Doctor Who: What Billie Piper hated about her exit in Journey’s End

Recently, Billie Piper has revealed what she thought of her character Rose Tyler’s exit in Doctor Who – and what she really hated about it…

Journey’s End – the finale to the fourth series of Doctor Who‘s revival – was a huge episode for the series. The legendary team-up of the Tenth Doctor with many of his companions, plus characters from spin-off series Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, was enough of a draw to make it the highest watched TV series in the UK for that week. This was the first time ever that the series had achieved this. The infamous cliffhanger from the previous episode certainly helped.

However, while it was widely seen, that doesn’t necessarily make it perfect, and some fans had some issues with it. And, as revealed in Doctor Who Magazine, even one of the stars of the episode had a problem with it.

Billie Piper – who played the Tenth Doctor’s companion Rose Tyler – has recently revealed that she wasn’t exactly pleased with her exit. In Journey’s End, the character was reunited with the Tenth Doctor after being stuck in a parallel world for two years. At the end of the story, she’s sent back there, this time with a copy of the Doctor that’s half-human. One who only had one life and could grow old with her. A perfect happy ending. Right?

Not according to Piper.

"I hated that! In the same way that when I watched Beauty and the Beast – the Disney cartoon – I hated it when the Beast turned into the man, I always wanted [the Doctor] to be the beast, and her be in love with the beast.I feel like this is the same sort of loss! Like, it’s kind of a good thing, but it’s not the same. He seemed like a lesser version, didn’t he?"

Rose Tyler will be returning in a brand new spin-off series next month. But while The Dimension Cannon is set before Journey’s End, could we have a spin-off set after it?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

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Potential for a spin-off?

It’s not surprising that Billie Piper has this view. While many fans love the happy ending that Rose was given, it has to be said that it’s certainly less dramatic than what she originally got in Doomsday. At the end of that episode, it was believed that she was stuck in a parallel universe forever, and thought that she would never see the Doctor again. It’s a heartbreaking scene, one that Journey’s End doesn’t quite live up to.

However, while she’s against that ending, Piper isn’t against the idea of exploring the relationship between the half-human Doctor and Rose, at least.

"I would like to see a one-off dark comedy about Rose and the Doctor in the parallel universe… But instead of it being really sci-fi, it can have an element of sci fi but it’s very much about their romantic relationship and what’s happened to them in the time since we’ve left them. Just them cohabiting; their normal environment."

It’s an intriguing idea. Big Finish have slightly explored what happens after Journey’s End with these two, but mainly from Rose’s mother Jackie’s perspective. Perhaps exploring what happened next for them in more depth could be intriguing.

What do you think? Do you prefer Rose’s original and heartbreaking exit in Doomsday? Or did you prefer the happy ending she was given in Journey’s End? Let us know in the comments below.