Rose (Doctor Who episode)

"Rose" is the first episode of the first series of the revived British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The episode was directed by Keith Boak and written by Russell T Davies, who was also one of three executive producers. It was first broadcast in the UK on BBC One on 26 March 2005. "Rose" was the first Doctor Who episode to air since the Doctor Who television film in 1996.

In the episode, the London department store worker Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) gets caught in the middle of the alien time traveller the Doctor's (Christopher Eccleston) plot to prevent an invasion of the Earth by the Nestene Consciousness (voiced by Nicholas Briggs) and the Autons after the Doctor destroys Rose's workplace.

The episode marked Eccleston's first appearance as the Doctor, succeeding several other actors who played the role, and Piper's debut as the Doctor's travelling companion Rose. Two recurring characters connected to Rose were introduced: Camille Coduri as her mother, Jackie Tyler, and Noel Clarke as her boyfriend, Mickey Smith. In addition, an antagonist from the classic era of the show was reintroduced in the form of the Autons (whose last appearance was in the 1971 serial, Terror of the Autons). Viewers did not see the Doctor regenerate from a previous incarnation, a plot device allowing a new actor to portray the character. Russell T Davies felt it would be clearer for the viewer to begin the series with the new actor in place rather than show the previous actor regenerating.

Location filming principally took place in Cardiff, the headquarters of BBC Wales, in July and August 2004, with some location scenes shot in London in July. Studio work principally took place at the Unit Q2 warehouse in Newport in August and September. Model work was recorded at the BBC's Model Unit in London in September, and some additional filming was recorded in Cardiff in October and November.

"Rose" was viewed by 10.81 million viewers in the UK, making it the most viewed Doctor Who episode since The Creature from the Pit in 1979,^[1] and received positive reviews from critics, though there were some criticisms of its use of humour.