How Much Money Doctor Who's Biggest Stars Got Paid

Ninth Doctor companion Rose Tyler lived on a council estate and lost her job shortly after meeting the Time Lord. But the reality for actress Billie Piper was quite different.

We don’t know how much Piper earned for her work on Series 1, though it would be reasonable to assume it wasn’t quite as much as her co-star, regardless of how much he really earned.

However, the fee for her second run of episodes has been reported, with The People claiming it was £210,000. In today’s money, that’s £350,000 – around ten times the salary of the average classic series companion.

And that’s not all.

If this report is to be believed, Piper received around £50,000 more than new Doctor David Tennant for the 2006 series – possibly the first time in history that a companion was paid more than the Doctor.

“It's great news that Billie is staying,” a source was quoted as saying. “Her deal is what she deserves as she's a favourite with fans.”

If all this is true, you can see the logic in paying Piper more than Tennant at this stage. She was a proven draw as Rose (not to mention her successful music career), and after the Eccleston drama it was important to keep her around, and keep her happy! Tennant, though a proven actor in his own right before he played the Doctor, would have to prove he was worth a bumper Doctor Who payday with the response to his first series.

And that's exactly what he did.