What could it mean?!
It’s official – Doctor Who’s Tales of the TARDIS is returning for a special episode with the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson)
Six episodes of the spin-off were released last year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, starring classic Doctors including Sylvester McCoy, Peter Davison and Colin Baker, and fan-favourite companions from over the years in emotional additional scenes to iconic Doctor Who stories.
The new episode will air at 8pm on Thursday 20th June on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer – so shortly before the finale episode of season 14.
Very few details about the casting and plot have been released thus far – only that Gatwa and Gibson will make their debut in the episode.
So why is a new episode being released now? So far, Tales of the TARDIS episodes have book-ended classic Doctor Who stories with new scenes – so does that mean we’ll see the return of a character from a classic story?
One theory is that the villain Sutekh will return. Sutekh first appeared in the 1975 Tom Baker story The Pyramids of Mars. The god-like alien, played by Gabriel Woolf, sought to destroy all life in the cosmos.
Showrunner Russell T Davies has been clear that this season features a “legion” of “godlike characters” after the Toymaker’s (Neil Patrick Harris) appearance in the 60th anniversary specials. We’ve already seen Jinkx Monsoon’s Maestro but it seems very likely that there’ll be more – and with a new episode of Tales of the TARDIS, it would make sense that there’s a classic Doctor Who connection.
Another theory is that the Doctor’s granddaughter and the first ever companion, Susan Foreman, could return. First played by Carole Ann Ford, Susan appeared in the first ever season of Doctor Who but, unlike other classic companions, hasn’t had a recent return – could now be the time?
After all, Susan was referenced clearly in The Devil’s Chord, and the Doctor has mentioned his family a significant amount this season.
Plus, Davies recently teased that the Doctor will “open up” about his long-lost family this season. Could that be because he’s reunited with one of them?
What we do know is that the Remembered TARDIS, which featured in Tales of the TARDIS, will appear in the main show as it’s been spotted in the trailer.
One thing’s for sure – we’ll definitely be seated and ready to watch the new episode.
Tales of the TARDIS returns on Thursday 20th June at 8pm on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer. Doctor Who continues on Saturdays on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.