Series 15, Episode 8 | Part 2 of 2 | First broadcast: 31 May 2025 | Writer: Russell T Davies | Director: Alex Sanjiv Pillai
Cast
- Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor
- Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra
- Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday
- Archie Panjabi and Anita Dobson as the Rani
- Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor
- Billie Piper introducing a new incarnation
- Nicholas Briggs as the voice of Omega
Summary
As reality collapses, the Doctor uses the Time Hotel to restore everyone’s memories and confronts the Rani, who succeeds in resurrecting Omega as a monstrous, universe-devouring entity that promptly consumes the Rani herself, and after the Doctor forces Omega back into imprisonment, Ruby uses the wish-granting Desiderium to undo the plot for good, though Poppy, the Doctor and Belinda’s daughter from the false reality, must be erased from existence to restore the timeline; to save her, the Doctor initiates a regeneration with the brief aid of his Thirteenth incarnation, ultimately regenerating into a new form resembling former companion Rose Tyler.
Interesting Facts
- This episode marks Ncuti Gatwa’s departure from the role of the Doctor, alongside the concurrent departures of companions Belinda Chandra and Ruby Sunday.
- Billie Piper, originally known for playing companion Rose Tyler, returns in an officially undisclosed capacity, credited only as “introducing Billie Piper,” widely speculated to be a new incarnation of the Doctor.
- Jodie Whittaker returns as the Thirteenth Doctor for a brief regeneration-adjacent cameo, her first appearance since 2022’s “The Power of the Doctor.”
- The episode required extensive reshoots in early 2025, months after principal photography wrapped, with post-production still incomplete as late as April 2025.
- It received more mixed reviews than most of the era, scoring 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Jodie Whittaker’s cameo and Ncuti Gatwa’s send-off nonetheless singled out for praise.
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