Eighth Doctor's Companion

Name: Grace Holloway
Race: Human
Time of Origin: Late 20th Century
Planet of Origin: Earth

When the Seventh Doctor lands on December 30th, 1999 in San Francisco, he is gunned down by a gang on the streets of Chinatown. Unaware of his alien physiology, Grace accidentally kills him when she attempts to operate. Because of this, he subsequently regenerates into his eighth incarnation.

When waking up and not remembering who he is, he involves Grace into helping him and his fight to prevent the Master from opening the Eye of Hrmony and destroying the Earth. At the end, the Doctor offers to take Grace along with him in the TARDIS, but Grace declines, preferring to stay behind and apply the lessons she has learned from him.

Grace is described by the Doctor as 'tired of life but afraid of dying.' She is a warm and compassionate person who was disillusioned early in life when she realized that she could not hold back death. As a result, she puts on a cold, aloof front in an effort to protect herself from her feelings and to mask her own insecurity.

She realizes her cold front over the course of her adventure with the Doctor and learns to feel hope again, placing it in the form of the Doctor, an alien who can literally come back to life. As well as this, she regains confidence in herself as a medical practitioner and as a person. She also rapidly develops a romantic attachment to the Doctor, stating at one point, 'I finally meet the right guy and he's from another planet.'

Grace's appearance in the television movie caused controversy because the Doctor kissed her, breaking a longstanding taboo against having any romantic involvement with his companions. (Obviously its been broken a few times since then...)

Some fans also question whether she can be considered a proper companion since she only appears in this one story. However, it is clear that her role within the television movie is the companion's.