Doctor Who: Ranking Each NuWho Christmas Special

Season 2 of Doctor Who closed with the incredibly emotional and now iconic scene on Bad Wolf Bay, with Rose Tyler trapped on the parallel earth. She tells the Doctor she loves him and he opens his mouth (presumably to tell her he loves her too) and the transmission cuts out. It’s a very impactful scene that is dampened ever so slightly by the fact that the Doctor immediately turns around to find a mysterious bride standing in his TARDIS. A bride played by Catherine Tate.

From our future vantage point, Donna is remembered as a fan-favourite companion, having travelled with the Doctor throughout season 4 before meeting her own tragic end in having her memories involuntarily erased. Catherine Tate clearly worked very hard in that season and delivered a Donna that was surprisingly nuanced, likeable and only bolshy in the right amounts.

Unfortunately, none of those skills are employed in The Runaway Bride. This is the Catherine Tate we all feared we would get when her casting was announced; a loud-mouthed, obnoxious and utterly annoying companion for the special, it feels like Catherine is playing an older version of her schoolgirl Lauren character (Am I Bovvered?)

Fortunately, RTD and Tate would go on to use this as a launching point for her character development but taking the special as its own thing, she’s rather grating. Add to that a admittedly cool-looking but ultimately generic and bland villain in the Empress of the Racnoss and The Runaway Bride doesn’t hold up to the fun of some of the other Christmas Specials.