as a resourceful and clever scientist, becoming a key part of UNIT as they dealt with Zygons and Missy. Her ability to deduce the Queen of Evil's identity - a female regeneration of the Master - even impressed Capaldi's Doctor, who offered her a place on the TARDIS. Which severed to make her death even sadder. And her return even more awesome.