Millie Gibson Will Exit 'Doctor Who' During Season 2

It seems a diddly-deet will become an amicable yiddly-yeet next year from the storied sci-fi series

Good to meet you Ruby Sunday. Seen 50 miles up in the sky, now we know you’re saying goodbye. Actress Millie Gibson will be departing BBC and Disney+ sci-fi series Doctor Who during season 2 next year.

Originally reported by the Daily Mirror, enough has been confirmed by trades like Variety to confidently run the story. While companion departures can come at any time, it’s still very much whiplash to hear that Ruby will have such a short run, as viewers were just introduced to her on Christmas Day’s “The Church on Ruby Road”, which also served as the first full adventure for Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor. Filming on the second season, widely considered series 15 to those choosing to continue the revival era’s numbering since 2005’s series 1, began in October. What’s also in consideration is that her full season is a short 8 episodes, so it’s even less time spent with the character than the double digit-length seasons that most companions have gotten.

While Gibson only has the one full season and won’t be appearing in this year’s Christmas special, she will be appearing in three of season 2’s own eight episodes, with one being a standalone to give a proper sendoff to her journey as the Doctor and tie up loose ends. In truth, it’s not uncommon for companions to last a single season. In current showrunner Russell T. Davies’s first stint, Billie Piper spent one season each as Rose with Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor (his only season) and David Tennant’s Tenth before her own departure and was followed by Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones in series 3 and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble in series 4. Martha left on her own terms and ended up with a three-episode arc in Tate’s season and came back again for the two-part series finale that everybody up to that point was on deck for. Pearl Mackie’s Bill Potts and Matt Lucas’s Nardole had only one series with the Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi (series 10, though Nardole had the two preceding Christmas specials) before regenerating into Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker. Her final companion, Dan Lewis played by John Bishop, debuted at the start of Flux (series 13) and departed at the start of “The Power of the Doctor”, Thirteen’s final story and the third and final special following the six-episode series.

Gibson hasn’t filmed everything yet, but insiders consider her “all but left now” and are excited by the new one. One insider said “Russell is keeping things moving and isn’t letting the grass grow, that’s for sure.” But who is that “new one”? It’s actress Varada Seethu. The information didn’t come with a character name, but the 32-year-old might be known best as Cinta, a member of the rebel faction that raided the Aldhani garrison in the Star Wars series Andor, but also appeared in the final season of the Cinemax series Strike Back, subtitled Vendetta. Her other credits include Jurassic World: Dominion and Now You See Me 2. One BBC source said: “Varada is a real gem, Russell was just blown away by her talent. The cast and crew have really warmed to her and he’s sure the fans will too.”

For this year’s Christmas special, a guest companion is expected. The position Donna essentially had in her debut “The Runaway Bride”, though the most widely accepted example is likely Kylie Minogue’s Astrid in “Voyage of the Damned”. In the few months since the strikes ended, Gibson spoke about her plans to do other projects and was anticipating potential auditions. Gibson’s sole full season as companion to the Fifteenth Doctor will premiere this May on the BBC domestically and Disney+ everywhere else.

Sources: Daily Mirror, Variety