10. Rose Tyler
I never really liked Rose. There, that's best to get out of the way from the start. Billie Piper did her best, but the character of Rose was often very hard to like. She was obnoxious, incompetent and forced into a romantic storyline that made about as much sense as Mel's existence. She was alright with the Ninth Doctor, but when the Tenth Doctor came along most of her endearing traits seemed to be erased in the blink of an eye. Saying this, though, Rose Tyler's initial departure was pretty great. I didn't like the character much, even when I first watched Doomsday as a tiny twelve year old, but even I shed a tear as she was locked a way in the parallel universe seemingly forever. The scene where they both touched the wall was incredibly emotional. And Bad Wolf Bay, although a touch indulgent, plucked at the heartstrings more than a little. As much as I didn't like Rose the emotion of her departure was perfectly understandable. She was important to the Doctor, even if she wasn't important to me. She had met him after the Time War, had given him a new lease of life and hope when there seemed like nothing left. When the Tenth Doctor cried I could, at least, sympathise with his tears I didn't think the romantic storyline was in keeping, but I felt that any Doctor would've sobbed to see their companion torn away to an alternate universe. Rose was also important to the show in general. There have been better companions, far better companions, but she was the first one of the revived series. Much like Susan Foreman forty-three years before, she helped to start something far greater than herself. You might dislike her severely, but she helped to bring back what is probably the best programme in the world. Her departure has emotional resonance because of this it's the first goodbye of the new series, and there has to be some brilliance in that. Just as there's some brilliance in the feeling of finality. Rose's exile to another universe isn't a death, but it's made to feel like one. She's torn away from her original world, torn away from all of time and space. She's even explicitly stated to be one of the casualties of Canary Wharf, erased from her own universe. The final moments of Doomsday felt like Rose Tyler's funeral, and even the sudden introduction of Donna couldn't stop the tears rolling down my cheeks. ...And then she came back two years later, unfortunately.