Look up noble in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Noble may refer to:

• Nobility, a hereditary caste
• Noble gas, chemical elements in group 18 (old-style Group 0) of the periodic table
• Noble metal, metals that are resistant to corrosion or oxidation
• Noble polyhedron, polyhedra which are isohedral (face-transitive) and isogonal (vertex-transitive)
• Noble (English coin), a medieval gold coin
• Noble (Manx coin), a platinum bullion coin
• Noble and Greenough School, a private boarding and day school in Massachusetts
• Noble (album), the debut album of Versailles

Places[link]

United States

• Noble, Illinois
• Noble, Louisiana
• Noble, Missouri
• Noble, Oklahoma

People[link]

• Sir Andrew Noble, 1st Baronet (1831-1915), British physicist
• Ann C. Noble, a sensory chemist and retired professor from the University of California, Davis
• Arthur Noble (1695–1746), a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia
• Bill Noble, an Australian rugby league footballer
• Brian Noble (disambiguation)
• David Noble (disambiguation)
• Denis Noble (born 1936), British physiologist and emeritus professor at the University of Oxford
• Elmer Noble (1909–2001), a parasitologist
• Emma Noble (born 1971), an actress and model, former daughter in law of Sir John Major
• Frank Noble (born 1945), a footballer who played for Peterborough United
• Gladwyn Kingsley Noble (1894–1940), an American zoologist
• Sir Iain Noble, 3rd Baronet (born 1935), a champion of Gaelic from Skye
• James Noble (senator) (1785–1831), a 19th century U.S. senator
• James Noble (actor) (born 1922), a 20th century U.S. actor
• Jamie Noble (born 1976), a professional wrestler
• John H. Noble, an American inmate of the Soviet Gulag at Vorkuta
• Lee Noble, a British car designer and owner of Noble Automotive
• Mark J. Noble (born 1987), an English footballer
• Matthew Noble (1818–1876), a British sculptor
• Noble (musician), a guitarist of indie/rock band British Sea Power
• Ray Noble (1903-1978), a British bandleader, composer and actor
• Ray Noble (baseball) (1919-1998), a Cuban baseball player
• Reg Noble (1895–1962), a former NHL Hockey player
• Richard Noble (born 1946), a former land speed record holder
• Ross M. Noble (born 1976), a British stand-up comedian, born in Cramlington, England
• Sierra Noble (born 1990) a Canadian musician
• T. Tertius Noble (1867–1953), a British organist and composer
• Trisha Noble (born 1944), an Australian singer and actress
• Warren Noble (inventor), inventor of electric stove
• William Noble (disambiguation)
• Young Noble (born 1978), an American rapper
• Miguel de la Espriella (born 1947), a Colombian artist who goes by the name of "Noble"

Fictional characters[link]

• Donna Noble, a companion in the sci-fi series Doctor Who and her parents — Geoff and Sylvia Noble
• The Noble Family, a fictional family of comic book superheroes, appearing in their series, Noble Causes
• Noble, the humanoid werewolf form of Savage/Noble, the only fully organic Transformer, from the Beast Machines series
• NOBLE team, a UNSC special warfare unit composed of Spartans, biochemically augmented supersoldiers that appear in Halo: Reach

Businesses and organizations[link]

• Noble Automotive, a British automobile manufacturer
• Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company providing offshore drilling rigs and platforms
• Noble Energy, an American company engaged in the exploration for and production of petroleum and natural gas
• Noble Group, Hong Kong-based trading firm
• Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, natural history museum in Norman, Oklahoma

Acronyms[link]

• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
• North of Boston Library Exchange, a cooperative effort of 28 libraries

See also[link]

• Nobel (disambiguation)
• Integrity
• Chivalry
• Courage
• Self-sacrifice

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Ross Noble
Ross Noble performing his show Noodlemeister at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Birth name	Ross Markham Noble
Born	(1976-06-05) 5 June 1976 (age 36) Newcastle upon Tyne, England[1][2][3]
Medium	Stand-up, Television
Nationality	British
Genres	Improvisational comedy, Surreal comedy, Absurdist humour
Influences	Billy Connolly
Spouse	Fran Noble (1 daughter)
Notable works and roles	Unrealtime Sonic Waffle Randomist Fizzy Logic Noodlemeister Nobleism Things
Website	Official Website

Ross Markham Noble^[4] (born 5 June 1976 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is an English stand-up comedian from Cramlington, Northumberland.

