There are plenty of recurring themes and motifs running through this latest season of Doctor Who<\/a>, from the repeated appearance of actor Susan Twist<\/a> to the mysterious identity of The One Who Waits<\/a>, and the subject of family is another such constant.<\/p>\n Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies previously touched on this, saying:\u00a0\u201cWe saw at Christmas, there is obviously a mystery to Ruby\u2019s birth family<\/a>. She was a foundling left at a church. It is a fairy tale-like story, but it keeps following her.<\/p>\n \u201cThat story is not finished. Who is her mother? How can they possibly find out what went on? The way the Doctor ties into this is fascinating. This emotional man I\u2019ve been talking about opens up about his family in a way that he\u2019s never done before.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe left his family behind in 1963 and practically never mentioned it again. That\u2019s a man who doesn\u2019t know his family, and that is fascinating.<\/p>\n \u201cSo as his mind is focusing on that, Ruby\u2019s mind is focusing on her family. Those two stories come together in possibly the greatest finale ever committed to film, except we don\u2019t actually use film anymore! But it really is an astonishing climax.\u201d<\/p> Last week\u2019s opening double-bill, Space Babies<\/a> and The Devil\u2019s Chord<\/a>, saw the beginnings of the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) opening up to Ruby (Millie Gibson) about their own family, revealing not only that they were adopted<\/a> but also that they were a grandparent, with the fate of the Doctor\u2019s granddaughter Susan<\/a> left ambiguous.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Time Lords were murdered,\u201d the Doctor revealed. \u201cGenocide rolled across time and space like a great big cellular explosion \u2013 maybe it killed her, too.\u201d<\/p>\n This wasn\u2019t a one-off \u2013 latest episode Boom<\/a> sees another reference to the Doctor\u2019s family, as they use their status as a parent to form a bond with an AI recreation of a slain soldier. (Only in Doctor Who!)<\/p>\n The story, written by former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat<\/a>, saw the Anglican marine John Francis Vater (played by Joe Anderson) executed by military tech \u2013 but it transpires that something of the real Vater survives within his post-mortem holographic avatar, which allows the Doctor to compel Vater\u2019s \u2018soul\u2019 to aid him in a battle against the Villengard automated ambulance unit (the face of which is none other than Susan Twist\u2019s).<\/p>\n Drawing on Vater\u2019s bond with his daughter Splice (Caoilinn Springall), the Doctor urges the hologram to fight back against the ambulance, which is about to provoke a devastating explosion. \u201cDad to dad, you never let them down, right? Ever. To the end.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cDad to dad, dust to dust, am I right?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Doctor Who fans were already speculating that last week\u2019s reference to Susan could mean the character is set to reappear on the show \u2013 or even that she has some connection to Ruby and her as-yet-unrevealed birth mother \u2013 and this latest reference to the Doctor as a father is sure to only stoke those flames\u2026<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Carole Ann Ford \u2013 who played Susan on the show from 1963 to 1964 \u2013 didn\u2019t rule out a return for her character<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBonnie [Langford]\u2019s character, Mel, was last seen on a far away planet hitching a lift with Tony Selby\u2019s loveable rogue Glitz, and then suddenly turned up in 21st century London working for UNIT!\u201d she said, adding that\u00a0\u201cabsolutely anything and everything is possible\u201d in Doctor Who.<\/p>\n![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/05\/477196-c5ab72e-e1715524729367.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Joe")
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