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Warning: spoilers ahead for Doctor Who's "Joy to the World."

Ruby Sunday's brief return to Doctor Who gives an idea of what the future has in store for Millie Gibson's character. Debuting in 2023's Christmas special, "The Church on Ruby Road," Ruby Sunday served as the sole companion opposite Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor throughout Doctor Who season 14. Given how much mystery was woven around the identity of Ruby Sunday's mother, Doctor Who looked deeply invested in its new companion, but surprise reports later claimed Gibson would be replaced by Varada Sethu for Doctor Who season 15.

Sure enough, Doctor Who season 14 ended with Ruby exiting the Tardis after reuniting with her long-lost mother. 2024's Christmas special, "Joy to the World," finds the Fifteenth Doctor operating alone, solemnly preoccupied with thoughts of Ruby - making two drinks instead of one, staring longingly at the telephone, etc. - throughout the episode.

They say necessity is the mother of invention. In the new crime drama Curfew, viewers are presented with a world where one perceived necessity has led to quite an invention—and imagination is required to truly conceive what such a society would look like.

The show takes place in a future UK where, in response to violence against women, all men are now under a nightly electronic curfew and tagging system. Those are the basic facts of the plot premise, but like any good speculative fiction, Curfew aims to transport us deeper into this imagined world, raise thoughtful questions, and spark meaningful discussion.

Leading the way is seasoned detective Pamela Green, who must investigate when a murder breaks the one rule of this heavily policed system. Played by the skilled Sarah Parish, Pam is convinced only a man could be responsible for such a brutal crime. But with all males confined after dark,...

It’s been almost been 20 years since Doctor Who was revived for a new audience, and the show has brought us lots of Christmas and New Years specials since then. Although Christopher Eccleston rang in this new era with his Ningth Doctor in 2005, David Tennant's Tenth Doctor was the first to star in a holiday special.

We're going to rank every holiday special of the New Who era, including the New Years specials produced during Jodie Whittaker's run as the Thirteenth Doctor. Let's begin!

Bradley Walsh as Graham, Mandip Gill as Yaz, Tosin Cole as Ryan - Doctor Who Special 2020: Revolution Of The Daleks - Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/Bbca 17. "Resolution" — 2019

The Doctor: Jodie Whitaker, the Thirteenth Doctor

Director: Chris Chibnall

While “Resolution” is certainly a visually impressive episode, it's dragged down by a lack of urgency and imagination. This is the first time we see Thirteen meet Daleks.

Jodie Whittaker returns to Doctor Who through Big Finish audio dramas, offering a chance to fix unresolved storylines from her on-screen adventures. Thirteen & Yaz's teased romance was left unresolved in Whittaker's tenure, but the audio dramas can provide closure and rewrite their dynamic. Big Finish has a history of finishing unfinished Doctor Who stories, giving actors a second chance to rewrite their characters' endings.

After saying goodbye to her iconic Doctor Who character in 2022s The Power of the Doctor, Jodie Whittaker has finally signed on to return to the show through the Big Finish audio dramas. This exciting news will be a perfect opportunity for the writers to fix some of the issues that arose during the actress final on-screen adventure, during which the Doctor was killed by the Master and subsequently regenerated. Jodie Whittaker was among several actors to play Doctor Whos protagonist, and while her...

This Time Next Year tells the story of Minnie and Quinn, two people born just minutes apart on New Year’s Day 1990 in the same London hospital. Directed by Nick Moore, it stars Sophie Cookson as Minnie and Lucien Laviscount as Quinn. Released in 2024, the movie is an adaptation of Sophie Cousens’ novel of the same name.

Minnie has always felt cursed by her birthday, with bad luck following her year after year. She runs a pie business in north London but struggles to find success. Quinn, on the other hand, has lived a charmed life thanks to his birthday.

He comes from wealth, as his family won a sizable prize for having the first baby of the new year. The two protagonists cross paths by chance one New Year’s Eve after Minnie has another run of misfortune. Though they come from very different worlds, a friendship forms that...

Post-2005 Doctor Who main TV-show companions. That’s the first qualifier to add to the following list. For now at least, we’re celebrating only the Nu-Who main companions who had their own proper stint travelling in the Tardis, or any of the many wonderful actors who preceded them in the classic era.

Now that the rationale has been set out, join us to round up some of the best after-Who roles from the likes of Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, Catherine Tate, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Jenna Coleman, Pearl Mackie, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole. It’s too early to add Millie Gibson to this gang but look out for her in rebooted period drama The Forsyte Saga when it arrives.

Billie Piper – Suzie in I Hate Suzie (2020)

Thanks to her teen pop career and personal life, Billie Piper was already a famous name in the UK before she played Rose Tyler,...

Jodie Whittaker looks back on the Thirteenth Doctor and Yasmin's relationship, calling it treasured, impactful, and beautifully developed. Yaz's personal growth in the Tardis helped her find her true self despite the Doctor's reluctance to start a romantic relationship. The Thirteenth Doctor & Yaz's bond resonated with fans, and Whittaker is grateful to still see its impact today.

Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker looks back on the relationship between the Thirteenth Doctor and Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill). Gill's companion debuted in Whittaker's first story and remained by the Doctor's side until her final adventure in 2022's "The Power of the Doctor." During their adventures, Yaz began to develop feelings for the Time Lord and even came out in 2022's New Year Special,"Eve of the Daleks," though the Doctor would be reluctant to take things further.

Over a year and a half after Whittaker's final on-screen Doctor Who adventure, the...

As much as classic Doctor Who fans hate to admit it, romantic tension between the Doctor and their companions is part of the formula. Eight was a dashing lead alongside Grace Holloway, Ten and Rose’s love story has been well documented, while Fifteen’s flirtation with almost-companion Rogue has us hoping that Jonathan Groff will board the Tardis again. And heck, long-time Whovians know all about the behind-the-scenes marriage of Four and Romana II.

So it’s understandable that some fans feel a bit of disappointment about the way things ended up between Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor and Yaz, her most consistent companion. Despite the clear attraction between the two, Thirteen regenerated into David Tennant’s Fourteen before they could act on their feelings.

Whittaker has a message for those longing for more pining between the Doctor and Yaz: “[N]ever say never! We’ve got adventures to do.

Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill are back as the Thirteenth Doctor and Yasmin Khan for a series of Doctor Who audio advenures for Big Finish.

Big Finish has been recording new stories with various incarnations of The Doctor since 1999 – in fact, to celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary, Big Finish is releasing a special edition of its first ever story, Sirens Of Time. There was also huge excitement in 2020 when the notoriously reticent Christopher Eccleston reprised his role as the Ninth Doctor on audio.

Jodie Whittaker has spoken at length in interviews about how much she loved her time on the show and how she would jump at the chance to go back.

Big Finish has confirmed that, in partnership with BBC Studios, Whittaker and Mandip Gill – who played her companion Yasmin Khan – will reprise their roles for a series of 12 hour-long audio adventures, the first of which will be released in July 2025.

Whittaker said,...

Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill are set to return as the Thirteenth Doctor and Yasmin Khan in 2025's audio drama series with Big Finish. The thirteenth Doctor's initial adventure series will consist of 12-hour-long audio drama stories. This marks Whittaker's return to the franchise after originally leaving the show two years ago.

Big Finish confirms that Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill are set to return to Doctor Who to lead their own series of Thirteenth Doctor audio dramas in 2025. Whittaker made her groundbreaking series debut in 2017 following Peter Capaldi's departure, leading the series for three seasons and five specials until 2022 as the first female incarnation of the Time Lord on-screen. Gill would join the Thirteenth Doctor as Yasmin Khan, a Yorkshire police officer who would remain with the Doctor from her first adventure until her final moments in 2022's "The Power of the Doctor."

Despite two years passing...

Warning: Contains spoilers for ‘Rogue’

This first series of Doctor Who’s latest reboot has been a lot of things — silly (‘Space Babies’), spectacular (‘The Devil’s Chord’), intense (‘Boom’), scary (‘73 Yards’), and, by the end of last week’s Black Mirror aping ‘Dot And Bubble’, pretty damn bleak even too. But not since Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson’s first outing as the Doctor and Ruby Sunday, ‘The Church On Ruby Road’, have we had an episode as outrageously fun Regency-era romp ‘Rogue’. Poured from the pens of guest writers Kate Herron and Briony Redman, this week’s adventure is good old-fashioned monster-of-the-week Who with a deliciously queer twist.

Leaving Finetime well behind, ‘Rogue’ finds the Doctor and Ruby in early 19th-century Bath, enjoying a ball at the stately mansion home of the Duchess of Pemberton (a suitably hissable Indira Varma). All britches, bodices, “You cad!” admonishments, and anachronistic...

A short film fund aimed at championing female and non-binary filmmakers led by “Doctor Who” star Jodie Whittaker has unveiled its first project winner at the Cannes Film Festival.

At Cannes 2023, women’s and non-binary visibility platform Primetime and Bournemouth Film School’s Funding Futures unveiled an initiative to spotlight women and non-binary filmmakers. After some 100 global submissions, a longlist emerged, chosen by a jury of industry heavyweights, including BAFTA nominees Ella Glendining and Ameenah Ayub Allen, Curtis Brown agent Cynthia Okoye, Funding Futures executive producer William Shutt, actor and Primetime founder Victoria Emslie, and “Doctor Who” actors Mandip Gill and Whittaker.

The winning project is “Truckload,” a comedy-drama inspired by real events. Writer-musician Evie Jones, who endured a life-altering accident, channels her experience into the story of Lizzie, a woman navigating life post-accident. Jones said: “Since becoming disabled it became quickly and startlingly clear that I no longer saw my experiences depicted on screen,...