Noble rose to mainstream popularity through making appearances on British television, particularly interviews and on celebrity quiz shows such as Have I Got News for You.^[5] He has also released DVDs of several of his tours.

In 2007 he was voted the 10th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups^[6] and again in the updated 2010 list as the 11th greatest stand-up comic.

Stand-up performance[link]

Noble's stand-up routine is a largely improvised and surreal performance with a stream of consciousness delivery. Often, a large percentage of his set becomes based around heckles and conversations with members of the audience.^[5][7] Although he does often have a few set topics which he performs throughout a tour, he describes the planning for the entire show as "about four words on a piece of scrap paper".^[8]

Noble often mimes actions on-stage to help the audience visualise his surreal ideas, for example, telling the audience to never put a blanket over an owl, and exactly what an owl neck detection device is ("just a stick with a pointy bit on it") or showing the audience how to serve double header ice creams properly after considering his own made-up plot of 24 in which Jack Bauer escapes a cell using a greasy goose.^[9]

Noble has commented that his shows are similar to 24, in that he juggles many topics and unfinished stories throughout the show, due to his unpredictable performance style, interruptions from hecklers or because he has drifted off into another surreal conversation. Thus the audience pesters Noble to tell the ending of his unfinished stories, which are usually eventually concluded at the end of his shows. His most famous example is in his Randomist tour, where he started to tell a story about him being interviewed after Live 8 near the beginning of a show in Newcastle, which he did not finish until the end of the performance, around two hours later.^[10] This relates to an earlier comment he made in his Regent's Park show, saying that his mind "Tends to wander off [the point] slightly," and later added that "[he] can open up too many tangents at once… it's a never-ending expanding spiral of possibilities." At which point, he forgot what he was talking about.^[11]

Career[link]

Early years[link]

Noble is originally from Cramlington, Northumberland, England. "The ultimate in dullness" helped him with his career - he found little to do in his hometown so he became particularly imaginative.^[12] At the age of 11, it was discovered that he was dyslexic. Because of this, Noble decided to work within a career which did not rely on academic skills. He had a brief stint as a street juggler with a friend, and aspired to join a circus. He joined a clown troupe and sold balloons as a stilt-walker, before deciding to become a comedian after winning tickets to a comedy show.^[13] As a teenager, Ross was a member of the youth theatre at the People's Theatre in Heaton. He was also a backing singer for the Kane Gang. In 1997, he was doing warm-ups at the BBC for Friday Night Armistice.

Noble has been performing stand-up since the dyslexia diagnosis, and appeared in his local comedy club at the age of 15, despite licensing laws that prohibited him working there and forced him to leave through the kitchen.^[7] Noble studied performing arts at Newcastle College, after he told his careers adviser at school he wanted to be a comedian. He later stated that this had no effect on his stand-up ability, as he believes that the information taught is not important in being a good performer.^[14]

Stand-up career[link]

Since starting as a stand-up comedian, Noble has won many awards, including a Time Out award winner in 2000 for his Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Chickenmaster, and a Perrier Award nomination in 1999 for another Edinburgh show Laser Boy. He has since achieved great popularity in both the UK and Australia, where he has toured extensively every year since 2001. Noble's 2003 show Unrealtime was the best-selling show at the Edinburgh Fringe,^[15] before transferring to London's West End for a month long season at the Garrick Theatre where it played to packed houses. A recording of this tour was shown on BBC Two in 2004, and a double DVD set was released later that year.

During 2004, Noble performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and other venues with his show Noodlemeister. His 2005 UK tour, Randomist, ran from September to December, of which he continued in Australia during 2006. In April 2006, Noble was involved in a motorbike accident, and both fractured and dislocated his collarbone. Conveniently he crashed right outside a hospital. Noble performed his shows over the following weeks with his arm in a sling.^[16] During his 'Things' tour, in Bristol on 1 March 2009, he claimed that before the ambulance officers would help him, he was forced to do his Stephen Hawking impression.

