Sylvia Noble (née Mott) was the mother of Donna Noble.
Biography
Early life
Sylvia Mott was born on 5 March (PROSE: Rose) to Wilfred and Eileen Mott. (TV: Partners in Crime; PROSE: Beautiful Chaos) As a child, Sylvia was never shouted at by her father. (PROSE: In the Blood) She married Geoff Noble circa 1970 (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos) and had a daughter named Donna. (TV: The Runaway Bride)
When Donna was six, Sylvia refused to take her on holiday, prompting her to get on a bus and go on her own to Strathclyde. After realising that Donna was missing, they called the police. (TV: Partners in Crime) Sylvia bought Donna a bottle of Odeur Delaware as a gift Christmas gift in 2001. (COMIC: The Widow's Curse)
On 25 June 2007, she insisted that Donna apply to work as Jival Chowdry's secretary, as Sylvia knew him, rather than working as a temp at H.C. Clements. Donna refused, and got a job at H.C. Clements. (TV: Turn Left) She would later reminisce about how she had seen ghosts that year. (AUDIO: Wild Pastures)
Early alien encounters
Sylvia dismissed the widely-held belief that the Cybermen were ghosts, never having believed in them. (AUDIO: Wild Pastures; TV: Army of Ghosts)
On 24 December 2007, Sylvia attended her daughter's unsuccessful wedding to Lance Bennett. She witnessed Donna disappear from the church and later received a phone call from her saying that she was "on Earth", which Sylvia did not find amusing. She attended the wedding reception, where she was reunited with Donna. However, the party was soon attacked by Robot Santas and killer Christmas trees. Later, Sylvia and Geoff returned home and embraced near their Christmas tree while Donna and the Tenth Doctor spoke outside; although Donna invited him in for Christmas dinner, as Sylvia always cooked enough food for twenty people every year, the Doctor declined. (TV: The Runaway Bride [+]Loading...["The Runaway Bride (TV story)"])
Sylvia voted for Harold Saxon's party in the general election (PROSE: Judge, Jury and Executioner) and let Donna return to live with her, believing that it would only be for a few weeks. (TV: Partners in Crime)
Sylvia had a difficult year after Geoff died in a filling station on 15 May. They had been married for thirty-eight years. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos)
In the 2000s, Sylvia went out to De Rossi's Wine Bar with Suzette Chambers and the "Wednesday girls", where Suzette started producing Adipose infants. Along with other passers-by, Sylvia saw the nursery ship picking up and taking away the infant creatures. (TV: Partners in Crime)
During Donna's travels
Sylvia remained unaware for some time of Donna's travels with the Tenth Doctor, as she chose to keep it a secret from her, only telling Wilf. She met the Doctor again just before she saved her father from suffocating in her car thanks to ATMOS by smashing the front window with an axe. She made it clear that she did not like him, blaming him for what happened at the wedding, and thought he had "blown up the car" upon activating the ATMOS placed in it. (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky)
Sylvia joined the Doctor in his investigations into the Wild Pastures Rest Home after he arrived at the house looking for Wilf, insisting that she go with him instead after seeing the nursing home's brochure which promised a tranquil holiday. She was checked in as a resident and lost track of time, believing that the Doctor disappeared for only a day rather than a week. She realised that something was happening to herself and the other patients, learning that their memories and life experiences were being harvested by a Sarga plant. She sprayed the harvested life essences into the clone nurses and killed the plant with weed killer, something that she chose to keep secret from the Doctor. (AUDIO: Wild Pastures)
When Donna returned after the trauma of the Library, Sylvia attempted to return Donna to her old self by reacquainting her with her old school friend Natalie Morrison, signing them both up for One's no Fun speed-dating, despite knowing that Nat was married to Garrison Lord. (AUDIO: Out of this World)
Unaware that Donna had been replaced with a duplicate as part of the Collectors' invasion of Earth, Sylvia was impressed with how she had turned her life around and got a job mapping trends in big data. The real Donna had been captured by aliens with Nat and was trying to return to Chiswick in the TARDIS. (AUDIO: Spinvasion, The Sorcerer of Albion, The Chiswick Cuckoos)
Sylvia and Wilf appeared on Haunted Makeovers alongside the Doctor and Donna, who were investigating the haunting of Morley Mansion. She had to pretend to be the Doctor's "mother-in-law". (AUDIO: No Place)
Medusa Cascade incident
When the Earth was moved to the Medusa Cascade, Wilf warned Sylvia to stay indoors, as it was always "the women" that the aliens wanted. Regardless, she went out with Wilf and witnessed the Daleks' killing of an entire family in their own house. They were almost killed by a Dalek themselves, but were saved by Rose Tyler who blew it up. As Rose was looking for Donna, the Nobles took her home where they watched the Sub-Wave Network broadcast, unable to participate as Sylvia disapproved of webcams. Sylvia and Wilf contributed to the Sub-Wave signal using their mobile phones. (TV: The Stolen Earth)
Sylvia was relieved when the Earth was returned to the solar system. She was resentful of the Doctor for wiping Donna's mind following the Human-Time Lord Meta-Crisis and asked him to leave the house when he brought her. After these events, she had a much healthier relationship with her daughter, as in her eyes, Donna was still the "most important woman in the universe". (TV: Journey's End)
Later life
Sylvia and Wilf did not mention the Doctor to Donna per his instructions. Sylvia saw him again at Christmas when he was chasing the Saxon Master. Like the rest of humanity, she became a member of the Master Race for a time, after which she watched as Gallifrey appeared and disappeared in the sky. She finally accepted the Doctor, praying for his help when Gallifrey appeared, and smiled at him when he returned Wilf home. At Donna and Shaun Temple's wedding, the Doctor gave her a winning lottery ticket to give to Donna, having been purchased with £1 lent to him by Geoff. (TV: The End of Time)
Sylvia met Lady Christina de Souza and was proud to be welcomed by aristocracy. The two went to a party for the Amber. (AUDIO: Skin Deep) She later met River Song, who asked her, Wilf, the other companions' mothers Jackie Tyler and Francine Jones to talk about their history with the Doctor. (PROSE: Judge, Jury and Executioner)
Sylvia later became a grandmother, when Donna had her own daughter, Rose.
