Companion Idol - Part Two

Well how time flies! Since my last Companion Idol post we have a new Doctor! That makes this game slightly trickier, as we now have to think of actresses who would not only make good companions, but actresses who would make good companions for Matt Smith. My original plan was to look at ‘Mrs Peel’ type companions in this post, characters like Leela, Romana and Zoe whose intelligence puts them on an equal footing with the Doctor (I would have suggested Parminder Nagra, Hayley Attwell and Rosamund Pike as potential 'Mrs Peels'). Thinking about it now though a ‘Mrs Peel’ would be the wrong way to launch a new series, as such characters are obviously a lot harder for an audience to identify with, and with a new Doctor for the audience to get to know as well a 'girl next door' may be the best way to go.

Incidentally, one of my previous suggestions, Michelle Ryan, is now out of the running having been cast as Lady Christina de Souza in the upcoming Easter special Planet of the Dead. Lady Christina looks to be far more in the ‘Mrs. Peel’ mould than any previous new series companions so it'll be interesting to see how this dynamic works out.

So, while new companion will have to be more in the ‘Girl Next Door’ role, but will also have to be markedly different from Rose, Martha and Donna. A companion from the past or the future would be a brave and welcome move, as companions like Charley and Zoe show how such characters can be successful. I still think Olivia Hallinan and Sheridan Smith would make excellent companions and would suggest adding Emma Rigby, one of the few genuinely charismatic actors in Hollyoaks, to the list. Jemima Rooper would also be fantastic, but, like Sheridan Smith she has already been snagged by by Big Finish, to play the audio incarnation of comics companion Izzy.

But what if the production team decide to bamboozle us with someone completely unexpected? In that case I'd suggest Olivia Coleman would make a lovely older lady companion (although it might look like the Doctor is travelling through time with his mum! Actually that could be quite fun...) Or if they opt for a bloke they could do a lot worse than the brilliant Russell Tovey.