Series 4 ( Doctor Who ) The term " " Doctor Who " series 4 " was one that had several different meanings , making a precise and universally - agreed definition difficult . It was nevertheless generally considered the " 2008 series " . From a production standpoint , the series began with " Voyage of the Damned " , continued to " Time Crash " , and concluded with " The End of Time " . This view was amply supported by Russell T Davies in his memoir , " The Writer ' s Tale " , and by production code and production block numbering , and is how this wiki presents the series and information relating to it . Subsequent home video releases suggested — by their very contents — that series could be considered as having begun with " Time Crash " and having ended with " Journey ' s End " . Additionally , the BBC ' s official " Doctor Who " website blurred the marketing message by treating Christmas special s as independent of any series . Whatever one ' s perspective , though , there was universal agreement that the regular , weekly portion of series 4 began on 5 April 2008 with the broadcast of " Partners in Crime " and continued through to the 5 July 2008 broadcast of " Journey ' s End " . It was the second series of BBC Wales to have received a BAFTA nomination in the " Best Drama Series " category , although it did not win , as series 1 had done . The four principal producers — Phil Collinson , Russell T Davies , Julie Gardner and Susie Liggat — were all named nominees . This series starred David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as his companion , Donna Noble . The final two ( or three in the case of Billie Piper ) episodes saw the return of Freema Agyeman ( Martha Jones ) , John Barrowman ( Jack Harkness ) , Elisabeth Sladen ( Sarah Jane Smith ) and Billie Piper ( Rose Tyler ) to the main cast , accompanied by Noel Clarke ( Mickey Smith ) , Camille Coduri ( Jackie Tyler ) , Penelope Wilton ( Harriet Jones ) , Adjoa Andoh ( Francine Jones ) , Eve Myles ( Gwen Cooper ) , and Gareth David - Lloyd ( Ianto Jones ) . Kylie Minogue starred as Astrid Peth in the Christmas special " Voyage of the Damned " . Peter Davison returned to the role of the Fifth Doctor for the Children in Need special " Time Crash " . It also featured the return of Davros , the creator of the Daleks , not seen on television since 1988 ' s " Remembrance of the Daleks " . Davros was recast and was played by Julian Bleach . Although the majority of the series was broadcast in 2008 , all stories from " Partners in Crime " through to " The End of Time " were " actually " set in the following year , meaning there was almost a year ' s gap between " Voyage of the Damned " and its successor . Broadcast milestones . Series 4 featured several milestones . It is the 30th broadcast season of " Doctor Who " , and features the 750th broadcast episode ; " The Stolen Earth " , and the 50th new series episode ; " Silence in the Library " . The finale episodes " The Stolen Earth " and " Journey ' s End " also took the revived series to new heights of popularity , scoring the highest viewership ratings since the Tom Baker era and according to the media both episodes scored Appreciation Index ratings unprecedented for an ongoing scripted drama series . In terms of production , the season marked the first production of a " Companion - lite " episode , " Midnight " ( as opposed to the usual " Doctor - lite " episodes , ie . " Love and Monsters " and " Blink " ) , although a Doctor - lite episode , " Turn Left " was also produced . This was necessitated by the need to film several episodes at the same time , including an unprecedented 15th episode , " The Next Doctor " , which would air as the 2008 Christmas special . Series 4 marked the last full season to be produced by Russell T Davies , Phil Collinson and Julie Gardner . Collinson left following " Journey ' s End " , and Davies and Gardner announced they would depart following production of a series of specials planned for 2009 in lieu of a regular season . When the show resumed weekly broadcast in 2010 , Steven Moffat became the head writer and show - runner . It also marked the last full season featuring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor as , in October 2008 , he announced his intention to leave the role following the production of the 2009 specials ; in January 2009 Matt Smith was announced as his successor , with Karen Gillan appearing as his companion Amy Pond . Television stories . Story arcs . As with the preceding three seasons , Series 4 incorporated several ongoing story arc s which were resolved in the finale episodes . In Series 4 these threads included : Donna Noble ' s evolution , Rose Tyler ' s attempts to return to her original world and the Doctor , the disappearance of bees from planet Earth , recurring references to planets and moons disappearing , and the coming of " the Darkness " , mainly represented by the attempts of the Daleks and Davros to wipe out all reality . Additionally , most episodes include a running gag : namely , that people keep mistaking the Doctor and Donna for a couple . Specials . Sometimes referred to " Series 4b , " the " David Tennant Specials " and the " 2009 Specials , " five special episodes following the regular season were broadcast at Christmas 2008 , Easter 2009 , November 2009 , Christmas 2009 and New Year ' s Day 2010 . These four shows ( the last two broadcasts were a single two - part story ) were overseen by Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner , but long - term line producer Phil Collinson did not return for them . All starred David Tennant . For these , the Doctor was travelling alone , with each story featuring a one - off companion . There had been conflicting reports given as to why a year was taken off . Initial media reports suggested this was to allow David Tennant to perform a season of Shakespeare during the time a regular season would have normally entered production . However , these reports were directly contradicted in Russell T Davies ' book " " , which has correspondence from the spring of 2007 , months before the gap year plan was announced . Davies indicated the intent was to take the series off for a year , except for a few specials , to let the new production team make its transition . Davies had already informed the BBC that he would not executive - produce a fifth season . Exactly how to refer to these specials is a matter of some debate . Aside from informal terms such as " 2009 Special " or " Gap Year " , it is known that " Planet of the Dead " was considered Episode 15 of Series 4 by the production team , as revealed by David Tennant in his video diary of the episode ' s read through , and " The Writer ' s Tale - The Final Chapter " shows the specials were all numbered 4 . X . On the DVD / Blu - ray release of the four specials plus " The Next Doctor " ( in a box set titled " The Complete Specials " ) , a bonus feature of deleted scenes was entitled " Series 4 Specials Deleted Scenes " . Animated special . " Dreamland " was a serialised animated story initially made available on the BBC ' s Red Button service before being televised in December 2009 . Its writer has stated it takes place after the events of " The Waters of Mars " but it is not officially considered one of the Specials . Adaptations and merchandising . Home media . DVD and Bluray . All episodes of Series 4 were released between 2008 and 2010 . It was also included in the " Doctor Who : Complete Series 1 - 7 " Bluray boxset , released on November 5 , 2013 in the US and November 4th , 2013 in the UK , split into the " Complete Fourth Series " and " The Complete Specials " sets respectively . Of note , the inclusion of " The Next Doctor " on the Complete Specials Bluray set makes this story the first standard - definition " Doctor Who " story to be upscaled for high - definition . Soundtrack . The official soundtrack of the specials was released on 4 October , 2010 . Promotional trailers . As with previous seasons , trailers were created to promote the season , though this year they were shown in theatres as well as on television in the UK . Of particular note is the second trailer that was released , which utilised unique , specially shot footage of Donna sitting by a camp - or bonfire talking to either an unseen individual or the audience about the Doctor " coming back to save us " and " I ' ll be ready " interspersed with images of Sontarans , Ood and Daleks . There is no scene like this in any of the episodes ; the meaning of " he ' ll come back to save us " is unknown as there is no circumstance within Series 4 in which Donna would be in such a position to make such a remark . The other major trailers included another Donna - centric trailer utilising a scene between Donna and Wilfred Mott from " Partners in Crime " , and a mid - season trailer focusing in part on the return of Rose Tyler in " Turn Left " .