Whilst performing in Edinburgh in September 2006 for his Fizzy Logic tour, a fight broke out during the gig, caused by a drunken member of the audience arguing with another. Also, in his Edinburgh gig, some one gave him a basket of mini-muffins with faces printed on them; this is related to a sketch from Noble's DVD 'Sonic Waffle', in which he mentions his hobby of finding faces in muffins.^[17] At another gig, he found someone filming the show on their mobile phone and confiscated the phone. He then recorded a video on it himself.^[18] After finding that several people recorded his finale skit, "The falling owl stunt", Noble encouraged the entire audience to record the stunt simultaneously and post them on YouTube, in an attempt to achieve, "The largest number of videos showing exactly the same thing."^[19] He then took his tour to Australia in February 2007, during which he filmed a documentary about his travels around the country.^[20]

In 2007 Noble finished his Nobleism tour in the UK^[21] with a show in Liverpool on 21 October 2007 which was screened live to 43 Vue cinemas. If the event had sold out, he would have played to over 10,000 people.^[22] Upon walking offstage, Noble enquired if the broadcast had succeeded and was informed by a technician that "it worked perfectly... but we lost Aberdeen". To this day, Noble maintains that this is the "coolest thing anyone has ever said" to him.^[23]

Noble likes to have spontaneous material related to each specific show, and therefore encourages heckling and has increasingly indulged in the audience giving him gifts during shows. At a gig at the Edinburgh Playhouse during Noble's 2005 Randomist tour, a member of the audience put his feet up on the stage, and later removed his shoes and put them on the stage instead. It is now traditional for the entire front row of an Edinburgh audience to place their shoes upon the stage during the interval, which causes Noble much amusement when he returns.^[24]

Noble performed at the 2008 Latitude Festival and rounded off his set by leading everyone in the tent in a huge conga line (which quickly turned into a stampede) to a vegan food stand so they could all ask for pies and sausage rolls.^[25][26]

The DVD of his show Nobleism was released in November 2009, after a legal battle with his previous manager prevented a release in 2008 as originally planned.

TV and radio[link]

Guest appearances[link]

Noble has not done any acting work on TV or radio, as he prefers stand-up for giving him the freedom to say what he wants without being influenced by a script or crew.^[8] Nevertheless, he has made many TV appearances, which mainly take the form of interviews and panel game participation. In the UK, he has appeared on BBC's Johnny Vaughan Tonight and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.^[27] Noble has also made twelve appearances, the highest number of appearances of any guest, on BBC One's Have I Got News for You^[28] including the first show guest presented by Paul Merton. His most memorable appearance on the show saw him and Paul Merton answer all their questions wrong, and getting no points in the entire show.^[29] He was Paul Merton's guest on Room 101, where he wanted to consign to history the likes of Craig David, cartoon animals who wear clothes, people who look like cats, clipboards and Christian rock music. He makes regular contributions to BBC Radio 4's Just a Minute^[30] and has also appeared on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue^[31] and presented 4 At The Store.^[32] In July 2007, Ross featured, as part of his "In The Company Of...", on the Colin Murray show on BBC Radio 1, and in August 2007 Noble appeared on Steve Wright in the Afternoon on BBC Radio 2.^[28]

In Australia, he has guested on such TV and radio shows as Network Ten's Rove (Live),^[27] The Panel,^[27] Good News Week and Thank God You're Here,^[33] the ABC's The Glasshouse,^[27] Spicks and Specks, and A Quiet Word With ...,^[34] as well as Triple M radio show Get This, and regular appearances on Triple J.

In Ireland, he appeared on the first series of Tubridy Tonight, where he went over to a prop bookcase to inspect if the books were real. Upon reading one book, he found a photo of Mike Yarwood on one page, which he cut out and wore as a mask for a portion of the interview.^[35]

In 2010 he made three guest appearances on British comedy panel show QI.

