Doctor Who
Summary
Doctor Whohas attempted to clear up the comrade discombobulation fence in time of year 15 , and while that goal has been partly achieved , the update raises more questions than it answers . After first encountering each other during the 2023 Christmas special , the upcomingDoctor Whoseason 14will lead Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday , but doubt over Gibson ’s presence inDoctor Who ’s castbeyond time of year 14 uprise when her departure was reported in January 2024 and Varada Sethu was named as her replacement .
It now seems that Ruby Sunday will survive to see Monday , as the BBC has officially confirmedVarada Sethu will bring together the TARDIS forDoctor Whoseason 15 , but as an extra fellow traveller , not Gibson ’s replacement . Taken at fount value , this announcement appears reassuring enough , assuaging headache that Ruby Sunday ’s story will be cut light due to Gibson leave . Looking profoundly , however , and the revelation that Ncuti Gatwa will have two companions inDoctor Whoseason 15 raise new questions all of its own .
medico Who has been a fixture on TV screens for 60 years , meaning there are plenty of stories to prefer from when find fault out the Time Lord ’s good .
Doctor Who Season 15’s TARDIS Team Breaks An RTD Companion Rule
RTD Has Typically Avoided Multiple Doctor Who Companions
For starters , Doctor Whoseason 15 have two full - time fellow traveller give away an oral rule of Russell T Davies’Doctor Who . Previously , RTD adhered clean bolt to the single fellow traveller formatting , with Rose , then Martha , then Donna . The likes of Captain Jack Harkness would souse in and out , but RTD ’s original earned run average ofDoctor Whoonly ever had one full - time companion in the TARDIS at any founder moment . The new message from the BBC very powerfully positions Gatwa , Gibson , and Sethu as a moderate tercet of principal characters , and that represents a big digression from RTD ’s usualDoctor Whosetup .
RTD spearhead the conception ofDoctor Whocompanions as important , central character , and one of the ways he achieved that was by ignoring the notion of a TARDIS " team . "
expect RTD to do everything exactly as he did in 2005 is wasted ( although perhaps not , judging by the number of return faces on and offscreen ) but the lone companion format did serve a distinct purpose . Doctor Whocompanions of the classic erawere write infamously thinly . Far from the fully - formed companionsDoctor Whopeddles today , their harbinger could number themselves golden if they had two property . begin with Billie Piper ’s Rose , RTD spearheaded the concept ofDoctor Whocompanions as authoritative , central characters , and one of the style he accomplish that was by ignoring the whimsy of a TARDIS " team . "
Custom image by Simone Ashmoore
One point regarding RTD ’s role in Doctor Who season 14 not only break a long - running streak , it ’s cause for worry head up into the show ’s new era .
Whether it was Rose and the Tenth Doctor ’s passion tale , Martha and the Tenth Doctor ’s non - love story , or Donna and the Tenth Doctor ’s wonderful " partner in offence " friendship , focusing on one Doctor / familiar dynamic at a time served RTD’sDoctor Whoera well . abandon that for Ruby Sunday and Varada Sethu ’s as - yet - unidentified character in time of year 15 would , at the very least , involve majuscule risk .
Ruby Sunday’s Role In Doctor Who Season 14 Now Looks More Confusing
How Will Doctor Who Season 14 Handle Ruby’s Story Now?
At nerve economic value , it would seem that reports ofMillie Gibson’sDoctor Whoexitwere simply inaccurate . Again , however , there is more to moot here . The news was first reported by the UK’sDaily Mirrornewspaper , then later confirmed byVariety . The study also - accurately , as it turns out - named Varada Sethu asDoctor Whoseason 15 ’s new companion .
After Gibson’sDoctor Whodeparture was reported , Ncuti Gatwa himself posted a messageof support on his societal media . Gatwa did not recognize the rumors explicitly , but certainly seemed to be responding in a tacit way . to boot , on - fix photos emerged in January 2024 showing Varada Sethu shooting scenes alongside Gatwa forDoctor Whoseason 14 , and Millie Gibson was not present .
Doctor Whoseason 14 is being commercialize as " season 1 " ( and season 15 as " time of year 2 " )
The latest Doctor Who series introduces the Fifteenth Doctor, joined by new companion Ruby Sunday.
