The Best and Worst Companion Exits in Doctor Who: A Personal Ranking

Doctor Who has gifted fans with some of the most memorable, emotional, and sometimes bittersweet companion exits in television history. Over the years, each companion has left a unique mark on the show, but not all exits are created equal. Here’s my ranking of the most notable companion exits in Doctor Who, from the worst to the best and everything in between.

12. Donna Noble (Part 2) - The Giggle

“Don't worry, I gave the moles a forcefield. I love the moles.”

Sigh! This one will forever annoy me, and I will add the Fourteenth Doctor to this as well. What a massive disappointment and what a complete waste of the Doctor Donna.

Spoiler alert, Donna's exit in Journey's End ranks very, very high, and for that reason alone it was always going to be difficult to top it, but this didn't even come close for me. We were told by RTD to expect trauma, the build-up came, and then just like that, a problem was solved because women can let things go better than men?! That's a joke in itself, my wife still reminds me of things I did years ago, bringing them up as if they only happened yesterday, if anything, a bloke would of been more likely to shrug his shoulders and forget it. Let us not forget who Fourteen had regenerated from only three episodes ago as well.

Even as I type this I am wanting to put my head in my hands. I can honestly say, hand on heart, the resolution to Donna potentially having her head explode is the most dissapointed I have ever felt watching the show. I held my hatred of the resolution in after The Star Beast as I expected the meta crisis to not be fully resolved until The Giggle, when one little thing might trigger it all off again. How wrong was I? It doesn't really get another mention! Donna is fine, Rose is fine, everyone is fine, everyone seems to have taken it all in their stride and that's it. No fall out, no emotions from Rose or Donna, gone, finished, shit! It's almost like nothing really happened, and the brutal truth is - not much actually did.

Don't get me started on Fourteen pottering about with the Noble's either!!

11. Dan Lewis (The Power of the Doctor)

"Sorry. Did you say her?"

One word to sum it up? Underwhelming!

I loved the Flux story, but it wouldn't of been damaged by not having Dan in it. It probably would have been better to be honest. I'm sorry, but John Bishop just isn't all that convincing!

Dan could be endearing at times, and he was slightly redeemed with his little chat with Yaz in Eve of the Daleks, but his exit summed his character up for me, bland, unremarkable, forgettable. Let us not forget the Doctor didn't give a fuck about his house either. Ouch!

I actually couldn't even find a clip of Dan being left with his empty space of a house - which kind of proves my point. Here, have a support group instead...

10. Ryan Sinclair & Graham O'Brien - Revolution of the Daleks

"I could always use the Tardis to go back, arrive an hour after you guys, change the timeline. Then we'd have more time together."

Do I love Bradley Walsh? Yeah! Did I ever really bond with Graham and Ryan though? Hell no! 

Is it jarring that we went from RTD’s heartbreakers, to Moffat’s not quite finishing them off-ers, to Chibnall’s let's say a quick goodbye and bugger off-ers?

An absolute lack of emotional punch, some pretty bland characters and a huge helping of hindsight and wishing Team Thasmin ruled the TARDIS on their own for a while.

9. Ruby Sunday - Empire of Death

"But you could come and see my dad. You don't do that, do you? Will I ever see you again?"

I know, she hasn't fully gone, but I'm counting the exit for now at least. RTD seems to have taken a leaf out of Chibnall’s book though, a quick bye and blink and you'll miss it exit. Millie and Ncuti are a great team, and it was a shame it all felt so rushed in the end. Ruby's story is not meant to be over yet though, so let's see what happens next.

8. Rose Tyler (Part 2) - Journey’s End

"Alright both of you, answer me this. When I last stood on this beach—on the worst day of my life—what was the last thing you said to me? Go on, say it."

Rose’s second exit, while still emotional, wasn’t nearly as powerful as her first in Doomsday. After some teasing we finally got Rose back for real in Turn Left and the two part finale, but after all the excitement she was kind of sidelined. To top it all off it felt a bit galling that after all the Doctor's grief of losing Rose, his pining for her, that when she did come back he just popped her back where he'd left her broken a couple of years before.

It all felt a bit silly. The excuse of having the metacrisis Doctor didn't wash for me. The Doctor before the finale would have found a way to stay with Rose. 

Due to those reasons I felt it lacked the same sense of tragedy and heartbreak that made her first departure one of the most gut-wrenching moments in Doctor Who history.

7. Yasmin Khan - The Power of the Doctor

"Let's not say goodbye."

Yaz and Thirteen, Jodie and Mandip - Thasmin - more like what could've-bin…

I'm still pretty sure the relationship was stumbled upon rather than carefully crafted through three series, but by the time we hit Jodie's big finish with the specials, it was finally out in the open. Thasmin had become an actual thing on screen, or had it? Was it a thing? Or was it just a couple of lines shoved in here and there?