In July 2011 Ross appeared in the second episode of the 17th series of Top Gear. On the show he revealed that he currently owns earth moving machines as well as an Abbott 433 self propelled gun, which he calls his "Tank". He did a lap around the Top Gear track in 1.43.5, beating Tom Cruise and placing him in second place behind John Bishop.

In 2012 he was a regular panelist on That Sunday Night Show on ITV.

In April 2012 he featured on Triple J for a day where he co-hosted some shows, and played an imaginative game of cluedo, where they found people from around Melbourne that matched the cluedo characters names to come in to the studio and play.

Hosted series[link]

Besides making various guest appearances, Noble has been the host of an Australian radio show, and the subject of two BBC radio series. Noble's worldwide travels as a stand-up were the subject of his own BBC Radio 4 series Ross Noble Goes Global, produced by Danny Wallace. This series, recorded between April and May 2001, saw him recording his observations as he travelled around various countries. In January 2005, Noble joined Australian comedienne Terri Psiakis in co-hosting Ross and Terri, the weekday lunch shift on national radio station Triple J. Following on from Ross Noble Goes Global, Radio 4 broadcasted a new series called Ross Noble On… during January to February 2007. The 4-episode series followed his 2006 UK tour, featuring performances in Brighton, York, Manchester and Newcastle.^[36] All of the Radio 4 programmes have since been released as BBC audio CDs.

Noble once again teamed up with Terri Psiakis on Triple J for two weeks of Ross and Terri in January 2006. This second period on Triple J also saw Ross and Terri founding "Pants Across Australia", during which, 4 pairs of trousers were sent to the north, south, east and west extremities of Australia and then back to Melbourne.^[37] Ross and Terri did not return to this slot in 2007, however Terri Psiakis and Amy Blackmur (the pair's producer from their 2006 show) did present a limited run of shows during a similar time frame earlier in the year, under the working title "T 'n' A" ("Terri and Amy"). As well as this, Terri and Amy decided to continue in the evening slot of 6pm - 10pm.^[37]

In 2007, Stunt Baby Productions filmed a documentary about Ross Noble's 95-day Fizzy Logic tour of Australia. Ross Noble travels by motorbike when touring, which for this tour travelled on a BMW R1150GS Adventure (as mentioned during the encore of one of his Canberra gigs), covering a distance of approximately 26,000 km around Australia clockwise from Brisbane. The show was broadcast as "Ross Noble's Australian Trip" on UK TV channel Five from Monday 28 September 2009 at 10pm for 6 weeks, repeating at the same time on Fiver on the following Thursdays. The show aired in Australia on Channel 10 on Mondays at 10:00pm.

Personal life[link]

Noble has a daughter, Elfie, with his Australian-born wife Fran. He lived on a farm in St Andrews, a semi-rural town on the northern outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, until it was destroyed by the 2009 Victorian bushfires along with all his material possessions. Noble and his family were not harmed in the fire.^[38][39] The family moved back to England in 2010.^[40]

A keen biker and off-road rider, Noble is also a fan of MotoGP, WSBK and The Isle of Man TT. He has created an off-road track in the paddock at his home, and has a number of vehicles to use on it, including an FV433 Abbot SPG self-propelled gun. Noble has competed in many races, notably, The Romaniacs and the 24 hour Dusk to Dawn. Noble has attended several track days in 2011, most recently at Brands Hatch on the GP circuit as a guest of MSV aboard his Triumph Daytona 675R.^[41]

Charity[link]

Following the 2009 Victorian bushfires, Noble has used this unfortunate event in his act and donates profits from the sale of the show's programme/poster (or "postergram" as it's called) to a charitable fund to help those similarly affected.