All of this could have a simple explanation . Gatwa ’s social spiritualist post may have been a straight show of love as Gibson became the subject of rumors , and the leaked solidification photos may be taken from a scene Ruby Sunday was n’t scripted to look in . Whatever the case , Doctor Who ’s dual - companion announcement affirm a firmness has now been found , although whether the plan was always for the Fifteenth Doctor to have an additional familiar alongside Ruby Sunday in time of year 15 stay unreadable .
UPDATE : Russell T Davies has now confirm reports ofMillie Gibson’sDoctor Whoexitwere only hearsay .
Gibson ’s corroborate return inDoctor Whoseason 15 means some of those mysteries may now grumble on and viewers will hold back longer for answers .
The more important question is what this narrative of doubtfulness mean forRuby Sunday ’s story inDoctor Whoseason 14 . Previously , it appeared that the approaching episode " The Legend of Ruby Sunday " would settle most of the enigma surrounding Millie Gibson ’s character - her stemma , her neighbour , the cloaked char , etc . - then Ruby would be write out of the show , closing that chapter of the Fifteenth Doctor ’s journey for good . Gibson ’s confirmed paying back inDoctor Whoseason 15 stand for some of those mysteries may now rumble on and viewers will expect longer for response .
It will also be interesting to see whetherDoctor Whoseason 14 end with the Doctor and Ruby taunt off in the TARDIS towards their next adventure , or whether Ruby ’s portion will be impart somewhat ambiguous . The originalDaily Mirrorreport revealing Gibson ’s exit stipulate that the actress would not appear in 2024 ’s Christmas special , but would make a " handful of appearance across Ncuti ’s second series as the Doctor during 2025 . " The BBC ’s spatial relation powerfully states that Gibson and Sethu will both be companions inDoctor Whoseason 15 . " The Legend of Ruby Sunday " may contain a occult spin that realise Ruby ’s future role clearer .
Doctor Who’s New Companion Pairing Must Avoid The Most Obvious Misstep
Can Doctor Who’s Two Companions Coexist?
The TARDIS pairing of Millie Gibson and Varada Sethu inDoctor Whoseason 15 is an unusual one - both in compare to the forward-looking series and the classical years . The Doctor is , at this full point , renowned for recruiting young woman and girls from Earth as associate , despite having all of clock time and place to take from . What is rarefied , however , is for the Doctor to have two at a time .
Ruby Sunday is an archetypal modernDoctor Whocompanion - youthful , strong - willed , slightly mysterious , thinking and rum , distaff , carrying unfulfilled potential , and from Earth . Ruby ’s grapheme is hack from the same fabric as Rose , Martha , Amy , Clara , Bill , and Yaz . The challenge forseason 15 will be making Varada Sethu’sDoctor Whocharactercompletely different from Ruby Sunday . If her character also adheres to the same standard forward-looking fellow traveller mould , the TARDIS may not be vainglorious enough for both of them .
This is not an obstacleDoctor Whohas needed to master before , ordinarily bank on broader factors such as years and backstory to differentiate between companions . Dan being an older , more experienced figure compared to Yaz directly arrange him apart , ensuring Thirteen ’s last two companions had very different voices and roles in the TARDIS . The same was true of Bradley Walsh ’s Graham , while Nardole not hailing from present - day Earth made him all unlike Bill , and Ian and Barbara being Susan ’s schoolteachers made them distinct from the Doctor ’s granddaughter .
RTD ’s Tegan and Nyssa romance did n’t have in Jodie Whittaker ’s finale , but a Modern physician Who episode hint at a romantic reunion for the couple .
The closest equivalent would be Tegan and Nyssa from the Fifth Doctor ’s time . This pair , however , were separated as eccentric by Nyssa ’s unequalled extraterrestrial line , as she hail from Traken . to boot , Nyssa ’s intelligence was closer to the Doctor ’s , spend a penny her an entirely different fellow traveller than Tegan , and allow them to each occupy their own individual blank in the narrative . Doctor Whoseason 15 could repeat this strategy to figure out its own companion quandary , giving either Ruby or Varada Sethu ’s character an redundant - terrene backstoryin order to understandably define their respective roles in the show .
Doctor Whoseason 14 premiere May 10 on Disney+ and May 11 on iPlayer .
The latest Doctor Who serial put in the Fifteenth Doctor , join by raw fellow traveller Ruby Sunday .
