Sunday night’s Doctor Who special The Power of the Doctor contained all sorts of nods to the show’s near 60-year history – and some fans reckon they’ve spotted another tribute hidden in a scene towards the end of the episode.
After Yaz (Mandip Gill) says her final farewell to the Thirteenth Doctor, she attends a support group for former companions – which includes recent cast members such as Bradley Walsh’s Graham and John Bishop’s Dan alongside several familiar faces from further back.
Dan, Yaz, Ace (Sophie Aldred), Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) were all present at the meeting, while there were also surprise returns for Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford), Jo Jones (Katy Manning) and Ian Chesterton (William Russell).
And fans were quick to notice that one chair had been left vacant – with many reading this as a tribute to beloved character Sarah Jane Smith, who was famously played by the late Elisabeth Sladen in both the classic and modern eras of the show.
“A chair left empty for Sarah Jane,” one fan wrote on Twitter, while another added: “don’t mind me just thinking about how the empty seat would’ve been for Sarah Jane if she was still here…” alongside a crying face emoji.
don’t mind me just thinking about how the empty seat would’ve been for sarah jane if she was still here… ???? pic.twitter.com/siw7WNOnS4
— william • doctor who spoilers (@beeeeeeaan) October 24, 2022
“They saved a seat for Sarah Jane, and I’m a crying mess !!!” a third fan wrote, with a fourth viewer commenting: “I thought the empty chair was for Sarah Jane, as it was next to Jo and she was the last person in this room to see Sarah alive.”
Meanwhile, some other fans mused that rather than being a specific reference to Sarah Jane, the chair was actually intended to symbolise all of the companions who are no longer with us – including Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) and Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling).
“My brain screams at me that it’s for all of those we’ve lost,” wrote one fan. “For Sarah Jane, for Ben, for Barbara, for Debbie. For the ones who we miss.”
Read more about Doctor Who:
- Doctor Who’s Mandip Gill “wouldn’t have wanted it to end any other way”
- Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill open to Doctor Who returns after exit
- Jodie Whittaker’s final words in Doctor Who were changed at last minute
- Doctor Who’s Sacha Dhawan: ‘I’ll never, ever forget playing the Master’
- Doctor Who’s Sacha Dhawan “overwhelmed” at getting to play the Doctor
- Doctor Who’s Sacha Dhawan would “love to come back” to face Ncuti Gatwa
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