Noble supports British charity Riders for Health and donated money earned from limited edition signed posters together with bucket collections after each gig from his Nonsensory Overload tour to Riders for Health. This raised £42,000 for Riders. Noble has attended their fundraising event Day of Champions on a number of occasions, most recently at Silverstone in 2010. Ross also voiced the Riders for Health BBC Radio 4 appeal aired just before Christmas 2010.^[42]

In May 2011, to celebrate his 20th anniversary of stand up, Noble teamed up with Triumph Motorcycles who were also celebrating a milestone, having just produced their 500,000th bikes (since the company was re-launched 20 years ago) and did the Ross Noble "Sit Down" Tour. Using only Twitter as a guide, Noble travelled around the UK on the unique Triumph Speed Triple guided by his Twitter followers and accompanied by a film crew. The Triumph Speed Triple was auctioned by Bonhams at the Goodwood festival of speed on 1 July 2011, with all the proceeds (£8,000) going to Noble's charity of choice, Riders for Health.^[43]

In July 2011, Noble competed in the Red Bull Romaniacs, which is "one of the toughest extreme motorcycle events on the planet" ^[44] as part of the Desert Rose Racing Team with fellow rider Clive "Zippy" Town (Dakar 2006) with both riders on 350 Exc-F KTM's ^[45]

Tours[link]

These dates apply to Noble's tours.^[46]

• Laser Boy (1999)
• Chickenmaster (2000)
• Slackers' Playtime (2001–2002)
• Sonic Waffle (2002–2003)
• Unrealtime (2003–2004)
• Noodlemeister (2004–2005)
• Randomist (2005–2006)
• Fizzy Logic (2006–2007)
• Nobleism (2007)
• Headspace Cowboy (2008–2009) (Australian tour only)
• Things (2009–2010)
• Nonsensory Overload (2010–2012)
• Mindblender (2012)

DVD releases[link]

Several recorded performances of Noble are available on DVD, notable for the large amount of extras that appear on them.^[47] Noble's recorded shows are mostly dominated by Noble with just a few moments of audience participation. Throughout the rest of his tour Noble is more relaxed, with the audience joining in. However the audience can sometimes dominate a show, as seen on the extra "Live in Birmingham" gig on the Randomist DVD.^[48] All of Ross' DVDs are region free, with the exception of Unrealtime.^[49]

Unrealtime[link]

• Released: 11 October 2004

A Double DVD set which includes a performance of Noble's Unrealtime show at the Garrick Theatre, as well as a performance at the 100 Club. Also Noble on tour backstage footage and a quiz to unlock extra footage. Also contains a 'Trivia Track' which contains spoof "facts" relating to the show's content.^[48]

Sonic Waffle[link]

• Released: 3 October 2005

The single DVD contains the uncut last night performance from London's Vaudeville Theatre, complete with commentary and, "commentary on the commentary," audio tracks. It also includes his 'meat on the face' performance from the BBC television series Jack Dee Live at the Apollo, which has an audio commentary opinion where Noble is joined by a Cantonese interpreter. The DVD also offers the viewer to play a game of celebrity muffins.^[48]

Randomist[link]

• Released: 6 November 2006

A 4-disc set which contains unedited performances from the City Hall in Newcastle, the Victoria Hall in Stoke, the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham and the town hall in Melbourne, Australia. The extras include the documentaries Ross' Highland Fling and Ross' Australia Tour, and an interactive quiz. The fourth disc contains the Randomiser, and an hour's worth of randomised live performance clips from York, Manchester and Liverpool. Commentary is included for three of the shows, which was recorded consecutively and described by Noble as "4 hours of me going slowly insane in a small box".^[48]

Fizzy Logic[link]

• Released: 12 November 2007

Fizzy Logic is Noble's 4th DVD set, consisting of two discs. The first contains a full performance recorded in Canberra during 2007, and a documentary charting his New Zealand circuit. The second contains six shows from his UK tour and special seventh from Southend, which is unlocked by being able to find out where the previous six shows were performed.^[47]

Nobleism[link]

• Released: 9 November 2009

Nobleism is Noble's 5th DVD set. It was released in the UK on 9 November and in Australia on 13 November 2009. It consists of two discs. Disc one features his live stand-up show from the Empire Theatre, Liverpool. Disc two has bonus show footage, a Ross Noble interview with Dr Oliver Double and episode one of Ross Noble's Australian Trip. At the same time of being filmed at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool the show was simultaneously broadcast, via satellite, to 45 Vue Cinemas nationwide.

