Christina de Souza

Lady Christina de Souza was a friend of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, and had brief adventures with them both. A minor British aristocrat, she was also a thief, Burglar, and an adrenaline junkie who stole more for the thrill than for money. Her exploits were well-publicised — at least in Britain — allowing Rory Williams to recognise her on sight.

Early life
Christina was born to Lord Alfred de Souza and his wife (AUDIO: The Wreck) and was a distant relative of King George II. (AUDIO: Death on the Mile) Alfred had affairs with au pairs, secretaries, yoga instructors and horse trainers whilst her mother was alive and Christina accused him of not being there when she was dying. (AUDIO: The Wreck)

Christina had an expensive education (AUDIO: Long Shot) and went to good schools. In the holidays, her father sent her to ski camp and to language schools, which she did without complaint to keep him happy whilst privately believing that he was trying to keep her out of the way. (AUDIO: The Wreck) She also did ballet for several years. (AUDIO: Death on the Mile)

Although she rarely saw her, Christina admired her tomb-raiding aunt, Eugenia de Souza, and thought that they were alike. Over the years, they went glamping at Uluru, Kakadu and Ningaloo. (AUDIO: Outback) She became a notorious thief herself, stealing for the thrill of it and being relentlessly pursued by Detective Inspector McMillan. (TV: Planet of the Dead) Jacqui McGee, on the other hand, assumed that she was fictional. (AUDIO: Death on the Mile)

Meeting the Doctor
At Easter 2009, she stole the prized Cup of Athelstan from the International Gallery in London. Her calling card (a mechanical golden Maneki Neko waving in a mocking manner) alerted the guards to her presence and her associate was quickly found and arrested, which concerned Christina not at all. Unable to find a way to distance herself from the museum because of the many police officers about, she used the 200 bus as an escape vehicle, bribing the driver with her diamond earrings for passage. When she met the Doctor, she dismissed him due to his odd behaviour. Once the bus was caught in a wormhole and deposited on an alien planet, she established herself as the leader of the group. She deferred to the Doctor's knowledge, recognising his understanding of the situation. The many tools in her backpack, which included a shovel to dig out the bus wheels, a hatchet to cut away the seats (so they could be used as traction for the wheels), a mechanical winch for her heists and a hammer, proved to be of enormous value to the group.

Christina became very comfortable with the Doctor and he with her. She felt a sense of adventure and excitement with him that exceeded any heist that she had ever pulled off. Against the Doctor's wishes, she winched down a shaft in the Tritovores' ship to collect the anti-gravity clamps and their power crystal, nearly electrocuting herself in her haste. She inadvertently woke an inactive alien in the ship's hull with her body heat. Swiftly collecting the clamps, she travelled back up the shaft with the alien at her heels.

Her previous heist proved to be invaluable, as the Cup of Athelstan was made of gold. This served as a perfect conductor for the anti-gravity clamps which, by themselves, were incompatible with the bus. The Doctor mangled the cup to make it the right shape, earning Christina's ire. With the clamps fixed on the bus, the Doctor piloted the now flying bus through the wormhole. Upon returning to Earth, Christina kissed him, her earlier anger forgotten.

After returning to the ground, Christina broke away from UNIT security, expecting to travel with the Doctor as a companion, only for her request to be refused, as the Doctor revealed he had been too hurt by losing his previous companions. Christina was arrested by the police and taken away. However, the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to unlock her handcuffs. Upon realising this, Christina escaped the police car and ran to the bus, closing the door before the police could capture her again.

Flying the bus to the Doctor, Christina happily told him that they "could have been so good together". The Doctor similarly replied, "Christina, we were", both of them smiling each other off. Christina flew the bus into the night sky, the passengers on the ground cheering her on. (TV: Planet of the Dead)

Travels
During a later adventure, the Tenth Doctor answered the phone thinking it was her. (COMIC: Tesseract) Christina next met the Doctor in Africa, while she was attempting to save endangered species from hunters. (AUDIO: Last Chance)

Christina enjoyed a nice holiday in the French Riviera. She then started investigating a series of thefts after being framed for related murders. She met Ivo. (AUDIO: It Takes a Thief)

Christina became acquainted with Sylvia Mott. (AUDIO: Skin Deep)

While trying to acquire a very special piece of artwork, Christina encountered UNIT officer Sam Bishop who was also after the painting. They faced a Sontaran mercenary. (AUDIO: Portrait of a Lady)

She encountered Sam again when she broke into Edinburgh Castle and had to stop the Slitheen. (AUDIO: Death on the Mile)

Christina later met the Eleventh Doctor off-world, having obtained the ability to travel beyond Earth after raiding Henry van Statten's sealed vault in Utah. At the end of the encounter, the Doctor invited Christina to travel with him, but this time she declined, preferring to explore the universe on her own, later gaining a companion, Neko. (COMIC: The Eye of Ashaya)

At one point in her life, Christina was caught by Adam Mitchell and trapped alongside many of the Doctor's other companions in Adam's fortress. (COMIC: The Choice, Endgame)

Christina de Souza 2.0
Psychic mould from the Tenth Doctor's psychic paper diary grew into an identical human likeness of Christina with the same name, but her personality also had spores of many other individuals from the Doctor's memories. The Doctor referred to her as Christina de Souza 2.0 and told her that she should keep the name because as a thief, Lady Christina could hardly be upset with her for stealing it. (PROSE: Keeping up with the Joneses)

Personality
Christina was fiercely independent and enjoyed defying the Doctor's wishes. She was an expert thief, but only stole for the adrenaline rush. She was bored by her aristocratic life and had a high opinion of herself. She used her obvious charms and good looks to win people over, often for selfish reasons. She showed great enthusiasm for joining the Doctor on his travels, but quickly forgave him when he refused. She could also speak French fluently, which amused the Doctor. She had an untrustworthy streak in her; she abandoned her partner in crime, who was probably also her lover, when he was caught by guards during her escape from the museum. Despite that, she was kind enough to give the cup over to save lives, though also to save her. She was also mischievous, and took the opportunity to mock the police as she made her escape in the flying 200 bus. (TV: Planet of the Dead)

Behind the scenes
Christina's character bears some similarities to Raine Creevy, a proposed companion for the aborted season 27 of Doctor Who, which would have aired in 1990 and starred Sylvester McCoy. Raine would also have been an experienced cat burglar. Though not an actual member of the nobility like Christina, Raine was pitched as being sophisticated in her manner.

Christina de Souza