A lot of fans had loved Ncuti Gatwa as the new Doctor for Doctor Who, but they were surprised to see his season cut short with the reveal that he’s regenerated to have the face of former companion Billie Piper a.k.a. Rose Tyler in the series.
We don’t know exactly what’s happening yet, but an alleged insider via Reddit has revealed that Piper’s inclusion could be a bit of stunt-casting and even showrunner Russell T. Davies has no idea where he’s going to be taking the reveal.
According to the insider ‘Andrew’:
“Yes, casting Billie was a very last minute decision. Around the time the robot revolution was airing, they were still planning to go with the cliffhanger regeneration.”
The source suggests that the move was done in order to gauge audience interest—much like what they did when they made David Tennant Doctor 14 right before Gatwa’s officia debut. It’s even suggested that the plans for Piper aren’t figured out yet, and it’s possible that Gatwa could be coming back since, “Most of season 3 was written with [Ncuti] in mind so don’t expect 16 to be too different”
As far as Piper’s status as the next Doctor, it’s not clear if she’s going in it for the long haul or maybe just a short special. “Nothing is confirmed no, Billie saw it more of a favour to Russel than anything. She’s happy to do a special or series, but is also fine to just film a quick something in an attempt to help out the show, even if it ends up being no use… I don’t even think Russel knows why she has rose’s face yet”
We don’t know how legitimate this news is yet, but it’s said that ‘Andrew’ has managed to leak a lot of accurate news regarding the recent episodes of Doctor Who.
Personally, I was hoping that Gatwa would have a ‘complete’ run as the Doctor, but seeing that plans are constantly shifting, I wouldn’t be surprised if his exit was actual the official one.
