Catherine Tate Catherine Tate née Ford ( born 12 May 1968 ) played Donna Noble in the closing moments of Doomsday and the following Christmas special , " The Runaway Bride " . She returned as a continuing companion for series 4 . She is an English comedienne and actress best known for the BBC Two sketch comedy series . Early life . Tate was born in Bloomsbury , London and brought up in the Brunswick Centre . Her mother was a florist . She attended St Joseph ' s , Macklin Street , a local Catholic primary school , then Notre Dame High School , Southwark , a south London convent secondary school . She studied for A - levels in the sixth form of Salesian College , Battersea , another south London secondary school , before training at the Central School of Speech and Drama . Career . Television . Tate began her acting career with roles in serial dramas such as . In 2001 , she played Smeraldina in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of " A Servant to Two Masters " . She appeared in comedy series such as " The Harry Hill Show " , " Big Train " , " Wild West " , " Attention Scum " and " That Peter Kay Thing " before being given her own programme , which she co - wrote with Derren Litten . " The Catherine Tate Show " . Tate co - wrote and starred in her own comedy sketch programme called " The Catherine Tate Show " . Despite speculation that the third series would be the last , Tate and the BBC have not ruled out further series or episodes . In an interview on " The Paul O ' Grady Show " on 18 December 2006 Tate indicated that a fourth series was unlikely but hoped to film a one - off special episode in 2007 . In March 2005 , she made an appearance in the BBC ' s Comic Relief in character as Lauren from " The Catherine Tate Show " , alongside boy - band McFly . In November 2005 , as part of the BBC ' s annual Children in Need telethon , Tate appeared in an EastEnders sketch , again as Lauren . The sketch saw Lauren arrive in Walford in search of revenge on , who had apparently stolen her boyfriend . After arguing with Peggy , Lauren left The Queen Victoria pub after uttering some famous lines from the soap , including " Hello Princess " and " Rickaay ! " , along with her usual catchphrase , " Bovvered ? " . Also in November , Tate was a guest star at the 77th Royal Variety Performance as Lauren , accompanied by her friends Ryan and Liese . In the sketch Lauren looked up at the Royal Box and asked the Queen ; " Is one bovvered ? Is one ' s face bovvered ? " . Other television roles . At the end of 2005 she appeared in the award - winning BBC television adaptation of . She has been commissioned to write a TV drama for the BBC ' s forthcoming " Decades " project . She also has a role in the forthcoming television adaptation of the novel " The Bad Mother ' s Handbook " . " Doctor Who " . In 2006 , Tate made an appearance in the closing few moments of " Doomsday " , appearing as a character referred to in the closing credits simply as " The Bride " . According to David Tennant in his DVD commentary for the episode , extreme secrecy was maintained for her cameo ( due to her star status in the UK , although the impact was lost on American and Canadian viewers unfamiliar with her ) . Tennant claimed only he and a few others knew she would be appearing and her scene was shot while the rest of the cast and crew were attending the wrap party for the season . Her cameo led into the 2006 Christmas special , " The Runaway Bride " in which Tate returned , her character now named Donna Noble . This appearance was originally intended as a one - off . Tate commented on her role : " I was holding out for a summer season at rep but as a summer job , this ' ll do . " A few months later , Tate and Tennant appeared together in a sketch for Comic Relief in which Tate played her signature character , Lauren Cooper , and Tennant played a substitute schoolteacher who turns out to be the Doctor in disguise . After enduring Lauren - style taunts about his accent and whether he " fancied Billie Piper " , the " Doctor " changes Lauren into a Rose Tyler action figure with his sonic screwdriver . Tate ' s appearance in " The Runaway Bride " garnered mixed reviews from fans and critics , but when Freema Agyeman announced she was leaving " Doctor Who " after the 2007 series , the producers returned to Tate and announced that Donna Noble would return for series 4 , to be broadcast in 2008 . The announcement resulted in substantial negative feedback from vocal fans who did not want " Lauren " in the TARDIS ( once again , however , this backlash was almost exclusively UK - only , as Tate was an unknown quantity overseas , although DVDs of " The Catherine Tate Show " began to be released in North America around the time she joined the series ) . Donna returned to the series in " Partners in Crime " in April 2008 . Within a few episodes she had won over many of her critics . Tate acted alongside both of her predecessors , Billie Piper and Freema Agyeman , as well as John Barrowman ' s Jack Harkness and Elisabeth Sladen ' s Sarah Jane Smith . Donna Noble left with " Journey ' s End " , though the possibility of her returning to the series was not ruled out . In fact , according to " " Tate said she would have gladly returned for another season . Tate ' s popularity on the show is illustrated by the warm response she received when she introduced a portion of the July 2008 BBC Proms concert dedicated to " Doctor Who " . In October 2008 , Tennant and Tate were nominated in the same category at the National Television Awards for Outstanding Drama Performance . Tennant won , but as he was unable to be present due to his theatre commitments , and having just announced his intention to leave the series , he asked Tate to accept the award on his behalf , joking with Tate that she should have won it . Tate continued her involvement with the franchise into 2009 , recording two original audio adventures for BBC Audio : " The Forever Trap " and " The Nemonite Invasion " . At the end of 2009 she reprised Donna for the two - part story " The End of Time " . Also beginning in 2009 , Tate and David Tennant formed an informal radio - host partnership . On at least three occasions as of February 2010 they co - hosted BBC Radio ' s " Jonathan Ross Show " as guest hosts . Film and theatre . Tate has had roles in numerous films and theatre productions roles . These films included ; " Starter for Ten " , " Sixty Six " , " Scenes of a Sexual Nature " , " Mrs Ratcliffe ' s Revolution " , in which she plays the title character , " Love and Other Disasters , " Billionaire Boy , and Nativity 3 ( Dude Where ' s The Donkey ) . In 2005 , Tate acted in the West End play " Some Girl ( s ) " with " Friends " star David Schwimmer , Sara Powell , Lesley Manville and Saffron Burrows . In an interview Tate commented that she could not look Schwimmer in the eye during her time with him , leading to speculation that they did not get on . Tate immediately denied the rumours , explaining that she was joking about her attempts to act " cool " around the actor , whom she described as " a very funny , personable man , and easy to get along with " . In 2006 she starred in " The Exonerated " at the Riverside Studios and in 2008 acted in the West End play " Under the Blue Sky " . In 2010 - 2011 , she played a lead role in " Seasons Greetings " at the National Theatre alongside Mark Gatiss . In 2011 , Tate reunited with Tennant to play the lead roles of warring lovers in " Much Ado About Nothing " . Also in 2011 she played God in " 66 Books " at the Bush Theatre , which also starred Arthur Darvill and Shaun Dingwall . In 2013 , she provided the voice of Nora the Sheep in the 3D animated film " Khumba " . And in March 2016 she appeared in the musical comedy " Miss Atomic Bomb " . Awards . Tate ' s turn on her eponymous show received much critical praise . She won a British Comedy Award in both 2004 and 2006 for her work . It also earned her a Royal Television Society Award in 2006 . " Catherine Tate " also resulted in her being a four - time BAFTA nominee , and a one - time International Emmy Award nominee . Her work on " Doctor Who " earned her a National Television Award nod , but since she was in the un - gendered category of " Outstanding Drama Performance " , she was in direct competition with David Tennant , the winner . Personal life . Tate has one child , a girl named Erin ( born 2003 ) with her ex - partner , Twig Clark . They live in Richmond , London .