Christina de Souza

Lady Christina de Souza was a notorious thief who stole for the thrill of it, being bored with her aristocrat upbringing. By the time she is introduced to the series, Christina has already built a considerable reputation and is pursued vehmently by a member of the police.

In Easter 2010, she stole the prized Cup of Athelstan from the International Gallery in London. However, her calling card (a mechanicle golden cat waving in a mocking manner) alerted the gaurds to her presenc and, her ascociate quickly found out and arrested (without much concern on Christina's part), she was forced to use the 200 bus as an escape vehicle, bribing the driver with her diamond earings for passage. She soon met the Doctor, initially dismissing him due to his somewhat erratic behaviour; however, once the bus is caught up in a wormhole and deposited on an alien planet (as well as establishing herself as the leader of the group), she deferred to the Doctor's knowledge, as she recognised that he was the most alert of the situation. The many tools in her backpack proved to be of great use to the group, 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 mechanicle winch for her heists, and a hammer.

During the time that she spent with the Doctor, Christina became very comfortable with him, and vise versa, and felt a sense of adventure and excitement with him that exceded any hiest that she had pulled off before. Against the Doctor's wishes, she winches down a shaft in the Tritovore's ship to collect the anti-gravity clamps and their power crystal (nearly electricuting herself with the ship's defense grid in her haste), and inadvertantly wakes an inactive alien in the ship's hull with her body heat. Swiftly collecting the clamps, she travels back up the shaft with the alien at her heels, though she sucsessfully loses it after she reactivates the defense grid on her way up. She attempts to convince the Tritovores to come with them on the 200 bus, saying that they could be found a new home, but is unable to do anything to prevent their death.

Her earlier hiest proves to be invaluable as the Cup of Athelstan is made of gold and, with more than a little aversion on her part, served as a perfect conduit for the anti-gravity clamps, as they alone were incompatible with the bus. However, the cup is mangled by the Doctor in the process to make it the right shape, earning some of Christina's ire. With the clamps fixed on the bus, the Doctor piloted the now flying bus through the wormhole and, upon returning to earth, is kissed by Christina (her previous ire forgotten and forgiven).

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 coldly turned away, as the Doctor reveals had been too hurt by losing his previous companions and wasn't willing to lose another. Christina is shortly arrested by the police for her previous actions and taken away. However, the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to unlock her handcuffs and, upon her realising this, Christina escapes the police car and runs to the bus, closing the door before the police can capture her again. Flying the bus to the Doctor, Christina happily tells the Doctor that they "could have been so good together", revealing no hard feeligs over her rejection, the Doctor simularily repling "Christina, we were.", both of them smiling each other off. Christina then flies the bus into the night sky, the passengers on the ground cheering her on, ready to have many adventures on her own. The Doctor leaves soon afterwards.

Behind the Scenes
Actress Michelle Ryan was reportedly considered for the role of Martha Jones after the departure of Billie Piper from the series in 2006. The announcement of her casting has led to UK media speculation that the character of Christina may continue as the companion of the Eleventh Doctor in 2010; however, as of March 2009 her only announced appearance is in Planet of the Dead as a "one-off" companion, with a different one-off companion appearing in the special that follows. If she is destined to become a full-time companion, this will become known during the second half of 2009 as production begins on Series 5.