Donna's costume initially involved short skirts, tight-fitting tops, multi-coloured hair extensions and a nose-stud. Jacobs, who affected a Bristolian accent for the role, commented that Donna had "no sense of what she should keep covered up." A size 12, Jacobs was not pressured to lose weight for the role, and considered Donna's figure "part of her loveable charm". In early episodes, the character was seen to partake in recreational drug use and arrive for work hungover. Jacobs described her as "everything that you secretly want to be, but can't get away with in normal society", calling her "very gregarious" and immune to maturing. "The Guardian" Grace Dent deemed her "weak-willed" in a 2006 feature on television medics, and in 2008, the "Daily Mirror" Jane Simon branded her unintelligent.