Danielle was a crewmember of the human colony ship Heart, during its failed mission to reach and eventually colonise Centauri-Beta in 2070. She held a degree in social science, and her role was to oversee the development of a new society, and develop systems of law and order upon arrival to Centauri-Beta.
After discovering the Tenth Doctor hiding aboard the ship, Danielle took him to the control room. There, she and the Doctor learned from Heart's engineer Arnold that the mission had been set up to fail, and that the ship was going to be detonated after it completed a slingshot orbit of the Moon. The Doctor managed to rescue Danielle in his TARDIS, and took her to see Centauri-Beta. (PROSE: Total Eclipse of the Heart)