Jodie Whittaker Short Film Fund Raises Value To $50,000

Exclusive: The Empower Fund, an initiative that champions female and non-binary filmmakers, has seen its value rise to £40,000 after post-production house Picture Shop came onboard to support the Empower Fund with in-kind post services up to a value of £15k. Film equipment company Hawk London had already provided access to a camera kit shooting package worth £15,000 on top of a minimum £10,000 for the winning team, who will see former Doctor Who lead Jodie Whittaker attached to their project. Founded by actress Victoria Emslie’s Primetime, a global platform for women and non-binary people working behind the camera, in partnership with Funding Futures, the fun launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 and has received almost 100 submissions from around the world. A jury of consisting of Whittaker, another former Doctor Who star, Mandip Gill; Emslie; director Ella Glendining; producer Ameenah Ayub Allen; Curtis Brown...

The Doctor Who press juggernaut materialized in New York last week, bringing with it leading stars Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson. The iconic, long-running BBC science-fiction show about a time-and-space traveling alien debuts its latest season on streamer Disney+ on Friday.

Gatwa, who grew up in Scotland after leaving Rwanda as a child, is already known for playing Eric Effiong in Sex Education (Netflix) and as one of the many Kens in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023). Lesser known internationally is Gibson, who turns 20 in June. In the U.K., the actor made a name for herself in the television soap opera, Coronation Street (which is even longer-running than Doctor Who).

The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the pair to discuss the opening two episodes of their first season (which release at 7 p.m. on the streamer). There’s no spoilers below, but do come back Saturday for the second part of this interview,...

Is Ruby Sunday Bisexual in Doctor Who? S14 LGBTQ Themes Explored - Main Image

Is Ruby Sunday bisexual in the new Doctor Who season? The holiday special officially welcomes the Doctor's companion in preparation for season 14. Here's what the long-running sci-fi series showed Whovians about Ruby.

Content Spoilers: This article contains spoilers for Doctor Who Holiday Special: The Church on Ruby Road, so proceed with caution.

Is Ruby Sunday Bisexual in Doctor Who?

The recent Christmas special, The Church on Ruby Road, introduces the fifteenth Doctor (played by Sex Education's Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion, Ruby Sunday (Coronation Streets' Millie Gibson) as they explore the truth behind Ruby's birth.

Since the special episode focuses on Ruby's identity, the 50-minute storyline also explores her sexuality. Ruby is confirmed to be an openly bisexual character, surrounded by queer friends and families.

This brought even more fans on board that the new Doctor Who...

This article is spoiler-free

A new chapter in Doctor Who canon history began with the first full episode of the Fifteenth Doctor’s adventures “The Church on Ruby Road.” Series 14 opener “Space Babies” takes the Doctor and Ruby’s travels to the distant future. The adventures that follow will also feature trips to the Swinging ’60s, to the Regency Era, and to faraway planets.

While there will be moments of dancing, sightseeing, and meeting new people and beings, there will also be moments of danger. Whether from villains upset that their plans for domination are being challenged, or from extremes in the environment, there are plenty of things to trigger the Doctor and Ruby Sunday’s fight-or-flight instinct.

Den of Geek interviewed Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson about their character traits, what the Doctor and companion Ruby are most afraid of this season, and the importance of opening the Tardis door to everyone.

Love is in the air in This Time Next Year, which is heading onto digital platforms this June. More on the film below.

It’s been a pretty good few months for fans of rom-coms. We’re still pretty amazed at just how well Anyone But You has done and we’re still now over Rye Lane’s emotional punch.

Now, Signature Entertainment has acquired the UK and Irish rights to Nick Moore’s rom-com This Time Next Year, as reported by Deadline. The film is written by Sophie Cousens, based on her own book and the film stars Sophie Cookson and Lucien Laviscount as the leads. John Hannah, Golda Rosheuvel, Monica Dolan, Mandip Gill and Anita Dobson also star.

Here’s the This Time Next Year trailer:

The film revolves around Minnie (Cookson) and Quinn (Laviscount), who discover they were born on the same day in the same hospital.

Exclusive: Signature Entertainment has acquired the UK and Irish rights to British romantic-comedy This Time Next Year, starring Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Lucien Laviscount (Emily in Paris).

The movie revolves around Minnie and Quinn, who while together at a New Year’s Eve party quickly realize they share a connection – they were born on New Year’s Day of the same year, in the same London hospital, one minute apart. Minnie grew up convinced that the mysterious Quinn – born first – stole the name her mother planned for her, and with it all her luck, setting her on a path of misfortune. Horrified at the misunderstanding, Quinn is set on making amends.

Also starring are John Hannah (Four Weddings and a Funeral), Golda Rosheuvel (Bridgerton), Monica Dolan (Cyrano), Mandip Gill (Doctor Who) and Anita Dobson (Eastenders).

Signature will release on June 3 of this year. The deal was negotiated...

