Doctor Who Showrunner Teases More to Ruby Sunday's Story

Russell T. Davies confirms Millie Gibson's Season 2 return.

By Jenna Anderson

After delivering an intriguing and genre-bending bactch of episodes, the newest season of Doctor Who is now in the books. The season followed the friendship between The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) as they crossed space and time together, culminating in the recent season finale "Empire of Death." While the ending of "Empire of Death", including an emotional goodbye between Ruby and the Doctor, certainly seemed like Ruby's exit from the show, we now definitely know that that isn't the case. In a video message to The Official Doctor Who Podcast, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies reiterated that Gibson will be reprising her role in Doctor Who's next season, something that was already confirmed with the announcement of Varada Sethu as Season 2's second companion.

"I absolutely can tell you that Ruby Sunday has not finished her story," Davies explained. "Millie Gibson's coming back. That's not a spoiler, it's an absolute fact. We're very excited." 

Who Are Ruby Sunday's Parents?

In "Empire of Death", it was revealed that Ruby's mother does not have any sort of special identity — she is Louise Allison Miller, a nurse in her 30s who had Ruby as a teenage pregnancy in an abusive household. As Davies explained to the BBC iPlayer commentary for "Empire of Death", that decision was inspired by the way that Rey's (Daisy Ridley) parentage was handled in 2018's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

"This is kind of my reaction to [that film]," Davies revealed. "The second film said that [Rey] was nothing special, there was nothing special about her parentage… She was just… an ordinary person with the Force. I really loved the version where she wasn't special. When she's ordinary. She's not the daughter of Sutekh. She's not the daughter of the Time Lords or Rassilon or something like that. Her mum is Louise Miller, who was 15 years old and pregnant, from a dangerous, abusive home, and left her child on the doorstep. Because I think it's a better story."

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When Will Doctor Who Return With New Episodes?

Doctor Who will next return with a 2024 Christmas special, which is written by former showrunner Steven Moffat. Season 2 (under the Disney+ branding) of Doctor Who has already wrapped production, although an exact release date has yet to be set.

"It feels so much fun now," Gatwa previously said of acclimating to the role. "I've relaxed and [the Doctor] seems to have sunk down a little bit deeper, from my chest into my gut."

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