When the Fourteenth Doctor returned to the Noble family, Sylvia became "frantic with worry", knowing that Donna's life was at risk. (PROSE: We Are Family [+]Loading...{"page":"35","1":"We Are Family (short story)"}) After Donna safely regained her memories, Sylvia agreed to let her go on one last trip with the Doctor, albeit reluctantly, to see Wilf. However, Sylvia, Rose and Shaun watched in fear as the TARDIS suddenly uncontrollably dematerialised and took off. (TV: The Star Beast)
During the threat from the Toymaker, Wilf had Sylvia and the others bunker down while he waited for the Doctor and Donna to return. (TV: Wild Blue Yonder [+]Loading...["Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)"])
Having retired on Earth following his bi-generation, the Doctor attended a family dinner with the Nobles and Mel Bush, jokingly referring to Sylvia as the evil stepmother of his adoptive family. (TV: The Giggle [+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])
Other realities
Donna's World
In a parallel world, Sylvia's hectoring Donna to work for Jival Chowdry succeeded. Donna never went to work at H.C. Clements and the circumstances which led to her meeting the Doctor never occurred; as a result of this, the Doctor didn't survive his encounter with the Racnoss and various catastrophes he had stopped in the original timeline weren't averted.
Sylvia despaired when her husband Geoff Noble became ill and died. While at a hotel for a Christmas country holiday, Sylvia told her daughter how Donna's father would have loved the place they were staying in. Before long, (as the Doctor wasn't alive to prevent it as in the original timeline) the Titanic crashed into London and obliterated it, killing everyone in the city. The Nobles were forced to move to Leeds, where a huge relocation scheme was running. Southern England was flooded with radiation and conditions became much harsher as Donna and her family shared a house with Rocco Colasanto's family. Sylvia slipped deeper and deeper into depression, thinking each day of someone she knew in London who was now dead, although she managed to occasionally do things like joining in group singing of "Bohemian Rhapsody". As Sylvia's depression worsened, Donna asked if she had always been a disappointment in her mother's eyes, and Sylvia just answered, "Yeah".
This version of Sylvia was erased from history when Donna's parallel timeline was negated. (TV: Turn Left)
Personality
Sylvia was bossy. She liked things her way and was rarely tactful, often insulting or condescending when speaking to her father or daughter. She seemed depressed after her husband's death and did not act as if she valued the rest of her family very much. In particular, the Doctor asserted that she had been neglectful to Donna, never telling her she was important or special, and contributing to Donna developing an inferiority complex, viewing herself as "just a temp". (TV: Journey's End)
She tended to be very practical and had a hard time believing in aliens, even when presented with very obvious encounters. (TV: The Stolen Earth)
Sylvia deeply mistrusted and disliked the Doctor due to his actions at Donna's wedding to Lance. (TV: The Runaway Bride) She was similarly annoyed when the Doctor reprimanded her for her neglectful attitude towards Donna, kicking him out of the house in response. However, her attitude towards him later changed. She prayed for his help when Gallifrey appeared in the sky. His saving the world again apparently changed her attitude towards him as she gave him a smile when he returned Wilfred home and was very nice to him at Donna's second wedding, even being deeply touched by his actions to help them out. (TV: The End of Time) When the Fourteenth Doctor came, Sylvia was concerned about his presence due to the threat to Donna's safety. However, she was also more accepting and happy to see him. After Beep the Meep's defeat and the safe return of Donna's memories, Sylvia joyfully told the Doctor that Wilf would be impressed, which she claimed was the highest compliment she could ever give. She was reluctant to let Donna go on a final trip with the Doctor, but ultimately conceded as it made Donna happy, and it was just to see Wilf. (TV: The Star Beast) When the Doctor chose to retire on Earth, Sylvia accepted him into the family and good-naturedly responded to the Doctor calling her the evil stepmother. (TV: The Giggle [+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])
Behind the scenes
- The setting of the present day of Donna Noble's family in series 4 of Doctor Who is inconsistent, and their later appearance in the Christmas Special and New Year Special The End of Time is not dated at all. In the television story The Fires of Pompeii, Donna mentions the Doctor saving her in 2008. In the novel Beautiful Chaos, set between the television stories The Poison Sky and The Stolen Earth, a newspaper at a newsagent gives the date as Friday 15 May 2009. During an in-universe episode of The Blue Box Files in the audio story SOS, Abby McPhail describes the events of the television story Partners in Crime as taking place in 2008.