‘An audible gasp': Doctor Who fans shocked by Billie Piper return

The Guardian

2 days ago

Nearly two decades since she first appeared on Doctor Who, Billie Piper made a spectacular return to the show on Saturday night, in the latest season's finale, The Reality War. After just two series, Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor regenerated into a grinning Piper, who greeted viewers with a 'oh Hello!' in the episode's final scene.
The 42-year-old is best known to Doctor Who fans for playing the Doctor's companion Rose Tyler for two seasons, alongside Christopher Eccleston, when the show was reintroduced to TV screens in 2005 after a 16-year break.
Her return came as a genuine shock to fans, many of whom were impressed that the BBC had managed to avoid leaks. But it has also left them with questions – will Billie Piper play the Doctor in the show's next series? And will there be a next series at all?
In February the BBC denied reports the show faced the axe – but said any decision wouldn't be made until the latest series had been broadcast. Its statement pointed out half of the 26 episodes agreed with Disney+ still had not aired. Twenty-one out of those 26 have now aired, leaving a five-episode spinoff starring Russell Tovey, the trailer for which aired after Saturday's finale.
TV critic and Doctor Who fan Scott Bryan, 35, said the reintroduction of Piper to the show came at a pivotal time for Doctor Who, amid speculation about its future. 'I think it felt a bit like, towards the end of the episode, a pitch to Disney to say: 'Hi, please renew us, we've got Billie Piper'.'
'Of course we've not had any confirmation about whether the Disney deal will be renewed, but also when or if these episodes will be aired. Nothing has been confirmed regarding filming. It's a moment in TV that has raised more questions than answers, but that's how Doctor Who works.'
Concerns have been raised about falling viewing figures, which have struggled to rally since Russell T Davies' return in 2023. Two episodes during this series, which aired in May, got less than 3 million viewers – the lowest since the modern era began airing in 2005.
The coordinator of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, Tony Jordan, 66, from Staffordshire, said he was concerned about the show's future. 'Obviously if it had been a stellar success then they would have recommissioned it already,' he said.
'It is a concern that it is not going straight back into production but, to be fair, there have been times since it came back in 2005 where you've had a year-long break.'
Whether Piper will play her old character Rose, the Doctor or another character is also unclear. The credits, which showed Gatwa and Jodie Whittaker as 'the Doctor' did not do the same for Piper.
Eccleston, her former Doctor, told an event in the US in 2021 he backed the idea of his former assistant taking on the role.
He said: 'I was saying to somebody today in the green room that Russell T Davies is coming back, right, and who's going to be his Doctor? I think it should be Billie Piper actually. Catherine Tate's great but, I think there's your Doctor.'
Dan McLaughlin, 30, who was watching the finale with fellow fans at a cinema in Manchester when Piper appeared said: 'There was an audible gasp when she came on, definitely. There was maybe about two or three cheers, and someone behind me swore.'
Bryan said: 'It was a real surprise. I think Billie Piper is fantastic, she was one of the reasons why the 2005 series landed so well and led to 20 years of a hugely successful show and a reboot. But a surprise nonetheless.'
He added: 'I'm intrigued by what they decide to do with her, and the fact that there's mysteries around the fact that we don't know whether she's playing the Doctor, it's a bit open ended.'
McLaughlin said he felt 'deflated' by Piper's appearance as it indicated a lack of new ideas behind the show.
He said: 'Billie Piper's amazing and Rose was a wonderful character, but you want something new now, you want to be excited. I loved [David] Tennant in the 60th anniversary special, but bringing back characters loses its novelty if you just keep on bringing the old ones back all the time. It's lacking in original ideas.'