Priyanka Chopra-Produced Doc Debuting On Prime Video India

Women of My Billion (Womb), a documentary about the forms of violence faced by women in India, will premiere exclusively on Prime Video India on May 3. Produced by Apoorva Bakshi and Monisha Thyagarajan’s Awedacious Originals in association with Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Purple Pebble Pictures, the documentary follows protagonist Srishti Bakshi on a walking pilgrimage across India – spanning 3,800 km over 240 days – to talk to women from various backgrounds about their struggles and dreams. “Women have borne the brunt of gender bias for far too long, enduring a silent struggle against entrenched social injustices that seek to suppress their voices. With Womb, the aim is to transcend these struggles – to be a beacon of hope,” said Chopra Jonas, Producer at Purple Pebble Pictures. “Womb is not merely a depiction of pain and suffering, but a rallying cry and call for solidarity and action.

Yaz achieved a rare milestone by staying with the Thirteenth Doctor throughout her entire stint, a feat not often witnessed in Doctor Who. With a trio of companions, the Thirteenth Doctor's "fam" included Yaz, Ryan, and Graham, but only Yaz remained by the Doctor's side consistently. Doctor Who thrives on change, so Yaz's record as a long-lasting companion will be hard to beat due to the frequent turnover of supporting cast members.

Jodie Whittaker's iteration of the famous Time Lord in Doctor Who had no shortage of companions, but one of them created an impressive milestone to sit within the British sci-fi show's rich history. The record in question has come very close to being set before, but various companions have fallen short of the achievement for an assortment of unfortunate reasons. Regardless, one of the Thirteenth Doctor's fellow passengers in the Tardis stands alone in what they've accomplished.

Paramount+ has given the green light to a new British thriller series called Curfew, which sees all men kept indoors in the evenings. More on it below.

Not to be confused with 2019’s dystopian action series of the same name, which aired on Sky, a new British series titled Curfew is heading to Paramount+.

As reported by Deadline, the streaming service has just greenlit the new British series, which explores a society in which all men are bound by a curfew from 7pm to 7am as laid out in the Women’s Safety Act.

However, when a woman is found brutally murdered at night and left at a Women’s Safety Centre, police officer Pamela Green is convinced it’s the work of a man. But with the curfew in place and ankle monitors tracking the movements of every male in the country, how could this be?

Sarah Parish is set to play Pamela,...

Paramount+ may have culled a wealth of international originals in the past couple of weeks but that hasn’t stopped it committing to a UK thriller series set in a world where men live under a strict nightly curfew.

Starring Sarah Parish, Doctor Who’s Mandip Gill, Mitchell Robertson and singer Alexandra Burke, Curfew is set in a society where all men live under ‘The Women’s Safety Act’, meaning they are bound by a strict curfew from 7Pm to 7Am every night, with their movements tracked by an ankle tag 24 hours a day. When a woman’s body is discovered, brutally murdered during curfew hours and left on the steps of the Women’s Safety Centre, veteran Police officer Pamela Green believes that a man is responsible. But in a world where men are bound by the curfew system, her theory is rejected.

Parish (Stay Close) plays lead investigator Pamela,...

Exclusive: The jury for the Jodie Whittaker-backed £25,000 Empower Film Fund for female and non-binary filmmakers has been set.

Whittaker’s former Doctor Who co-star Mandip Gill will be on the jury alongside BAFTA-nominee Ella Glendining (Is There Anybody Out There?), BAFTA-nominee Ameenah Ayub Allen (Rocks) and Curtis Brown Agent Cynthia Okoye. They join Primetime founder Victoria Emslie and Funding Futures exec Will Shutt on the jury, along with Whittaker.

Whittaker will feature in or voice the winning film with the intention of increasing the visibility of the project and filmmaker selected.

Launched at last year’s Cannes by Primetime and Funding Futures, the short film competition will back one female or non-binary filmmaker to make a short film with a minimum of a £10,000 grant in addition to a camera shooting package hire with a value of up to £15,000 from Hawk London, which recently opened a London HQ.

“Accessibility to...

Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill, the Thirteenth Doctor and companion Yaz, reunited for a celebratory event. The pairing between the Doctor and Yaz, known as "Thasmin," had a significant impact on viewers and represented LGBTQ+ representation. Yaz's relationship with the Doctor helped her grow and gain confidence in her identity, despite the romantic potential not fully developing on screen.

Thirteenth Doctor star Jodie Whittaker reunites with her constant Doctor Who companion actor Mandip Gill in a new interview and photoshoot during a recent RadioTimes celebratory event. Breaking new ground for the series as the first female incarnation of the Time Lord in the main series, Whittaker made her debut in the closing moments of 2017's "Twice Upon A Time", leading the series for 5 years until 2022's "The Power of the Doctor". Gill's companion Yaz debuted in season 11's "The Woman Who Fell To Earth", and remained with Whittaker's Doctor throughout her tenure.

