Doctor Who: Every Companion Ranked Worst To Best

Of the three companions introduced at the beginning of Series 11, Ryan is likely the most developed out of the others, especially because he is given the most focus throughout the series. As the source of the emotional growth and development of Thirteen's companions, Ryan is one of the most interesting companions featured on the show in recent years.

Working in a warehouse whilst training to be an electrical engineer, Ryan suffers from dyspraxia, a fairly common condition that affects physical balance and co-ordination. When we are first introduced to Ryan, he is lacking in self-confidence: struggling to ride a bike, still reeling from the absence of his father and always at blows with his new step-granddad Graham. Simply put, Ryan is having a tough time with it. This all changes, however, upon meeting the Doctor and travelling in the TARDIS alongside Yaz and Graham. Finding more confidence and faith in himself, Ryan becomes a radically different character by the end of the series, evolving whilst enjoying himself on his travels with the Doctor, even in the face of loss and adversity (the death of his grandmother and the racism of 1950's Alabama being notable examples).

Although Ryan has been given a lot of attention in the latest series, there are still a few issues with his character. Namely, the periods of time in every other episode where Ryan's role is demoted somewhat and having his dialogue consist mainly of "What's that, Doctor!?" and "Look out, Doctor!" Series 11 had a few issues with balancing each of its three companions, but this wasn't always a detriment to the development of the character's themselves (and arguably, Ryan was affected by this the least, especially in comparison to Yaz). With another series soon approaching, its likely we'll see even more development from Ryan and the other members of Team TARDIS.