Madame De Pompadour

Played by Sophia Myles

"A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction. Oh, Doctor. My lonely Doctor. Dance with me"

First Regular Appearance

The Girl in the Fireplace

Known colloquially as ‘Reinette’, Madame de Pompadour – real name Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson – was a member of the French royal court in the 18th century. She was the chief mistress of King Louis XV and is remembered as his valued political advisor as well as a hugely influential patron of the arts.

The Tenth Doctor first met Reinette after climbing through a fireplace he found on a spaceship. The fireplace was a gateway into the young Madame de Pompadour’s bedroom, where a terrifying Clockwork Droid was hiding under her bed. After destroying the Droid, the Doctor retreated through the fireplace, but did not realise that this meant he would not see Reinette again until much later in her life – popping up at various points months and years later from her perspective, but only moments from his.

On her 37th birthday, the Doctor saved Reinette from the Droids again, and subsequently asked her to travel with him. But due to the time differential between the spaceship and Reinette’s world, the two were heartbreakingly parted for good when she died at a young age. Her final letter to the Doctor ended with the words, ‘Godspeed, my lonely angel’.