Things[link]

• Released: 29 November 2010

Ross Noble's new DVD set is a two-disc set. Disc one features the main live show from Manchester on his 'Things' tour. Disc two features highlights from a show performed in a large stadium in Brisbane, highlights from shows in Canberra and Melbourne, a full-length unedited version of his interview on Carpool and his appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross where he had a mock fight with host Jonathan Ross. A limited edition set contained an additional third disc containing highlights from a recording in Aberdeen. The DVD is dedicated to Noble's father, Malcolm who died that year.

The Headspace Cowboy[link]

• Released: 14 November 2011

On his official YouTube channel he upload his weekly free clip called "Toucan Bastards" at the end of the clip he announced his new DVD. Upon its release it was confirmed to be the never before seen 2008 tour. The DVD is slightly different to Ross' previous releases due to the fact that rather than one continuous main show it is split into six pieces spreading over two discs approximately 45 to 50 minutes each making this Noble's longest DVD as far as its running time. The DVD also includes a third disc containing bonus material including a commentary on all six shows, unseen bits taken from the show and Ross' Sit Down Tour.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ross Noble at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website
• Ross Noble on Twitter
• Ross Noble Goes Global on bbc.co.uk
• Ross Noble on Myspace
• Ross Noble Official YouTube channel on YouTube
• Ross Noble Fan Site

Keri Noble (born 1975) is an American singer-songwriter born in Fort Worth, Texas and raised in Detroit.Her father was a Baptist minister, and Noble sang in church as a child. She attended a local Assembly of God school for Jr High and high school in Michigan. She began playing her own music in the Detroit area. After meeting Billy McLaughlin, she moved to Minneapolis, and in 2003 she signed with major label EMI. She has been compared to Norah Jones.^[1] She left EMI in 2005 and signed with JVC in Japan where she achieved great success, enabling her to continue to write and perform in the US without the support of a label.

In 2008 Noble signed with Telarc Records in the United States and released a full-length album (self titled) in February, 2009. In June, she released her EP, "Leave Me in the Dark", and November brought the release of her first-ever holiday cd, "Winter Comes Again", which she produced herself.

Currently, Noble resides in Minneapolis with her cat, Akiko, and continues to tour both the U.S. and Japan in support of her albums.

In April 2012 Noble began co-hosting the morning show on KTCZ-FM in Minneapolis, MN.

Noble's song "If No One Will Listen" has been covered by Kelly Clarkson and is featured on her album All I Ever Wanted.

Discography[link]

Albums

• 2002 Lullaby (Raven)
• 2005 Fearless (EMI)
• 2007 Let Go (JVC)
• 2008 Leave Me in the Dark
• 2008 Winter Comes Again
• 2009 Keri Noble (LP, Telarc Records)
• 2010 When It Don't Come Easy
• 2010 Flying Solo
• 2011 More Than Santa

Guest Appearances

• 2002 Son of Adam "Waiting for the Radio"

References[link]

• McLEAN, Robyn. Good fortune smiles on Noble. The Dominion Post via Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 13 August 2004
• Jones, Vanessa E. Keri Noble. Boston Globe, March 12, 2004

External links[link]

• Official Page
• myspace

This article about a singer-songwriter from the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Donna Noble is a fictional character played by Catherine Tate in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A secretary from Chiswick, London, she is a companion of the Tenth Doctor, appearing in one scene at the end of the final episode of the 2006 series, "Doomsday", leading into the programme's second Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride". When the character refused the Doctor's invitation to become a permanent travelling companion, for the programme's third series (2007), the Doctor travelled alongside medical student Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman). However, Donna returned as The Doctor's sole full-time companion for the whole of the fourth series in 2008,^[1] and reprised the role once more in the 2009–10 special The End of Time.^[2][3]

