Doctor Who: Billie Piper Reveals Her One Condition For Returning as Rose Tyler

Billie Piper is best known to many for her role as Rose Tyler, companion to Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor and David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who and while her tenure ran between 2005 and 2006, she’s appeared numerous times in the franchise since, both on television and in audio dramas. But now, asked if she would return for a Rose spinoff series, Piper has revealed the one condition she would need for that to happen: it has to be filmed in London.

Speaking with Buzzfeed, Piper said that being filmed in London is the one thing that would get her to come back for a spinoff — even if she called it a “loveless answer”.

“If it was shot in London — sorry, that’s a really loveless answer!” Piper said. “There’s a running theme here, I don’t want to work much. It was like four episodes all shot in London, then yeah, I’d be like a rat-up-a-drainpipe for that.”

Piper also revealed how she feels about the casting of Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, saying that the casting is just going “from strength to strength”.

“Great!” she said about the casting. “It’s just going form strength to strength, I’m so here for it.”

What do we know about Doctor Who Season 14?

Doctor Who Season 14 will be the first new season of Doctor Who, following the anniversary specials, to stream globally on Disney+ as part of a new deal between Disney Branded Television and the BBC. Just days after Whittaker’s farewell episode, the BBC and Disney announced a plan to “transform Doctor Who into a global franchise for UK audiences and the rest of the world.” Rumor has it that Disney has some creative control over the franchise and wants to give Doctor Who a “Hollywood makeover.”

“I love this show, and this is the best of both worlds – with the vision and joy of the BBC and Disney+ together we can launch the TARDIS all around the planet, reaching a new generation of fans while keeping our traditional home firmly on the BBC in the UK,” returning showrunner Russell T. Davies said in a press release. Davies previously expressed his belief that Doctor Who should be a franchise with multiple shows similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He achieved a measure of this during his original run as Doctor Who showrunner, reviving the core Doctor Who series and launching spinoffs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

In November of 2023 there will be a series of Doctor Who specials that will pay tribute to the 60th anniversary of the iconic character. David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor will seemingly be an anchor for those episodes, with Ncuti Gatwa set to take over as the Fifteenth Doctor when those wrap up. 

Would you like to see a Rose Tyler spinoff? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.