Billie Piper reflects on ‘last-minute’ appearance as new Doctor Who in season finale

Billie Piper has commented on her “last-minute” appearance in the finale of the 15th season of Doctor Who.

The 42-year-old appeared to replace Ncuti Gatwa as the show’s new Doctor, when the character underwent a regeneration at the end of the episode. Gatwa announced he would be leaving the programme last year.

“This is such a minefield, I have to really engage with how I answer this,” she told an audience about the appearance at Florida Supercon, according to Deadline.

“All I can say is, I was approached very last-minute, and I can’t talk about in what capacity, but I found it very emotional to film, and I think it’s a really great ending.”

Piper first appeared in the series in 2005 as Rose Tyler, the “companion” to Christopher Eccleston’s ninth Doctor. Their pairing was especially adored by fans, though Piper would continue to star in the series when David Tennant took over the role, and returned in 2013 for the 50th anniversary episode “The Day of the Doctor”.

Speaking about the high level of secrecy around her involvement in the show, she said: “I just found it quite moving, and it was really fun to film because it had such a sort of cloak-and-dagger feeling about getting it made. So, yeah, I have to lie a lot about anything to do with Doctor Who, it seems.”

open image in gallery

Reflecting on her return earlier this year, Piper said: “It’s no secret how much I love this show.”

She added: “I have always said I would love to return to the Whoniverse as I have some of my best memories there, so to be given the opportunity to step back on that Tardis one more time was just something I couldn’t refuse, but who, how, why and when you’ll just have to wait and see.

open image in gallery

Gatwa, 32, said he left the programme because “it’s a role that demands a lot of you, physically and emotionally and mentally”.

He added on companion show Doctor Who: Unleashed: “You know it’s gonna happen when you get cast. You’re like, ‘I’m gonna have to hand this baton over one time, it’s all gonna come to an end soon.’ So I feel like I’ve been in constant preparation for that.”

The Sex Education actor called his exit from the show “bittersweet”, adding: “I can imagine it’s been for all Doctors. Just looking at the console before regenerating was like, ‘My god, this console – it’s been here for 60 years. And I was here for some of those years. And how magic.’”