Within the series' narrative, Donna begins as an outspoken mid-30s Londoner, whose view of the universe is small in scope. Although she at first finds alien time traveller the Doctor terrifying, their initial encounter leaves her unsatisfied with her small little world, and she jumps at the chance to travel alongside him when the next opportunity arises. Her very human perspective saves the Doctor's life when they first meet, and persuades him to act more compassionately and make exceptions to the rules in order to save individual lives; in return, Donna becomes a more worldly and heroic individual, and the pair develop a strong friendship. From humble beginnings, it is Donna who ultimately saves the universe in the fourth series' conclusion, although tragically at the cost of the memories of her travels with the Doctor, leaving her, once again, largely the woman she was before she met him. In a contrast to the Tenth Doctor's prior female companions, who both harboured romantic feelings for him, Donna and the Doctor shared a strictly friendly relationship; the Doctor refers to her as his "best mate".

Appearances[link]

Television[link]

Donna Noble makes her first appearance, credited as "The Bride", in the closing scenes of 2006 series finale "Doomsday"; she appears in a wedding dress, outraged to be inexplicably aboard the Doctor's TARDIS. The scene was kept a secret until broadcast, filmed with minimal crew, and was a humorous juxtaposition to the sad farewell the Doctor shared with companion Rose (Billie Piper) moments prior. Donna's story is picked up in 2006 Christmas special "The Runaway Bride". Donna is a temporary secretary at HC Clements in London, a security firm which, unknown to her, is a front organization for the alien-investigating Torchwood Institute. Her parents are Geoff (Howard Attfield) and Sylvia Noble (Jacqueline King). Donna discovers that she is a pawn in a scheme of the Empress (Sarah Parish) of the alien Racnoss, having been manipulated by her fiancé, Lance (Don Gilet). When the Doctor unleashes his fury upon the Racnoss, Donna snaps him out of it and together, they escape before the Torchwood facility floods. Donna is upset, having lost her job and her fiancé, and declines the Doctor's offer to become his companion, though she advises he find one.^[4] Donna does not appear in the 2007 series, but the character Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins) appears in 2007 Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned"; in the 2008 series, he is introduced properly as Donna's grandfather, following the death of actor Howard Attfield.^[5]

In series four premiere "Partners in Crime" (2008), Donna has become dissatisfied with regular life and more interested in the bigger picture. When both are investigating the alien connection to Adipose Industries' Miss Foster (Sarah Lancashire), she and the Doctor are re-united, and she joins him in the TARDIS as a regular companion.^[1][6][7] In "The Fires of Pompeii", Donna shows her compassion when she argues and convinces the Doctor to save a family from the Pompeii eruption of Mount Vesuvius.^[8] In "The Doctor's Daughter", it is Donna who names the eponymous character "Jenny" (Georgia Moffett).^[9] The episode "Turn Left" features a parallel universe wherein Donna never met the Doctor; consequently, the Doctor died and the world comes to an end much sooner.^[10] In finale episodes "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End", Donna touches the Doctor's energised severed hand and is imbued with the totality of his knowledge, using which, she is able to stop Davros (Julian Bleach) and his plan to destroy reality. However, because her mind cannot handle the knowledge, the Doctor is forced to wipe her memory of him and hope that they never meet again, lest she remember and her mind "burn up".^[11][12] Donna reappears in the two-part The End of Time (2009–10). When every member of the human race becomes a clone of the Doctor's archnemesis the Master (John Simm), Donna's memories are nearly restored; however, a fail-safe installed by the Doctor protects her. In the story's concluding moments, Donna marries new fiancé Shaun Temple (Karl Collins), becoming Donna Temple-Noble; the Doctor delivers her a winning lottery ticket to ensure her financial future.^[13]

Literature[link]

Outside of the television series, Donna appears in some of the BBC Books New Series Adventures novels, alongside the Tenth Doctor, in stories set in-between episodes of series four. Donna first appears in Ghosts of India by Mark Morris, The Doctor Trap by Simon Messingham and Shining Darkness by Mark Michalowski in September 2008. She makes a fourth and final appearance in the novels in Beautiful Chaos by Gary Russell in December 2008; subsequent Tenth Doctor novels in the New Series Adventures range feature the Doctor travelling alone. Despite the few novel appearance, Donna does feature in a number of Doctor Who short stories, in Doctor Who Annual 2009, and The Doctor Who Storybook in 2007 and 2009, as well as one online short story appearance "The Lonely Computer" (the events of which are briefly alluded to in the episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp"). The character also features prominently in comic books and comic strips featured in Doctor Who Magazine, the younger-audience Doctor Who Adventures and Doctor Who: Battles in Time, online comic book features, comics featured in the Annual and Storybook, as well as two arcs of American comic book company IDW Publishing's Doctor Who ongoing series.

