Doctor Who star Billie Piper reveals how she would have changed Rose Tyler's ending and ultimate exit from the show. Piper first portrayed the Ninth Doctor's (Christopher Eccleston) companion in season 1 of the revived series, staying with the show as David Tennant took over the lead role as the Tenth Doctor in season 2, before exiting the series in "Doomsday". Piper returned as Rose in the two-part season 4 finale, "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End", where she reunited with the Tenth Doctor to put a stop to a Dalek plot that could have spelled the end of reality itself, before parting ways once more.
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Piper opened up about her feelings on her ultimate exit from Doctor Who and revealed the one key detail that she would change about Rose's fate. While the star praised now returning showrunner Russell T Davies' work, Piper stated that she would prefer that Rose left the show with Tennant's Doctor, rather than the part-human Meta-Crisis Doctor (also portrayed by Tennant) on the "Pete's World" parallel Earth. Check out Piper's full explanation below:
"[I would change] the Doctor Who ending where I [as Rose Tyler] go off with the second Doctor instead of the real Doctor to the parallel universe. It’s not a criticism of [showrunner] Russell T Davies, because he is the master, but I struggled with that. Mainly because the second Doctor is less good than the real one!"
What Happened To Rose After Her Doctor Who Exit?
Though "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End" wrapped up both Rose's story arc and brought many threads of Davies' original Doctor Who tenure to a close, the character did make a number of appearances following her return to Bad Wolf Bay on "Pete's World". The Tenth Doctor visited Rose before she'd meet his ninth incarnation in 2004 as part of his farewell to his former companions in 2010's "The End of Time Part 2". Piper also returned to the series as The Moment, a sentient Time Lord weapon that takes on the image of Rose as the "Bad Wolf" in the 50th Anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor". The Moment took on Rose's image in hopes that using her appearance could convince John Hurt's War Doctor to not use the weapon to destroy Gallifrey at the end of the Time War.
While "The Day of the Doctor" marked Piper's last television appearance in the series, Doctor Who's expanded media has explored the character's further independent adventures on "Pete's World". In 2019, Big Finish Productions began producing a series of audio dramas starring Piper in the "Rose Tyler" series, exploring the characters' journeys across alternate realities to reach the Doctor in "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End". Rose returned in the 2021 comic miniseries, "Empire of the Wolf", where she joined forces with Paul McGann's Eight Doctor and Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor to face the Sontarans and an alternate intergalactic conqueror version of herself. In the miniseries, it is revealed that Rose and the Meta-Crisis Doctor, who has since taken on the name "John Smith", started a family together on the parallel Earth, and are raising a daughter named Mia.
Rose Tyler is one of Doctor Who's most recognizable and beloved companions, with Piper's performance helping the series reintroduce itself to audiences after being absent from television screens for 16 years. As a newcomer to the Doctor's lifestyle, Rose acted as an audience surrogate that allowed viewers to slowly be introduced to the show, but gradually grew into a fully developed character as the series explored her home life and past. With Piper open to a Rose spin-off series return, it is clear that she is still invested in the long-running sci-fi series. As such, with Piper suggesting a different ending for Rose Tyler, many dedicated fans may imagine how Doctor Who could have been different had Rose stayed with Tennant's Doctor rather than staying on the alternate world.
Source: Buzzfeed