A new clip goes into the mysterious character’s inner monologue.

By Louise Griffin

Published: Tuesday, 16 January 2024 at 13:47 PM


Since Doctor Who‘s Christmas special The Church on Ruby Road aired, everyone has been clamouring to find out more about the mysterious Mrs Flood, played by Anita Dobson – and now we have some new details to share!

During the special, Mrs Flood was introduced as Ruby’s (Millie Gibson) neighbour – but the mid-credits scene revealed that there’s more to her than meets the eye.

As the TARDIS de-materialised, she chuckled at neighbour Abdul’s (Hemi Yeroham) incredulity, before turning to the camera and asking: “Never seen a TARDIS before?”

While we’re still in the dark about who exactly Mrs Flood is, the audiobook of The Church on Ruby Road adds some detail to that scene – including a bit of Mrs Flood’s amused inner monologue.

A clip exclusively shared with RadioTimes.com describes Mrs Flood’s reaction to seeing the TARDIS vanish with Ruby inside: “Across the road, Mrs Flood nodded, smiling to herself, and stood up, folding her chair and tucking it under one arm. ‘Enough excitement for one day,’ she thought.”

Hemi Yeroham as Abdul and Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood in Doctor Who.
BBC Studios/James Pardon

It goes on to describe Abdul’s “bewildered” reaction and adds that Mrs Flood “tried not to let her amusement show on her face”.

The audiobook adds: “Mrs Flood just waved a hand. She and Abdul rarely saw eye to eye, but she liked him really. ‘Oh, merry Christmas, Abdul,’ she tutted. ‘Stop making such a fuss!’”

It continues: “When he was gone, Mrs Flood allowed a sly smile to break out over her face. ‘What?’ she whispered to herself when he was safely out of earshot. ‘Never seen a TARDIS before?!’”

Much like the Christmas special, the audiobook clip ends there, on a major cliffhanger. But it does mean we’ve got a tiny bit more information about Mrs Flood’s mysterious – but playful – character.

There are plenty of theories about who Mrs Flood might be and what exactly she knows about the TARDIS, but Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies revealed that we might not find out for quite a while.

Speaking on Doctor Who: Unleashed, showrunner Davies said: “Mrs Flood is a mysterious character. You will eventually find out more about her. She’s a slow burn, Mrs Flood. Who is Mrs Flood? Come back and find out!”

Dobson, meanwhile, wasn’t giving anything away, saying: “Today, what you see is a friendly neighbour. What the future may be, no one knows. Russell is writing it as we speak.”

After Unleashed host Steffan Powell suggested she could end up being an evil genius, Dobson mused: “I might, I might not…”

Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road audiobook, narrated by Angela Wynter, will be published by BBC Books on 25th January. You can pre-order on Audible.

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