On Sunday, October 23, BBC One aired Jodie Whittaker's final episode of Doctor Who. The centenary special, which was called The Power of the Doctor, saw Whittaker's incarnation of the Time Lord do battle with the Daleks, Cybermen and her greatest enemy The Master, chillingly played by Sacha Dhawan.
As with other 'regeneration' episodes, the final moments of the feature-length special saw the Doctor mortally wounded and have to change her appearance. The concept of regeneration was first introduced in 1966 and sees the titular character change their face in order for a new actor to take over the part. Since then, there have been 13 (official) actors to play the Doctor with Whittaker being the 13th in the role.
Prior to it airing, viewers had expected to see Whittaker transform into new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa before the episode ended. Little did they know, they were about to be stunned by a shock twist. But who exactly is the new Doctor?
Read more: BBC Doctor Who fans gobsmacked as Jodie Whittaker regenerates into former Time Lord
After succumbing to her injuries, the Thirteenth Doctor landed her TARDIS on a cliff face and took in one last look at the sunset, calling it "the blossomiest blossom". In an emotional final speech, she declares: "Right then, Doctor-whomever I'm about to be - Tag, you're it," and then proceeds to explode with regeneration energy.
It was the next few moments that would stun viewers, as instead of Ncuti Gatwa's face staring back at them, it was David Tennant's - the actor who played the Tenth Doctor from 2005-2010. Echoing his first line from 2005, he said: "I know these teeth," before checking out his 'new' body. "What? What? What?!" he exclaims, as the Doctor Who theme begins and the credits rolled.
It has since been confirmed that David Tennant is the Fourteenth Doctor. Following the shock reveal, the actor told BBC News: "What a lovely, lovely thing to get to revisit something that was such a wonderful, happy, significant time in my life."
Talking about the future of the show, returning showrunner Russell T Davies said: “If you thought the appearance of David Tennant was a shock, we’ve got plenty more surprises on the way! The path to Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger and fun! And how is it connected to the return of the wonderful Donna Noble? How, what, why? We’re giving you a year to speculate, and then all hell lets loose!”
A trailer after The Power of the Doctor offered fans a glimpse of what's to come. Doctor Who is set to return next year, celebrating 60 years of travelling in time and space. With both Tennant and Catherine Tate reprising their roles for the celebrations, it has been announced that they will appear in three special episodes, set to air in November 2023. The next Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, will then take control of the TARDIS, with his first episode airing over the festive period in 2023.
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