Bond 26 will need to cast a new Moneypenny, a mainstay character of the franchise who has great chemistry with the next James Bond actor. Several young actors like Ivanna Sakhno, Claudia Doumit, and Mandip Gill could be the next actress to play Miss Moneypenny. Emilia Jones, Havana Rose Liu, and Jessica Henwick bring their unique talents and star power to the role of Moneypenny for Bond 26.

Bond 26 is poised to reboot the iconic spy franchise once again, and therefore, it will need to cast a new Moneypenny. The history of Moneypenny in the James Bond franchise began with Lois Maxwell, the first actor to take on the role. She stayed on for 14 movies, but different versions of Moneypenny have come and gone since then. Caroline Bliss and Samantha Bond followed in her footsteps, with Naomie Harris the most recent actress to play the part opposite Daniel Craig. Casting Moneypenny is...

Miriam Margolyes, who played Professor Sprout in the “Harry Potter” film franchise, is lending her voice to a new kids project titled “Badjelly,” Variety can confirm.

Based on the Spike Milligan children’s book “Badjelly the Witch: A Fairy Story,” the animated series will bring to life Milligan’s original tale about two siblings who go searching for a lost cow – and stumble upon a cast of magical creatures.

Margolyes is set to play Badjelly in the project, who is described as “the wickedest witch in all the world.” When she bumps into brother and sister Tim and Rose on their adventures in the great black forest high jinks ensue. Tim will be voiced by Malachi Hall (“The Flatshare”) while Ava Diakhaby (“Shortland Street”) plays Rose.

The 13-part series is aimed at 7-11 year old and is set for delivery in 2025. The show is already in production.

“’Badjelly’ delivers a...

Exclusive: Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Golden Circle) and Lucien Laviscount (Emily In Paris) lead the feature rom-com This Time Next Year, for which we can share an official first look above.

The film is adapted by writer Sophie Cousens from her novel of the same name and is directed by Nick Moore, editor of hit comedies such as Love Actually, Notting Hill, and The Full Monty. Joining the film’s cast are Golda Rosheuvel, John Hannah, Monica Dolan and Mandip Gill (Doctor Who).

Protagonist Pictures is representing worldwide rights. Synopsis reads: Flung together at a New Year’s Eve party, Minnie (Cookson) and Quinn (Laviscount) quickly realize they share a connection- they were born on New Year’s Day of the same year, in the same London hospital, one minute apart. Minnie grew up convinced that this mysterious...

Former Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall explains why the Doctor and Yaz never kissed despite their feelings; it was a conscious decision to make it an unrequited love story for more emotional impact. Chibnall admits that he may have made a different decision in hindsight, but felt that not having a kiss made their relationship more heartbreaking. The Doctor and Yaz's romance in Doctor Who left some viewers dissatisfied with the lack of LGBTQ+ representation, but there is hope for future LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the show with the introduction of the Fifteenth Doctor.

Former Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall explains why the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodi Whittaker) and Yasmin "Yaz" Khan (Mandip Gill) never kissed despite their mutual feelings. Chibnall served as showrunner for the long-running sci-fi show for five years, helming Whittaker's run as the Thirteenth Doctor. Whittaker made history as the first female Doctor and the first iteration...

Chris Chibnall has left a lasting legacy on Doctor Who that goes far beyond onscreen elements like the controversial Timeless Child storyline. The revelations around the Doctor's non-Time Lord origins dominated much of the discussion around the era of the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), and that noise distracted from the hugely positive strides Chris Chibnall's era made as a whole. Chris Chibnall's casting of the first female Doctor was a strong statement of intent from the showrunner, who made increasing diversity in front and behind the camera a priority on Doctor Who.

By bringing in new writers and directors from a diverse range of backgrounds, the Chris Chibnall era saw Doctor Who explore events from beyond the UK schools history syllabus. When it was created in the early 1960s, Doctor Who had a duty to educate and entertain its viewers, in line with their history homework. Chris Chibnall's era interrogated this idea,...

The return of showrunner Russell T Davies to “Doctor Who” is already living up to expectations, and it hasn’t even started airing yet. It was recently announced that the show would be adding stage and screen actor Jonathan Groff. BBC said in a statement, “He’s on his way to jump aboard the Tardis in a mysterious and exciting guest role.” Who do you think he’ll be playing when he joins the adventure?

Groff is known for his Tony-nominated roles in the Broadway musicals “Spring Awakening” and “Hamilton,” the latter of which also won him a Grammy for its cast recording and earned him an Emmy nom for its Disney+ recorded version. He also had a noteworthy recurring role in “Glee,” voiced Kristoff in the “Frozen” movies, and played the lead role in a couple of underappreciated shows that ran two seasons apiece: Andrew Haigh and Michael Lannan...