Whatever it was Yaz’s departure was unfortunately a bit on anticlimactic side. All that time by the Doctor’s side, the hints at a romance that could blossom, and then, an ice cream ~(which was a truly amazing scene by the way) and a see you later.

6. Clara Oswald - Hell Bent

"You said memories become stories when we forget them. Maybe some of them become songs."

Clara’s exit in Hell Bent wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t the grand send-off she deserved either. The emotional weight of the episode was diluted by the convoluted storyline that didn’t fully do justice to her character. A more poignant and fitting end would have been Clara's death in Face the Raven, which would have been a shocking, emotional and tragic ending.

It was nice seeing the Doctor try to save her, but Clara was built up to have become like the Doctor, not taking notice of the dangers that entailed, she lost her man, and I think her paying the ultimate fate would of been so much better than flying off in an American Diner with the woman who basically killed her in the first place.

5. Amy Pond & Rory Williams - Angels Take Manhattan

"Hello, old friend. And here we are. You and me, on the last page. By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone. So know that we lived well and were very happy. And above all else, know that we will love you always. Sometimes I do worry about you though. I think once we’re gone you won’t be coming back here for awhile. And you might be alone. Which you should never be. Don’t be alone, Doctor. And do one more thing for me. There’s a little girl waiting in a garden. She’s going to wait a long while, so she’s going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her a story. Tell her that if she’s patient, the days are coming that she’ll never forget. Tell her she’ll go to see and fight pirates. She’ll fall in love with a man who’ll wait two thousand years to keep her safe. Tell her she’ll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived. And save a whale in outer space. Tell her, this is the story of Amelia Pond. And this is how it ends."

Amy and Rory’s exit in Angels Take Manhattan was a turning point in the Eleventh Doctor’s journey. While I was never all that invested in the Pond’s it was still an emotional departure. Little Amelia at the end was a nice touch as well.

I guess you could draw comparisons with the whole four knocks thing, we knew they were going, it looked like they survived, then whoops...!

4. Martha Jones - The Last of the Time Lords

"I'll see you again, Mister."

Martha’s exit was a refreshing one. After enduring the Doctor’s emotional baggage throughout the series, it was empowering to see Martha leave on her own terms. She had grown so much over the course of her time on the TARDIS, and her departure reflected that growth. She walked away, independent and confident, a stark contrast to the despair that often defined companion exits.

Good on ya Martha you legend!

3. Bill Potts - The Doctor Falls

"You know what, old man? I'm never going to believe you're really dead. Because one day everyone's just going to need you too much. Until then. It's a big universe, but I hope I see you again."

Bill’s exit in The Doctor Falls is one of the most magical moments in the show’s history. Her transformation and the emotional climax of her story made her departure both touching and beautiful. It felt like a true moment of growth for Bill, and the way she and the Doctor parted was both heartwarming and bittersweet.

One thing that gets me, why are people so willing to die in Doctor Who? Bill was offered a way out, she was offered a life with the Doctor again, she chose not to take that and I never really got that part. I also never really got what she didn't hang around to see if the Doctor was alright, she just left the poor old boy on the floor.

Pearl Mackie pulls it off though, so all my gripes are forgotten! Plus, when the Doctor wakes up and starts regenerating it is an absolute thrill!

2. Rose Tyler (Part 1) - Doomsday

"And I suppose, if it's one last chance to say it, Rose Tyler..."

The OG tragic ending to a companion with the OG modern day companion!

Rose’s first departure in Doomsday will forever be etched in the hearts of Doctor Who fans. It remains the most gut-wrenching, tear-jerking exit in the show’s history. The final moment with the Doctor and Rose at the wall is pure drama. It was epic at that point, but come on, Bad Wolf Bay and not getting to say those final few words, ooof! Nothing quite compares to this emotional farewell. Well, maybe one...

1. Donna Noble (Journey’s End)

“Binary, binary, binary…!”

Donna’s first exit in Journey’s End is, without a doubt in my mind, the greatest companion exit in Doctor Who. Her journey from temp to the Doctor Donna was an incredible arc, and her fate was so tragic it was worst than death.

Everyone involved in Donna's first departure was on top form. RTD for writing it, Tennant and Tate for being brilliant as usual, the underrated part played by Jacqueline King as Sylvia and last, but by no means least, Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott. That scene between Wilf and the Doctor is a bloody masterpiece.

“No no. But every night, Doctor. When it gets dark, and the stars come out, I’ll look up on her behalf. I’ll look up at the sky. And think of you.”

What was your favourite companion exit? Can your favourite companion also be involved in a tragic departure and still top your list? Let me know in the comments below.

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