Audio drama[link]

Donna also appears in three original audiobooks published by BBC Books: Pest Control (May 2008), The Forever Trap (October 2008) and The Nemonite Invasion (February 2009).^[14]

Casting[link]

As indicated by David Tennant in his series two video diary (included in the DVD box set), the casting of Catherine Tate was kept secret; her scene in "Doomsday" was filmed with minimal crew. His series 3 video diary mentions that this instance was one of the few occasions where the element of surprise was successfully maintained without it being revealed in advance by the media. Tate became the first guest star to be named in the show's opening credits; John Barrowman, Kylie Minogue, Peter Davison, Elisabeth Sladen and John Simm have since been credited in this manner. Her character was considered by the production team to have companion status long before the announcement of the character's return.^[15] Executive producer Russell T Davies at one time dismissed Donna's potential as an ongoing companion due to her abrasive personality, saying that "she'd get on your nerves".^[15] In fact, the character was not originally scheduled to return at all. In Davies' original conception of the fourth season, it was one-off character Elton Pope (Marc Warren) from 2006's "Love & Monsters" who was to become the Tenth Doctor's last ongoing companion. Donna did not even appear in his original conception of reunion episode "The Stolen Earth", despite planned reappearances from Martha, Captain Jack (Barrowman), Sarah Jane (Sladen), Rose (Piper) and Jackie Tyler (Camille Coduri), as well as Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) and the cast of spin-off series Torchwood.^[16] Later still, Davies had intended the series four companion to be "Penny", a Northern woman with whom the Doctor would share a romantic attraction; actor David Jason might have played the character's father. After a conversation between Catherine Tate and the BBC's Jane Tranter, in which Tate expressed an interest in returning, Davies rewrote season four to feature Donna instead.^[17][18]

Tate looked to her own full-time casting as a "gamble" on the part of executive producer Russell T Davies; Tate attributes this to being "known, by the vast majority of people, for wearing wigs and comedy teeth" (in her sketch comedy The Catherine Tate Show). The actress was grateful to Davies for casting her, and joked about the prominence eventually afforded her character: " "For one brief moment I was the most important woman in the whole of the universe."^[19] Digital Spy also comments on the riskiness of Tate's full-time casting, and the worries of the show's fans when it was first announced. Ben Rawson-Jones attributes the character's success to the natural progression of her character, her boisterous personality being toned down for her first 2008 appearance, "Partners in Crime".^[20]

Reception[link]

In their review of the fourth series, Digital Spy opined "At the core was Catherine Tate's excellent performance as Donna Noble, epitomising the intricate fusion of fun, adventure, sadness and a desire to belong." Digital Spy noted that fans initially worried about Tate's full-time casting, as she is known for her role as a comedian and comic actor. They attributed the character's success to the modification of the much more brash and boisterous character she appeared to be in "The Runaway Bride". The character's comedic elements continued ("the occasional... misfire") in the form of her tendency to shout, but Digital Spy was praising of many of the character's comedic moments. They praised, moreso, Tate's crying scenes "The Fires of Pompeii", which "gave the visually impressive episode much-needed depth", as well as her sensitivity and emotionality at the mistreatment of the alien "Ood" in "Planet of the Ood". Cult Editor Ben Rawson-Jones also praised the character's "tragic" scenes, such as losing her fake children and ideal man in "Forest of the Dead", and the "emotional wringer" of Donna-centric episode "Turn Left".^[20] Donna was voted the second best companion of all time in Doctor Who Magazine Issue 414.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Donna Noble on TARDIS Index File, an external wiki
• Donna Noble on the BBC's Doctor Who website