Ginger (trait)

Ginger, sometimes shortened to ginge, was the state of having red hair — or simply someone with red hair.

The Doctor
Several incarnations of the Doctor had a preoccupation with being ginger. When told that the Elixir of Life could allow him to choose any body, the Eighth Doctor quietly wondered if they could make him ginger. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor, TV: The Night of the Doctor) The Ninth Doctor, upon first examining himself in the mirror, wondered why he never seemed to be ginger. (PROSE: Rose) Likewise, the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors expressed disappointment immediately after regeneration that they were not ginger. (TV: The Christmas Invasion, The End of Time) The Eleventh Doctor briefly had this wish fulfilled when an accident caused his consciousness to be switched with his companion Amy Pond. (COMIC: Body Snatched) The Thirteenth Doctor also expressed her desire to "go ginger" someday. (COMIC: A Little Help from My Friends) A ginger incarnation of the Doctor did eventually come about, according to some sources. (PROSE: Battlefield, Happy Endings, Good Companions, The Tomorrow Windows) "Doctor Ogron", who had all the Doctor's memories, expressed delight that he was "still ginger" after regenerating. (AUDIO: Planet of the Ogrons)

Companions
Both Donna Noble (TV: The Runaway Bride) and Amy Pond (TV: The Eleventh Hour) had red hair. When the Teselecta was in the form of Amy Pond, the Eleventh Doctor called it a "big ginge". (TV: Let's Kill Hitler) She once considered the possibility that she might have had children with the equally red-headed Vincent van Gogh. "If we had got married," she told the Eleventh Doctor, "our kids would have had very, very red hair," to which he replied, "the ultimate ginger". Wistfully, she confirmed, "the ultimate ginge." (TV: Vincent and the Doctor) The Dream Lord said the Doctor "loved a redhead". (TV: Amy's Choice)

Cinder, a companion of the War Doctor, was known by that name because of her red hair. (PROSE: Engines of War)

Other individuals
Muriel Frost, who worked for UNIT, had fiery hair that matched her temperament, (COMIC: Evening's Empire, AUDIO: The Fires of Vulcan) however, by 2006, Frost had black hair. (TV: Aliens of London)

Atlanteans had red hair. (PROSE: The Lost Ones)

Morag had red hair. (PROSE: The Sons of Grekk)

King Richard II of England had red-golden hair. (AUDIO: The Doctor's Tale)

The Grand Matriarch had red hair in her youth. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Apocalypse)

Chad Boyle had red hair. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Revelation)

Robbie MacKenzie had red hair. (PROSE: Jupiter)

Janice, a coworker of Martha Jones' at Face Fashion, had red hair, which the Thirteenth Doctor complimented her on. (COMIC: A Little Help from My Friends)

Fictional characters
A poster for Shrek pinned to the wall of the children's ward at St Helen's Hospital, in early 21st century Cardiff, featured a woman with red hair wearing a green dress. (TV: Dead Man Walking)

Behind the scenes

 * Though it has never been used pejoratively by the writing staff of televised Doctor Who, ginger was misunderstood by some of the original viewers of The End of Time. Not understanding that the Eleventh Doctor was actually lamenting not being a redhead, some viewers balked at what they took to be an insult. The BBC were forced to release a statement assuring the public that there was no "anti-ginger" campaign being waged by the Doctor Who production office, pointing out that two consecutive companions had in fact been ginger. Viewers in 2010 needn't have worried; the series employed a redhead in a starring role almost continuously from March 2008 to September 2012.
 * Karen Gillan has had to explain the term "ginger" in several American TV interviews, such as on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.