Conception

"[I]nternational woman of mystery - and part-time jewel thief"^[1] Lady Christina de Souza has "a mysterious past" according to writer Russell T Davies.^[5] Davies goes on to state that Lady Christina has "a huge impact on the Doctor" when they meet in "Planet of the Dead".^[5] Lady Christina "loves extremes" according to actress Michelle Ryan whom identifies with her character in this regard.^[1]Ryan asserts that Lady Christina is "an adrenaline junkie" and "is very sassy and charismatic" and that she is "in it purely for the thrill of it and for herself and for the adventure [...] always chasing the next high".^[6] Ryan describes Lady Christina as a "really fun, really cool character" and notes that there is a "chemistry between the Doctor and Christina".^[6] The director of "Planet of the Dead", James Strong, describes the romance between Lady Christina and the Doctor as "a good old fashioned flirt".^[2]

Asked what kind of companion Ryan makes, Strong stated;

It's back to basics – she's probably more of a traditional, romantic kind of Thomas Crown Affair kind of heroine [...] whereas Catherine Tateplaying Donna was a bit more of a best mate. It echoes to me of Rose, in that there may be a good old fashioned romantic connection between them. She's young, she's beautiful, she's sexy, but whereas Rose was a very ordinary, normal girl, Lady Christina is a lady, she comes from a very privileged, very elite background. She's different to any of the companions we've ever had in that she doesn't particularly want to get caught up with the Doctor. She's got her own thing going on, so she's very much a match for the Doctor and very much an equal. Often in an adventure the Doctor will take control and everyone will do what he says. She's very much in control – the two of them are in a sparring way, battling against each other to get through this adventure.^[2]

[edit]Character history

Lady Christina is a bored aristocrat who takes to burglary for the excitement it provides. Pursued by the police after stealing a pricelessmedieval drinking cup from the International Gallery in London, Lady Christina boards a bus moments before it unexpectedly enters a wormholeand is transported to the alien planet San Helios. She teams up with fellow passenger the Doctor to fend off alien predators and find a way back to Earth.^[3][7][8] Ryan asserts the adventure provides "a real journey for Christina because [...] the Doctor [...] makes her realise that she can use her a lot of her skills as being part of a team as oppose to just being off for herself".^[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Christina_de_Souza.jpg