Is this a clue that the original Doctor Who companion is returning?
There’s a lot to be enthused by in the world of Doctor Who right now, and it seems even the slightest suggestion or rumour about what might happen in the 60th specials in November or season 14 with Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson following those has the Whovian fanbase excited.
So it’s no matter that speculation has suddenly risen among fans that a classic (indeed, the original) companion might be explored again in some capacity by the show after showrunner Russell T Davies replied to an official BBC Doctor Who post on Instagram.
The BBC posted a clip entitled “Throwing back to the first big goodbye between the Doctor and a companion” which showed Susan Foreman played by Carole Ann Forde bidding goodbye to the First Doctor played by William Hartnell.
Under the post, Russell T Davies wrote “Whatever happened to her?”
The comment has been interpreted by some fans as a hint from the showrunner that Susan could be making a return to the show for the much-anticipated three-part 60th anniversary specials in November.
We know that Russell T Davies has already brought back some Doctor Who alumni for the specials, not least David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, not to mention a number of new characters. However, it’s fairly certain that there will be more surprises in the specials just as Chris Chibnall delivered in The Power of the Doctor which celebrated the 100th birthday of the BBC and saw returning classic Doctors and companions, including William Russell who played Ian Chesterton who played Susan Foreman’s teacher in the first ever episode of Doctor Who, An Unearthly Child.
Susan did not appear in The Power of the Doctor, so could the Doctor’s granddaughter be about to make a sensational return for the show’s 60th birthday?
Carole Ann Ford, now 82, has spoken positively about a Doctor Who TV return in the past. When asked about playing Susan opposite Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor in 2020, Ford, who has reprised the role of Susan in audio versions of Doctor Who told SFX Magazine (via Cultbox): “Now there’s a thing. I have toyed with that: ‘Oh, Grandfa – ma!’ I think Jodie is fantastic! It’s a wonderful thing she’s doing. She does it fabulously well. And How it’s changed! We had to do what we did with thruppence, But they had some really big budgets. It’s amazing.”
Whether we see Susan again is still a mystery – but one thing’s for sure, there are going to be lots of surprises for Doctor Who fans before we arrive in November.
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