NINE
Harriet Jones, Former Prime Minister
Oh you know nothing of humans, and that will be your downfall.
When a character dies on screen and it makes you sad or even cry, you know that the writer has got it right and done a good job. If that writer can make you laugh and cry at the same time then they've done something brilliant.
Harriet Jones was an odd character. Brilliantly played by Penelope Wilton, the comic timing and the other characters reactions to her are what made her so funny and brilliant. After having a lapse in judgement and the Doctor (pretty meanly) bringing about her downfall, the character made a surprise return a few years later and more than made up for her errors. Her courage in standing up to the Daleks, knowing she would die and yet still delivering her most famous line made everyone smile as we watched her extermination. An absolutely brilliant end to the character, if not a tad bittersweet.
