Catherine Tate is reprising her popular role in the 60th anniversary – but could she be set for tragedy?
The return of Catherine Tate as Donna Noble in the upcoming Doctor Who 60th-anniversary specials has long been cause for celebration among Whovians – but some fans are fearing the worst after the latest hint by showrunner Russell T Davies.
Responding to an Instagram post from the official Doctor Who account teasing “Doctor, danger, dancing, Donna” in the specials, Davies commented with another word beginning with the letter D: “Disaster.”
This follows on from statements he made earlier in the year, when he said that “terrible things” were in store for Donna in the future – and so it certainly looks like something tragic could well be on the cards.
And one fan of the show has put forward a theory outlining what he thinks could be set to happen, writing on Twitter: “Is Russell really going to kill Donna in the 60th specials and have the 15th Doctor visit her grave in the Christmas Special?”
Alongside the Tweet, he posted two images – a screenshot of Davies’s aforementioned Instagram comment, and a promotional still of Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor from the upcoming Christmas special.
Is Russell really going to kill Donna in the 60th specials and have the 15th Doctor visit her grave in the Christmas Special?! 💀🥺#doctorwho #drwho pic.twitter.com/s4IfJYjbir
— Jack | Nerd Den (@nerddenreal) July 30, 2023
And in a follow-up video shared to his YouTube channel – which is called Nerd Den – the fan expanded on the reasons for his theory, explaining why he thinks Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor would be upset over Donna’s potential death.
“Maybe at the end of the 60th specials, it’s unknown when she will die and maybe that she’s got some time left… and maybe we don’t even see the Fourteenth Doctor regenerate. Maybe the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna go on their own adventures for a while and then he drops her back on Earth.
“And then the first time we meet Ncuti in the Christmas special he arrives back on Earth and finds out his old friend has passed.”
Of course, as with all theories at this stage, it’s best to take this prediction with a pinch of salt, but its certainly led to some debate among the fanbase as the countdown to the specials continues.
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“Why would you put that thought in my head I can’t unthink it,” wrote one fan in response, while another added, “I hope not. It would be so depressing if Donna gets her memories back, only to die.”
A third fan posited: “I think for an anniversary, RTD wouldn’t want to alienate returning viewers so killing Donna seems unlikely. Tormented and traumatised sure, but she’ll still be alive by end of episode 3.”
But others weren’t quite so against the idea, with one fan writing: “I think for once it would be good if a companion was killed and stayed dead.”
Alas, we’ll still have to wait a few more months before we find out exactly what happens to Donna on her return to the Whoniverse – and we’re bound to see all sorts of other theories emerging before then…
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