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Beloved Doctor Who Star Reveals the One Condition for Their Return

Some characters need to be contextualized with their friends.

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It’s a time of reflection for the Doctor Who fandom, but for previous cast members, it’s time to consider what it would take for them to return. The sci-fi series shocked fans with its most recent finale, which broke a long-standing pattern and brought back a surprise alum in the process. With that in mind, Karen Gillan has given some thought about what it would take for her to reprise her role as Amy Pond on the series. In a new interview on the BBC’s The One Show, Gillan said that she’d be glad to get back in the TARDIS, but she has one firm condition. She’ll only do it if she’s reunited with her former co-stars, not without them.

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“If they’ll have me, absolutely,” Gillan said of Doctor Who. “But with Matt Smith and Arthur Darvill โ€” it has to be with them.” Gillain, Smith, and Darvill played Amy Pond, The Eleventh Doctor, and Rory Williams respectively on Doctor Who from 2010 to Darvill’s departure from the series in 2012. They’re a fan-favorite “TARDIS Trio” among all the Doctors and companions the show has seen in its run, and seeing them all back together would be a dream come true for many fans.

The Future of Doctor Who

Sadly, not only is it unclear if or when Gillan and her co-stars might be back on Doctor Who โ€” it’s unclear what’s next for the series in general. Season 15 ended back in May with an unannounced regeneration, which has not happened before in the “New Who” era. However, Ncuti Gatwa has confirmed that he is finished with his time as the Fifteenth Doctor, so it seems this wasn’t just a cliffhanger ending.

The real surprise was that the regenerated Doctor came out looking like Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), who was a companion to the Ninth and Tenth doctor back when Doctor Who was first revived in 2005. This is also unprecedented, and there are a lot of questions about what this means in-universe for the Doctor and his friends. To top it all off, that suspenseful ending was followed by a period of uncertainty, as fans wondered whether Doctor Who would even be renewed for another season.

Fortunately, the BBC has at least set our minds at ease in that respect. Last week, the network’s chief content officer Kate Phillips issued a statement assuring fans that Doctor Who would continue in some form, even if the details of its streaming distribution change a bit.

There’s no telling what kind of changes might be needed to get Gillan, Darvill, and Smith all back on screen at once, but fans can certainly dream. In the meantime, you can stream the latest seasons of Doctor Who on Disney+ in the U.S., while older seasons are available on BritBox.