Why Bill Potts was the most refreshing companion in modern Doctor Who history

Cultures · Published 10 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Bill Potts arrived as a canteen worker at St Luke's University, but she left as a cosmic traveler. As the first openly gay companion in the series, she challenged the Doctor with a unique, working-class perspective that redefined the mentor-student dynamic and brought a new, human warmth to the TARDIS.

Created by Steven Moffat to succeed Clara Oswald, Bill Potts was portrayed by Pearl Mackie as an inquisitive, irreverent student who was never afraid to question the Doctor. Unlike the more regal or middle-class companions who preceded her, Bill was a science fiction fan who pointed out genre tropes, offering a grounded, relatable presence that critics praised as a revitalizing force for the tenth series. Her dynamic with the Twelfth Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, was explicitly modeled after the play Educating Rita, emphasizing a tutor-student relationship that felt distinct from the romantic or hierarchical tensions of previous eras.

Bill’s narrative arc was defined by her humanity and her working-class background. Raised by a foster mother, she worked in a university canteen before being swept into the Doctor's world. Her journey took a tragic turn in the finale, 'The Doctor Falls', where she was converted into a Cyberman. Despite this, she retained her sense of self, ultimately being transformed into an oil-like entity by her romantic interest, Heather. This allowed her to explore the universe, though later stories depicted her returning to Earth to live out a human life before her consciousness was preserved as a sentient memory construct known as Testimony.

The character’s legacy remains a subject of academic and critical debate. While many lauded her as a significant, positive role model for LGBT representation and a refreshing departure from the 'will they, won't they' tropes of the past, others criticized the narrative choices surrounding her exit. Specifically, some scholars and critics argued that the resolution of her storyline—involving her transformation into a monster and a sudden reunion with Heather—relied on problematic tropes. Despite these critiques, Bill is widely remembered for her infectious enthusiasm and her role as an equal to the Doctor, proving that a companion’s strength often lies in their ability to remain fundamentally human in the face of the impossible.

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