Cheryl is still famous enough not to need a surname. On the poster for 2:22 A Ghost Story, the spooky hit play in which the singer formerly known as Tweedy, Cole and Fernandez-Versini is about to make her West End debut, she is billed simply and definitively as “Cheryl”. The 39-year-old has been using the mononym for so long now – since her 2012 solo hit “Call My Name” – that she didn’t even think about it until she saw her name on the Lyric Theatre’s marquee. “I was like, I guess that’s what it is then,” she says in the warm Geordie accent familiar from her judge’s critiques on The X Factor.

She has maintained a low profile in recent years. In the late Noughties, when she juggled The X Factor with a hugely successful music career – first as a member of Girls Aloud and then as a...

Doctor Who's most recent episode "The Power of the Doctor" continues the show's tradition of change, with not just the Doctor changing, but with companion exits as well. Some eras have more companions than others, with some companions even staying on across new Doctors. "The Power of the Doctor," while Jodie Whittaker's final episode, also saw both John Bishop's Dan and Mandip Gill's Yaz leaving the Tardis fam.

Some exits have more impact than others. A lot are played to try and get an emotional reaction from the audience, while others are more understated and quieter for the characters. Below is a list of all full-time companion exits in the modern show (so the likes of Captain Jack and Mickey aren't part of this list), ranked worst to best.

Related: Doctor Who Provides New Clues For How David Tennant Returned

Dan

John Bishop is one of...

"The Power of the Doctor," a special episode of Doctor Who celebrating the BBC's centenary, was a proud love letter to the long-running series, which was almost a problem until David Tennant's appearance as the Fourteenth Doctor. As both showrunner Chris Chibnall and Thirteenth Doctor actor Jodie Whittaker's final episode, "The Power of the Doctor" brought back several actors from Doctor Who's past. Sophie Aldred and Janet Fielding returned as Ace and Tegan, respectively, but a number of actors who had previously portrayed different incarnations of the titular Time Lord also reprized their roles. However, there was a notable lack of actors from after Doctor Who was revived in 2005.

Since Doctor Who returned to the BBC in 2005, five actors have portrayed the Doctor, so many expected at least a couple of these faces to make an appearance. However, during a scene after the Master forces a regeneration on the Thirteenth Doctor,...

Doctor Who has come to the end of an era, with Jodie Whittaker saying goodbye to the role. With a changing of the guard that will see a new cast of characters, actors and returning creative team, fans are excited to see what's in store. An upcoming series of specials and a Disney+ budget only adds to that anticipation.

But while audiences await what may be a long period of time before the next episode arrives, it's important to look back on the final days and how the last episode of Whittaker's run came together. A lot went into crafting the next step in the saga, with "The Power of The Doctor" having to wrap-up plot threads and launch a new narrative.

Chris Chibnall Finished His Saga Alone

Chris Chibnall has had a storied run on Doctor Who, with the fanbase mixed on what he brought to the table.

Yasmin Finney, who will be portraying the new Doctor Who companion Rose, teases very inclusive upcoming episodes for the series. Finney is a 19-year-old English actress, best known for her role as Elle Argent in Netflix's coming-of-age romantic-comedy series Heartstopper. She was officially cast in Doctor Who as a new companion this past May, portraying a woman named Rose, who serves as a companion to Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor. She will make her debut in the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special, which is slated to premiere in November 2023.

Rose is a familiar name to Doctor Who viewers, as Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) was the first companion of Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor, the first for the show's modern era as the series that initially premiered in 1963 received a reboot in 2005. Many wondered if Finney's character was somehow the same Rose viewers were familiar with, though some have speculated...

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor!The newly released special episode of Doctor Who, “The Power of the Doctor,” perfectly demonstrates the biggest way that the Chibnall era failed the Thirteenth Doctor, her companions, and Doctor Who’s viewers. The long-running show about an alien called the Doctor who travels the universe in a ship called the Tardis has been through multiple main cast members and multiple writers. The beginning and end of Chris Chibnall’s time as Doctor Who’s showrunner coincided with the beginning and end of the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker). While Chibnall’s era brought a lot of good to the show, most notably more diverse actors and stories, much of the era’s execution was poorly received.

In “The Power of the Doctor,” both Chibnall and the Thirteenth Doctor’s final episode, there is a scene in which...

I thought my days complaining about queerbaiting in beloved genre shows died when Tumblr removed Nsfw content, but the completion of the "Doctor Who" centenary special has me coming out of retirement to criticize the blatant queerbaiting injected into the relationship between The Doctor and her companion Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill). As the first female Doctor in the show's decades-long history, Jodie Whittaker's run with writing by Chris Chibnall has been ... complicated, to put it kindly.

In her review of "The Power of the Doctor," our resident Whovian expert Hoai-Tran Bui described the Chibnall/Whittaker era as being "mired in clunky writing, nonsensical plots, half-realized characters, and empty spectacle" all while "missing the heart that made those kinds of quirks bearable." Whittaker and her historic first female Doctor deserved better, as did the queer fans who were seemingly promised genuine representation for the very first time, only to have...

