Oh, Hell No.

Oh dear god, haha.

Thank god I dont watch Dr Who, I despise Catherine Tate.

Never thought I would have a reason NOT to watch it, but now?
Why do I fear I'm going to be like a lemming running off the proverbial cliff, 'It can't be bad. It can't be bad. It can't be bad'.

this is im afraid the beginning of the end its all downhill from here folks

tates not that bad... not great, but not necessarily terrible. certainly, i can see the characterisations looking a little basic if you're not around people like that on a day-to-day basis, and i can't say for certain what folk outside the UK are like, but from in here she looks quite observant, if unashamedly popularist.

Oh god NO. Martha! Martha please come back!! Martha's hot ass pushed to crap Torchwood for the sake of Catherine bloody Tate, the bridezilla? Screw that and screw you Davies!

Obviously for drama you want to instantly like the character from day one with no room for development. There's a lot of potential in the choice. It's not like they've got Victoria Beckham or Jane Goody and I wasn't altogether thrilled with Billie or Freema based on their CVs but they turned out to be inspired choices.

"tates not that bad... not great, but not necessarily terrible."

Well, its all a matter of personal taste, but personally I cant stomach the woman at all, and I won't be watching anything with her in. It reminds me when they went into kitsch-mode with the Sylvester McCoy episodes back in the late 80s, with the idiotic licquorish all-sorts monster, and the brought in the loathsome Bonnie Langford as the assistant. It killed off Dr Who after almost 30 years non-stop. I think Cathererine Tate has that sort of effect too.

Victoria Beckham or Jade Goody would have been an inspired casting decision though....

"Victoria Beckham or Jade Goody would have been an inspired casting decision though...."

well, it's a matter of personal taste, but personally a mental image of either woman in my head is enough to make me vomit my bowels into a glass bowl and consume them with a sprinkle of salt 'n' pepper after having fried them up....

I loved/love Martha - what a step up for the Doc's sidekicks. I started to lose count of the times she acted with immediate intelligence as soon as something seemed odd, cottoning on as soon as the audience did - and that is so, so rare, especially in fantasy tv. She was gorgeous and warm too.

I am willing to think that they might surprise us with Tate, as having an older, potentially more mature sidekick might be interesting. My immediate reaction was horror, as she seemed she might just be some slightly more frightening Tegan: "What the HELL are we doing HERE doctor?! Not more bloody Daleks....!"

I guess it does seem to be becoming a bit novelty assistant though.

Tennant, however, will be as compelling as ever, I am sure! But I wish they would note the the greatest episodes of the new series have been the less camp, it's-all-a-romp adventures.

Ah, it's great entertainment though. Been looking lovely too.

This is awful news. Martha was fantastic this season. But even Rose was better than the abominable Catherine Tate, who spent most of her Christmas special shouting and grumbling it almost made the episode unwatchable.

But then this was a trend for the old Doctor Who series - destroyed by cost cutting but the final nail in the coffin was an incredibly irritating sidekick (NOT companion!)....Bonnie Langford anyone? They might have changed to Sophie Aldred just before the end (in a leather jacket with a punk attitude cos that'd appeal to the yoof!), but Langford was the final straw for many!