Doctor Who: 30 NuWho Characters Who Would've Made Fantastic Full-Time Companions
8. Rita
Appeared in: The God Complex.
The Doctor takes an immediate shine to Rita, after she quickly deduces he, Amy and Rory are friendlies: "Oh, you're good. Oh, she's good. Amy, with regret, you're fired."
OK, that last bit sounds very early Sixth Doctor, but he's spot on: she is good.
Rita is calmness personified, making tea for everyone despite suddenly finding herself trapped in a 1980s Shining-esque hotel. Take your pick: the terrifying twins or a Minotaur? She astutely questions the Doctor with not a single word wasted. In other words, she's got her s**t together:
"Ha! I like you. You're a right clever clogs. But this isn't Hell, Rita."
"You don't understand. I say that without fear. Jahannam will play its tricks, and there'll be times when I want to run and scream, but I've tried to live a good life, and that knowledge keeps me sane, despite the monsters and the bonkers rooms. Gibbis is an alien, isn't he?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
"OK. I'm going to file that under Freak Out About Later."
It's therefore quite gut-wrenching when she secretly turns to the security camera and then says: "praise him." The Doctor's incandescent reaction to her, albeit dignified, death afterwards says it all.