Another season of Doctor Who is over with Ncuti Gatwa bowing out as the 15th Doctor and handing the Tardis over to… Billie Piper?
The end of the season two finale, The Reality War, packed a shocking punch after an unannounced regeneration.
The episode ended on Ncuti transforming into the former Rose Tyler star – who declared ‘oh, hello’ to the camera with a beaming grin.
As Whovians across the country let out a united gasp, the episode rolled to credits with the ominous phrasing: ‘Introducing Billie Piper.’
Although many naturally jumped to the conclusion that she would be the next Doctor, she has not officially been labelled as such through any official channels.
Get personalised updates on Doctor Who
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
Piper, 42, played assistant Rose full time from 2005 to 2006 opposite Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant, and then returned for season four before appearing as The Moment in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special.
On social media the actor teased that ‘who, how, why and when, you’ll just have to wait and see’ when talking about her sudden reappearance in the Whoniverse.
Meanwhile, the BBC added: ‘Just how and why she [Billie Piper] is back remains to be seen…’ as showrunner Russell T Davies echoed ‘quite how and why and who is a story yet to be told’.
So here are all the ways the show could use her character.
The 16th Doctor
Perhaps the simplest answer is that she is the 16th Doctor. It’s certainly not the first time the show has brought back a familiar face to play the titular Time Lord.
The 12th Doctor was played by Peter Capaldi who guest starred as an innocent civillian rescued by the Doctor in season four episode, Fires of Pompeii – with the show intertexturally confirming that the use of the face was the remind the Doctor of who he was, someone who saves lives.
And, of course, the 14th Doctor was played by David Tennant who ended up reuniting with Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) where he continues to live now after Ncuti’s version bi-generated out of him (which could come to play in a later theory…)
If she is the Doctor then how long she sticks around, and why she chose this face, remains to be seen.
She could even be an out-of-traditional-order Doctor as we’ve seen before with Jo Martin who plays the Fugitive Doctor and John Hurt as the War Doctor.
A cameo
This would definitely be a cheekier move from Russell if it comes true but the episode ended with the Doctor still surrounded by regeneration energy.
There is always the possbility that the Doctor is cycling through various faces – all of which are familiar – before settling on their final 16th Doctor visage.
Hey, we could even see a reunion between the 14th Doctor and whoever this is with Rose’s face!
How long Billie would stick around if this is the case would wildly fluctuate but it would also open the avenue for other returning faces such as Carol Anne Ford (whose storyline remains up in the air after her season two cameo as granddaughter Susan) to have their moment in the limelight.
Rose Tyler
Of course, we can’t discount that the original Rose Tyler has somehow returned.
This is supported by Piper’s Instagram post celebrating her return to Doctor Who which she captioned: ‘A rose is a rose is a rose !!!’.
As far as we are aware, Rose is trapped in a parallel universe with the Meta Crisis Doctor (the face and intelligence of the 10th Doctor with a human life-span) but could she have been pushed back into this universe?
Not only is this not the first time she would have travelled between the two but also some keen eyed fans have noted that the reality salvaged out of Conrad’s wishes had subtle differences including a change in Norway and Sweden’s border which has moved seven miles.
Coincidentally, Norway is the last place Rose was dropped off (at the iconic Bad Wolf Bay). What’s more, the Doctor died pushing his energy through the Time Vortex to save Poppy.
The last person to tamper with that was… you guessed it… Rose Tyler during the season one finale, The Parting of Ways.
The Moment/Bad Wolf
This leads us nicely onto the other forms that Rose has taken in the series that could be making a return – once more thanks to Rose’s imprint on the Time Vortex.
First, is the ongoing Bad Wolf motif – scattered throughout the universe to lead Rose back to the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) to save him and destroy all the Daleks.
The Bad Wolf motif then made a return in season four when the barries between the universes were dissolving and Rose returned once more to help the Doctor defeat creator of the Daleks, Davros.
Meanwhile, in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary, Piper returned as the physical manifestation of The Moment – a powerful and dangerous weapon that the Doctor planned to use to end the Last Time War and annihilate his race.
Could we be seeing a physical manifestation of Bad Wolf or the Moment once more?
The Tardis
Last, but not least, there is the possibility that The Tardis itself has been unleashed, as posed by one Reddit user, Valha28.
The user argued that after being given a shot of the Tardis console fading; Rose being the last person to stare into the heart of the Tardis; and immediately saying hello in surprise it could very well be she’s taken physical form as Rose.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Tardis has transformed into a human. Suranne Jones played her in The Doctor’s Wife in season six so there is precedent.
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.