Doctor Who Showrunner Reveals Inspiration for New Companion's Backstory

A new era of Doctor Who is now upon us, with Ncuti Gatwa stepping into the role as the franchise's Fifteenth Doctor. This Monday saw the debut of the franchise's latest Holiday Special, which introduced audiences to Fifteen's first companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). The episode dove into a bit of Ruby's backstory, revealing that she was adopted after being left on a church's steps around Christmas, and is currently searching for her birth family in the present day. During a recent appearance on Doctor Who: Unleashed, showrunner Russell T. Davies that Ruby's backstory was inspired by his own personal connection to programming about "foundlings," down to asking real-life presenter Davina McCall to appear as herself in the episode.

"She does the Long Lost Family show on ITV, and they've started doing foundling shows," Davies explained. "That's where I really watched those, and I started to realise that the life of a foundling was changing now. DNA testing – they could find out who their families are. And so that was actually the inspiration, so I thought that it was just fair to sort of pay that back and say "Come on Davina, come and do the show.""

Who Is the New Doctor Who Companion?

As Gibson revealed in a recent interview with Total Film, Ruby and Fifteen's dynamic will bring something slightly unprecedented to the long-running franchise.

"She is very cool," Gibson explained with a laugh. "I've said this before, but I think her dynamic with the Doctor is very much like two girls at school gossiping. They're very cliquey. I think the Doctor's not had that sort of dynamic before. It's really beautiful to see come alive when you do watch it."

Who Is the New Doctor Who?

Gatwa, whose work includes Sex Education and Barbie, was announced to be portraying The Doctor in May of 2022. While his long-term future on the series is not currently clear, the actor has expressed his excitement towards stepping into the iconic role.

"There aren't quite the words to describe how I'm feeling," Gatwa explained at the time. "A mix of deeply honoured, beyond excited and of course a little bit scared. This role and show means so much to so many around the world, including myself, and each one of my incredibly talented predecessors has handled that unique responsibility and privilege with the utmost care. I will endeavour my upmost to do the same.  Russell T Davies is almost as iconic as the Doctor himself and being able to work with him is a dream come true. His writing is dynamic, exciting, incredibly intelligent and fizzing with danger. An actor's metaphorical playground. The entire team have been so welcoming and truly give their hearts to the show. And so as much as it's daunting, I'm aware I'm joining a really supportive family. Unlike the Doctor, I may only have one heart but I am giving it all to this show."

Doctor Who will return with new episodes on both the BBC and Disney+ in the spring of 2024. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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