Doctor Who fans have much to look forward to in the upcoming new series in 2024, including the return of a beloved character.
Viewers got their first glimpse of Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor in the 60th anniversary specials, and were introduced to new companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson, in the Christmas Day special.
Already showcasing Ruby and the Doctor’s instant rapport and fizzing chemistry, fans were then shown a trailer of what to expect in the new series, from new alien enemies, time travel – naturally – and even the return of some familiar faces.
In an absolutely tiny, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene, the Doctor can be seen joyfully reuniting with Yasmin Finney’s Rose Noble, daughter of Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble.
He picks her up and spins her around as she lets out a laugh, with the brief seen looking as though it takes place in the Unit builing, where Donna took a job in the final anniversary episode.
And while showrunnner Russell T Davies casually dropped before that he would be working with Yasmin again ‘because I adore working with her,’ this was the first real confirmation that Rose would be back for the upcoming season – and fans reacted as you’d expect.
On Twitter, aka X, user Cameron shared the image and wrote ‘ROSE NOBLE IS BACK WE ARE SO BACK,’ garnering thousands of likes as fans went wild for the confirmed appearance.
Mr Sandman was similarly freaked as they shared the same image and screamed ‘is it just me or WAS THAT ROSE NOBLE?’
And JP said ‘ROSE NOBLE CONFIRMATION FOR SEASON 1, WE F*****G WON.’
Elizabeth said she was set to ‘bawl my eyes out’ with Rose’s return, while Ade wrote simply ‘ROSE NOBLE I LOVE YOU.’
In slightly more measured reactions, user Tadeusz said it was ‘great news, superb character!’
And, touchingly, user Bella said ‘Y’all have no idea how happy I am to have Yasmin Finney back as Rose Noble!! Doctor Who has always been progressive but now it feels like such a safe space for Trans fans.’
Yasmin, who first shot to fame in Netflix series Heartstopper, is trans, as is her Doctor Who character, with the first 60th anniversary special heavily revolving around her gender identity – which, in the end, helped save the world.
There are plenty of twists and mysteries still to come in the new series, now including how and why the Doctor reunites with Rose – and whether the 14th Doctor and Donna will be referenced.
The Christmas special gave fans plenty to mull over, with mysterious elderly neighbour Mrs Flood revealing at the end of the episode that she recognised the Tardis, leading to, well, floods, of fan theories as to who she could be.
There was also the small matter of Ruby Sunday and where she came from.
The episode saw a cloaked figure dropping her off at church steps as a newborn, where she was eventually adopted but has found no trace of any relatives, even with DNA and genetic testing.
Fans are convinced they’ve worked out at least part of her mystery, with the general consensus being that it’s Ruby herself we see abandoning her younger self at the church.
But then again, we’re all only guessing – we’ll have to wait just a little longer for the mystery to be solved.
