The Big Picture
- Millie Gibson shares her excitement about staying on as Ruby Sunday in
Doctor Who
‘s second season on Disney+, getting advice from a former companion. - The upcoming season hints at travel to various historical periods and delving into Ruby Sunday’s mysterious origins across two seasons.
- Showrunner Russell T. Davies is back to continue the show’s ‘monster of the week’ formula, with fans eagerly anticipating the new season premiere on May 10th.
After the news that Millie Gibson‘s Ruby Sunday will be sticking around through the second season of Doctor Who on Disney+, Gibson revealed she got advice from a former companion after she landed the role. Gibson told Entertainment Weekly that she’s been a fan of the show since she was a child. The 19-year-old grew up watching Matt Smith‘s Eleventh Doctor. When she landed the job of Ruby Sunday, who we first met in the 2023 Christmas special ‘The Church on Ruby Road’, Gibson reached out to former Matt Smith era companion, Karen Gillian, who played Amy Pond from 2010 to 2012.
“I just expressed my love and admiration, and I did get a reply from her!” Gisbon says. Gillan did end up responding, Gibson tells Entertainment weekly. She says they exchanged what Gibson called, “down-to-earth wise words.”
“When you get to talk to a past companion, it’s very reassuring and beautiful to be told that it’ll be okay and to enjoy the ride.”
Ruby Sunday is Here to Stay
As it stands right now, Gibson will be the sole companion of Ncuti Gatwa‘s Fifteenth Doctor during the first season. She’ll be joined by Varada Sethu as an additional companion. After a recent trailer, it looks like the pair will be traveling to the dawn of time all the way up to Regency England, and even back to the 60s to meet The Beatles. With Russell T. Daviess back at the helm, it looks like the show is maintaining its ‘monster of the week’ formula while also unraveling the mystery of just who Ruby Sunday is. After the episode titles were revealed in March, fans found out that the penultimate episode of the show’s first season on Disney+ is called ‘The Legend of Ruby Sunday.’
Even with that episode hopefully shedding some light onto Ruby’s origins, Daviess recently told SFX that her arc will actually span the two seasons that BBC and Disney+ are doing together. Gibson says she was invited by Daviess to audition for the show after it was announced he was back at the helm. Daviess was the showrunner from the 2005 reboot’s inception until the end of Season 4 when Steven Moffat took over.
The reboot of the long-running British television show has now seen three showrunners and seven main incarnations of the time-traveling alien The Doctor. Daviess ran the show for Christopher Eccleston‘s Ninth Doctor and David Tennant‘s Tenth and later Fourteenth Doctor and now Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth. Steven Moffat ran the ship during Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor and Peter Capaldi‘s Twelfth Doctor. Most recently before Daviess took over again, Chris Chibnall was showrunner for Jodie Whittaker‘s Thirteenth Doctor.
Gibson tells fans that Ruby and The Doctor’s relationship is “more like two girls in school, giggling and gossiping.” She says that it mirrors her and Gatwa’s own off-screen dynamic. “It’s just constant laughter and platonic best friends.”
Doctor Who’s new season will air May 10th on Disney+ and May 11th on BBC iPlayer.
Doctor Who
The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord “The Doctor” who is able to regenerate, and the Doctor’s human friends. The Doctor and companion’s journey through time and space in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – saving the universe with a combination of wit, bravery, and kindness.
- Release Date
- March 17, 2006
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
- Seasons
- 14
- Studio
- BBC America
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+