This show has been a fixture of UK television for a long time and, despite any fluctuations in the ratings, it's not going anywhere. We know it won't be cancelled right now since we already know that Russell T Davies has been hired as showrunner for season 14. Is Doctor Who sure to be renewed beyond next season? Stay tuned.

A BBC America science-fiction drama, the 13th season of the Doctor Who revival stars Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, an alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor travels through time and space in the Tardis, which appears to be a British police box on the outside, with traveling companions Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop). Jacob Anderson recurs. Guest stars in season 13 include Robert Bathurst, Thaddea Graham, Blake Harrison, Kevin McNally,...

This article contains spoilers for the Doctor Who Centenary Special, The Power of the Doctor.

In their final episode, Doctor Who failed the romance subplot between the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and her companion Yaz (Mandip Gill). The Doctor Who Centenary Special, "The Power of the Doctor," almost completely ignores the romance that has been blooming between the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz, in favor of an abundance of action scenes and a plethora of fan service. While the action sequences are fun and the appearances from many classic Doctors and companions are more than welcome, the Doctor Who Centenary Special's ending for the relationship between Yaz and the Thirteenth Doctor is disappointing and lacking in closure.

The romance between the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz is far from the first time that a romantic relationship has been teased between The Doctor and their companions on the show: the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann...

The best way to describe Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker's era of "Doctor Who" is "stuff happened." And in the centenary special "The Power of the Doctor," which served as Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor swan song, stuff certainly happened. Was any of that stuff emotionally, narratively, or thematically resonant? Well, that's another story.

Jodie Whittaker's run as the first female Doctor in "Doctor Who" history has been mired in clunky writing, nonsensical plots, half-realized characters, and empty spectacle — which on the surface, sounds par for the course for a show as silly and weird as "Doctor Who." But it's been missing the heart that made those kinds of quirks bearable, and as a result — despite some genuine bright spots through this four-year run — has felt like a chore to watch more than anything. And Whittaker's final episode as the Thirteenth Doctor certainly felt like a laundry list of fan...

This article contains Spoilers for The Power of The Doctor

‘The Power of the Doctor’ was one of the most hotly anticipated Doctor Who episodes in the show’s history, as we prepared to say goodbye not just to Jodie Whittaker but Mandip Gill, John Bishop and showrunner Chris Chibnall, plus rumours circulated wildly about an unexpected regeneration twist.

When the episode aired on Sunday night, fans and critics alike ate it up, live-tweeting their reactions with gusto – and from the reactions so far, ‘The Power of the Doctor’ certainly didn’t disappoint.

Here’s how the action unfolded on Twitter:

Seriously Spoilers: don’t read on unless you want to find out everything that happens

Dan’s shock exit at the start of the episode left fans emotional, and some felt the abruptness of his goodbye was a bit jarring:

“i’ll call ya?”

“i’ll ghost ya.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Doctor Who's "The Power of the Doctor".Doctor Who's David Tennant is confirmed to be portraying the fourteenth incarnation of the Doctor following his surprise appearance. The actor made his return to the sci-fi franchise following the departure of Jodie Whittaker in the centenary special, known as "The Power of the Doctor". Tennant will return for the show's 60th anniversary celebrations, with Ncuti Gatwa set to portray the Doctor in season 14 and beyond.

Faced against a sinister alliance of some of her deadliest foes including Cybermen, Daleks, and The Master (Sacha Dhawan), Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor teamed up with some fan-favorite companions from the classic seasons of Doctor Who to save Earth from a complex plan to wipe out the human race. However, after suffering a fatal wound, the Thirteenth Doctor begins to regenerate, and after a heartfelt final trip with current companion Yaz...

[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor.] “What?!” Heading into the latest Doctor Who special, The Power of the Doctor, we knew that we’d be saying goodbye to Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor. And so we knew that a regeneration scene was coming at the end. And it did, after a forced regeneration — at the hands of the Master (Sacha Dhawan) whose actions then led to the real regeneration when he couldn’t be the Doctor — but it wasn’t what we or the Doctor expected. Knowing she was about to regenerate, The Doctor dropped Yaz (Mandip Gill) off to face what was next alone.. Then she stepped outside the Tardis on a cliff alone. “It’s the only ...

Warning! Spoilers for "The Power of the Doctor"Jodie Whittaker's final episode of Doctor Who has seen the surprising return of many old faces, who form a companion's support group in the closing scenes. The Thirteenth Doctor's finale was a feature-length special that celebrated 100 years of the BBC and 60 years of Doctor Who itself. When the Master (Sacha Dhawan) succeeded in his plot to erase the Doctor from existence, the Thirteenth Doctor was helped by her past incarnations, Yaz (Mandip Gill), Vinder (Jacob Anderson), Tegan (Janet Fielding), Ace (Sophie Aldred), and Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave).

These returning companions from the Doctor's past had been previously confirmed, but there were still some big surprises saved until the very end of the episode. When Yaz leaves the Tardis for the last time, she's met by her old friends Graham (Bradley Walsh) and Dan (John Bishop), who take her to a very special meeting.

