Doctor Who is a TV show that has seen better days in terms of public opinion and viewership. The iconic sci-fi series, which is in its sixth decade, has gone through many changes, a lot of controversy over whether “wokeness” is taking over stories and casting choices, and it even became the subject of tabloid headlines surrounding the “diva” attitude of one of its stars. That star was Millie Gibson, who plays companion Ruby Sunday in the series, and according to the actress, it was a “horrific” time.
Whether it is on social media or in news headlines, when rumors begin to circulate it is hard to dampen them down. This was true of the stories surrounding Gibson after it was reported the actress had been fired from the show after just one season and would be replaced by Varada Sethu in Ncuti Gatwa’s second – and as it turned out, final – season as The Doctor. Eventually, it was confirmed by showrunner Russell T. Davies that Gibson had not been fired, and her character’s story would continue.
Speaking to The I Paper, Gibson recently addressed the reports of her behavior, recalling how she was caught in a nightmare as she could not publicly speak out about the rumors without spoiling the planned storyline of the show. She said:
“I couldn’t be like, ‘It’s a lie!’ [because] they’d be like, ‘Well, that’s spoilers. It was quite hard to stand up for myself without ruining the show. I was like, ‘Oh, this is horrific because it just looks like it’s true.’Oh, it was awful. What was frustrating was the amount of people that were like, ‘Oh, sorry, this has happened mate,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s not [happened], but thank you.’”
What Is Next for ‘Doctor Who’?
Right now, the future of Doctor Who is not exactly hanging in the balance, but there is plenty of uncertainty about where and when The Doctor will return. There is no festive special this year, and so far a new series has not been confirmed, but a spinoff miniseries, The War Between the Land and the Sea, which features the series’ UNIT team, will be released sometime in early 2026. This series will also be the final run of Doctor Who related episodes co-financed by Disney, and apparently ends the current contract between it and the BBC.
Doctor Who fans were left with the completely unexpected conclusion of the latest season of the show early this year, when Ncuti Gatwa’s previously unannounced regeneration turned him into former companion actress Billie Piper, who played Rose Tyler for several seasons alongside Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. The ending was reportedly changed at the last minute, following Gatwa’s decision to leave, and seemingly from Disney’s reluctance to continue pumping money into the series.
However, despite the uncertainty, the BBC has made it clear that Doctor Who will return and is not about to mark the 20th anniversary of its 2005 reboot with a cancellation. Fans are just going to have to be incredibly patient to see how this particular non-timey-wimey mess is going to be resolved.
- Release Date
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May 11, 2024
- Network
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BBC One
- Directors
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Alex Pillai, Peter Hoar, Ben Chessell, Julie Anne Robinson, Jamie Donoughue, Amanda Brotchie, Dylan Holmes Williams
- Writers
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Steven Moffat, Pete McTighe, Kate Herron, Inua Ellams, Juno Dawson
- Franchise(s)
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Doctor Who / Whoniverse