My pitch for how to deal with the Billie Piper Doctor when Doctor Who returns:
I’d start with the 17th Doctor and halfway through the season they are still struggling to get along with their companion. At some point the Doctor opens up and explains that they once got so close to someone their subconscious caused them to regenerate with their face. It was highly traumatic. They talk about Rose briefly in a way that makes sense to a completely new audience. Kind of like the time war. They just have to explain this is someone they loved very deeply and will always miss. They don’t even have to say her name. The new companion says they can’t take Rose’s place but they can be a new sort of friend. And that they want to forge their own unique relationship with the Doctor. They encourage the Doctor to talk about Rose when they need to rather than push the memory down in a way that will cause it to erupt later (these discussions don’t have to happen onscreen at all). They bond over it and get closer. New companion suggests the Doctor learn to control their regenerations better and the Doctor finally does just that because they understand it is a valuable skill. They learn to control their regenerations like Romana and the next face is a choice and not random.
(Edit: fixed the run on sentence)