Warning! Spoilers for the Doctor Who Centenary Special, The Power of the Doctor.The Doctor Who Centenary Special, The Power of the Doctor, brought a triumphant close to one of the most controversial eras in the show's 60-year history. Change has been baked into Doctor Who since 1966, when William Hartnell's First Doctor regenerated for the first time. 59 years later, Jodie Whittaker's tenure as the Thirteenth Doctor has come to an explosive end in a dramatic story in which she faced off against all her most iconic foes.

The Power of the Doctor released as part of the BBC's Centenary celebrations, and departing showrunner Chris Chibnall decided to make the 90-minute special a love letter to the BBC's flagship science fiction TV series. Chibnall is an old-school fan of Doctor Who. In the past he's been criticized for leaning too heavily on nostalgia, but in this case he...

Warning: contains spoilers for ‘The Power of the Doctor’

Here we are again, then. Doesn’t seem like five minutes since Easter, does it? I swear I’ve still got half a chocolate rabbit in the fridge… But time trundles on, and we’re here to bid goodbye to Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor after what feels like an oddly-fleeting tenure in the Tardis.

In terms of episode count, Whittaker’s run hasn’t been that much shorter than, say, Peter Capaldi’s. But then, both Capaldi and Matt Smith’s Doctors went through a number of evolutions in their time, with marked shifts in their personalities as companions came and went. We glimpsed Eleven’s decades on Trenzalore and Twelve’s exile in his confession dial, watching those Doctors grow old and weary. Ready for their end.

Poor old Thirteen, on the other hand, clearly wants to continue being the Doctor,...

Taking home props or wardrobe on one’s last day on set is a long-standing tradition in the television industry. But Doctor Who stars Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill might have taken too many keepsakes with them after shooting “The Power of the Doctor,” Whittaker’s final episode as the BBC show’s Thirteenth Doctor. “When we wrapped in the Tardis, everyone left,” Whittaker recently told Entertainment Weekly, referring to the show’s spaceship set. “Then me and her started breaking s—t off.” “We heard that you were allowed to, didn’t we?” added Gill, who plays Yaz on the show. “We heard it somewhere. We literally started taking things off — things were being pulled off, runners were helping us — because we’d been given the go-ahead!” Ben Blackall/BBC America That “go-ahead” was premature, though, because the Tardis set was still needed for “pick-up” shots, Gill admitted. Gill...

The current era of Doctor Who is coming to an end, with Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall (not to mention Mandip Gill) saying goodbye after four years of putting their stamp on the show.

At the recent press night for ‘The Power of the Doctor’, Whittaker’s final episode and the BBC Centenary special, the post-screening Q&a gave Chibnall a chance to reflect on his favourite episodes from his reign.

When asked which episodes he was most proud of, he admitted it was ‘really hard to choose’ and ‘it’d be easier to pick a favourite child’, but one particular area stood out:

‘What we’ve done with the historicals I’ve really loved. Obviously ‘Rosa’ and ‘Demons of the Punjab’ and the Sontaran and Weeping Angel episodes we did last year – I really loved those, but it’s different moods. What we tried to do is have a...

It’s almost a year since Jodie Whittaker filmed her final scenes in the Tardis, which means the coast is clear for her to own up to pocketing the odd souvenir from set. It turns out that Whittaker has something of a reputation for spiriting away Doctor Who props, and some items that made their way into her possession when she wrapped on the show accidentally caused a wee bit of bother.

Whittaker was answering questions at the post-screening Q&a for her final episode, ‘The Power of the Doctor’, held in London on Tuesday 11th October, alongside co-stars Mandip Gill and Sacha Dhawan and showrunner Chris Chibnall.

When an audience member asked Whittaker: ‘What did you take as a memento and why?’ Mandip Gill’s teasing response was: ‘What didn’t she take?’

‘Can I just check you’re not from the police?’ Chris Chibnall quipped, prompting Whittaker to add ‘Or the art department,...

Jodie Whittaker doesn’t think Ncuti Gatwa needs any advice from her on becoming the next face of Doctor Who.

At the Q&a after the press screening for her final episode, ‘The Power of the Doctor’, held at the Curzon Bloomsbury in London on Tuesday 11th October, Whittaker was answering questions alongside co-stars Mandip Gill, Sacha Dhawan, and departing showrunner Chris Chibnall.

When asked by Q&a moderator Charlie Girling what her biggest piece of advice is for the next Doctor, Jodie Whittaker’s light-hearted reply was: ‘There’s no advice you can give. I’m certainly not giving that phenomenal actor any advice, he doesn’t need it from me!’ She added one very short-but-sweet encouragement to Gatwa: ‘It’s yours to own, and you’ve earned it.’

Asked to pinpoint what she would miss most about Doctor Who, Whittaker described the role as the most special time of her life.