Millie Gibson, Director Peter Hoar, And More Talk Ruby Sunday's “Lucky Day” Return To 'Doctor Who'

Oh such a Lucky Day, you and Shreek keep hanging on

It’s long been known that while last season’s companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson wouldn’t be the main companion this season on Doctor Who after finding her birth mother Louise Miller, she would still be making a few appearances. She even made a small cameo in the Christmas special “Joy to the World”. The first of these appearances, “Lucky Day”, premieres this Saturday, and after “The Well” lacked a preview clip separate from the “Next Time” trailer and Doctor Who: Unleashed like the first two episodes did, I felt compelled to cover something, and with interviews with Gibson, co-star Jonah Hauer-King, director Peter Hoar, and showrunner Russell T. Davies, there’s a lot of ground.

Gibson said returning to the show is like “returning home after a long day”, and remarks that both she and Ruby have grown up, stronger and more mature, while still recovering from her adventures, coping with them and processing. She’s even gotten the full family reunited, making contact and establishing a relationship with her dad. Speaking of relationships, she continues working with UNIT, as Ruth Madeley’s return as Shirley Anne Bingham for the first time since “The Giggle” means the two finally meet. She calls Hauer-King, who plays podc a “professional” and a “giving actor” and is excited for people to see what the “exceptionally” played role has. She believes he exudes a “lovable energy” wanting to match to the Doctor. Like a new boyfriend wanting to outdo the ex. But he’s sweet and so clumsy, a little bit of a clown. Ruby loves being able to discuss her adventures with a genuinely interested person, and it makes her feel comfortable again.

Eurovision Commentator Graham Norton To Continue Role For 'Doctor Who' Interstellar Song Contest

Hauer-King, probably best known as Prince Eric in Disney’s live action The Little Mermaid remake, feels amazing being on the show, calling it “big honour” and a “rite of passage”. He calls the episode “grounded and unique”, jumping at the chance to work with Davies as a fan of his work. Millie is “fantastic”, and he says he was “immediately struck by her talent and warmth”, their days on set full of laughter”. He tells that Conrad meets the Doctor when he is a young boy in 2007 and becomes obsessive, desperate to meet his idol and learn everything about him. That meeting is likely the namesake of the Lucky Day podcast the episode gets its name. It’s focused on sightings of the Doctor, currently played by Ncuti Gatwa. It’s like he’s the 2025 version of Clive from the revival’s premiere episode “Rose”. He teased monsters, twists, scares, friendship, love, and romance.

That monster is the Shreek, played by Gethin Alderman who Millie called “the loveliest person ever”, but also terrifying. Fans have seen glimpses of the cafe scene with Ruby and Conrad through trailers and such where the Shreek seemingly comes up behind Conrad, and it turns out that Ruby is telling Conrad about it. She describes that director Peter Hoar had what she’s telling him actually manifest like a nightmare. If the name Peter Hoar sounds familiar, especially recently, it’s because he not only directed the season premiere “The Robot Revolution”, but two episodes of HBO’s The Last of Us: the beloved “Long, Long Time” from the first season, for which he was Emmy-nominated, but the just-aired “The Path”, depicting the aftermath of Joel Miller (played by Pedro Pascal)’s death. He describes Jonah and Millie as “a great duo” and enjoyed watching a “new fresh dynamic” emerge. The Shreek is “genuinely scary” with all of its gothic horror flair.

Showrunner Davies reiterates that the story is “a chance to find out what happens to a companion once you leave the Doctor’s life. What happens to your life? And also, will you ever find a man you love as much as that man? What boyfriend is ever go to live up to that?” This was explored previously with Sarah Jane Smith to certain extents, but that was after a whopping 30-year gap and over the next five with her spinoff The Sarah Jane Adventures. Other companions have returned after their departure, like Martha Jones, but their personal lives haven’t been explored quite like this. Of course, Donna Noble’s life was thoroughly seen over the 60th anniversary specials, but she spent all her offscreen time with her memories suppressed so it doesn’t quite gel as well. Davies also remarked “There are many 19-year-old actors you could give an entire episode to, and this is that for her.” Millie as Ruby previously carried last season’s Doctor-lite episode “73 Yards” where she was forced to carry on after the Doctor disappeared, vanished by a fairy circle. This time, not only will there be flashbacks to a previously unseen adventure she had with the Doctor, likely the one where she encountered the Shreek, but there’s that New Year’s 2007 encounter with young Conrad that’s likely part of the Doctor’s present-day journey with Belinda Chandra, played by Varada Sethu.

But as we know, Ruby and Conrad will be around for the season finale, “The Reality War”. “She also does come in in the finale, and we get the absolute joy of Ruby and Belinda together,” Davies previews, as they team up with the backing of UNIT and its resources. What’s more, “Millie has a scene toward the end of the finale that’s absolutely her finest scene yet.” It was also recently revealed that on May 31, “The Reality War” will not be released on Disney+ aligned with an 8 AM iPlayer release (or vice versa if the beholden situation is such), but instead the BBC One airing at 7 PM, more like the 60th anniversary and Christmas specials. Not only that, but it will be shown in UK Cinemas preceded by the first part “Wish World”, both written by Davies and directed by Alex Sanjiv Pillai.

“Lucky Day”, written by Pete McTighe, premieres Saturday, May 3 at the midnight Pacific/3 AM Eastern timeslot on Disney+ in the States (the aforementioned 8 AM on iPlayer) that the preceding episodes had and the next three will have.

Will Forte, Director Dave Green Celebrate 'Coyote Vs. Acme' Rescue

Sources: Doctor Who (1, 2, 3), TVLine, Cultbox