It’s inarguable that Billie Piper made a huge impact during her years as a companion – but what was her best moment of all?
Since Doctor Who first returned to BBC One back in 2005, the Doctor has had several iconic companions: from Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble to Karen Gillan’s Amy Pond to Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald.
But it’s arguably still the first companion of the new-Who era, Rose Tyler, who remains the most beloved of all and so, to celebrate star Billie Piper’s upcoming birthday, we’re asking RadioTimes.com readers to pick their favourite moment – or Moment – from her time on the show.
Piper starred in the first two series of the show following its return to air, first alongside Christopher Eccleston and then, of course, alongside David Tennant, before making a memorable comeback in series four.
She also appeared in two specials in 2010 and 2013 respectively, famously playing The Moment (which took the form of Rose) in the latter.
It’s undeniable that she made a huge impact during her years on the show, but what was her best moment of all? Read on for our full shortlist before casting your vote below.
Billie Piper best Doctor Who moments
Rose joins the Doctor (Rose)
It was the moment that Doctor Who truly returned. After a brilliant first episode that saw Rose Tyler introduced via a battle with some Autons, the final shot saw her run towards the TARDIS in slo-mo, convinced by the Doctor to join him on his travels after he told her he could also travel in time.
Rose saves the Doctor from himself (Dalek)
The sixth episode of series one was extremely notable for finally bringing back the much-feared Daleks. And the vital moment for Rose came towards the very end, when she had to talk the Doctor out of killing the last Dalek – explaining that it had developed emotions – and told the Doctor that he was changing into something pretty ugly.
Farewell to Pete (Father’s Day)
In Father’s Day, Rose requested that she be taken back to the day her father, Pete, was killed in 1987, so she could be with him when he died. Things didn’t quite go as expected after Rose decided to save Pete – and this all lead to one of the most emotional, heartbreaking farewell scenes in the show’s history.
Dangling in the Blitz (The Empty Child)
The brilliant series one two-parter of The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances (Steven Moffat’s first scripts for Who) took Rose and the Doctor back to London in 1941 – during the blitz. And perhaps the most memorable moment for Rose – aside from her first meeting with Captain Jack Harkness – saw her rise above London attached to a barrage balloon, putting her right at the heart of the action.
Rose is the Bad Wolf (The Parting of the Ways)
When Rose was sent home by the Doctor towards the end of season one, she wasn’t too happy about it – and enlisted Mickey and Jackie to help her get back. She managed but, after absorbing time-vortex energy from the TARDIS, she became the all powerful Bad Wolf, which allowed her to dissolve the Dalek fleet, saving the Doctor and resurrecting the exterminated Jack Harkness in the process.
Facing the Sycorax (The Christmas Invasion)
David Tennant’s first full episode in the role saw the Doctor and Rose come up against The Sycorax, an alien race that wanted to enslave humankind. Rose more than held her own in the ensuing battle, bravely trying to get them to leave with a very nervous monologue as she bought time for the Doctor to return.
Cassandra takes over (New Earth)
A more light-hearted story to kick off series two, the highlight of this episode saw “The Last Human” Lady Cassandra transfer her mind to Rose’s body, leading to some brilliant comedic moments including a memorable attempt to seduce the Doctor, curtailed by a failure to quite grasp rhyming slang.
Parting from the Doctor (Doomsday)
An undoubtedly iconic moment – after a tear between universes meant that the Doctor and Rose’s time together must end, a distraught Rose bade farewell to the Doctor, with the pair separated by a dividing wall. And then right at the end of the episode we got another goodbye – while standing on Bad Wolf Bay Rose memorably spoke to an image of the Doctor that he had projected across universes, telling him she loved him.
Surprise return (Partners in Crime)
Of course, the above farewell wasn’t the last we saw of Rose, and she made a surprise return with a very brief cameo during the events of the series four opener Partners in Crime, briefly speaking to Donna before disappearing into thin air when the new companion entered the TARDIS.
Rose warns Donna (Turn Left)
Rose and Donna would meet again in the eleventh episode of series four, in an alternative timeline where Donna had never met the Doctor. In the episode, Rose warned Donna, explaining how important it was that she crossed paths with the Doctor in order to save his life, before chillingly telling her, “You’re going to die.”
Rose runs to The Doctor as he gets shot (The Stolen Earth)
The Stolen Earth was famously the episode that brought together nearly all of the supporting characters from the previous four seasons – including Rose, Mickey, Jackie, Jack, Martha, Donna, Sarah and Wilf – and Rose got one of the best moments of all. At the very end, with Rose and the Doctor running towards each other, the Doctor was shot by a Dalek. By the time Rose reached him, she could only cradle him in her arms.
Saying goodbye again (Journey’s End)
The final goodbye between Rose and the Doctor came at the end of Journey’s End – the final episode of Russell T. Davies’s tenure as Doctor Who showrunner. At the end of the episode, the Doctor sent Rose back to her universe alongside a cloned version of himself, although Rose was upset that this wasn’t quite the same as the real thing – at least until the Doctor was still unable to tell her that he loved her.
As The Moment “No More” (The Day of the Doctor)
Billie Piper’s last appearance in Doctor Who didn’t actually come as Rose at all, but rather as The Moment – the most powerful and dangerous weapon in all of creation, that took the form of Rose as a holographic projection during the 50th-anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor. In her appearance, she interacted with William Hurt’s The War Doctor, repeating his words “No More” back at him and somewhat freaking him out in the process.