Millie Gibson has been announced as the new Doctor Who companion, and will accompany Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor in the TARDIS for Series 14, setting forth into all of time and space!
She’ll be playing Ruby Sunday, following in the footsteps of characters like Barbara Wright, Sarah Jane Smith, Ace, Rose Tyler, Amy Pond, and Bill Potts…
The announcement was made earlier this evening on the charity event, Children in Need (which also included David Tennant guiding viewers through the Children in Need Call Centre, supposedly).
18-year-old Millie is best known for playing Kelly Neelan in Coronation Street, a part for which she won the British Soap Award for Best Young Actor 2022.
Gibson’s casting was teased by the BBC and by new showrunner, Russell T Davies, this morning, and comes after Doctor Who Magazine revealed that auditions were held, alongside Gatwa, in September 2022.
Millie Gibson said:
“Whilst still being in total disbelief, I am beyond honoured to be cast as the Doctor’s companion. It is a gift of a role, and a dream come true, and I will do everything to try and fill the boots the fellow companions have travelled in before me. And what better way to do that than being by the fabulous Ncuti Gatwa’s side, I just can’t wait to get started.”
Ncuti Gatwa added:
“Millie just is the companion. She is full of talent, strength, she has a cheeky sparkle in her eye and is sharp as a razor. From the moment she walked into the room she captured all of our attention with her effervescence and then solidified that attention with the sheer torque of her talent. This adventure is going to be so wild and so fun, I cannot WAIT to sail the universe with Millie!”
It’s always exciting to hear more about the TARDIS team, and though we do have a little while to wait to see this new dynamic on screen (they aren’t expected to debut until 2024, albeit likely early on in the year, perhaps reverting back to Davies’ spring schedule preference), we should at least see them out and about filming on location.
Russell T Davies added:
“It’s the great honour of my job to find the next generation of talent, and Millie shines like a star already. She’s brilliant, dynamic, clever and a wonderful actor. As a Coronation Street fan, I’ve seen Millie survive chases, guns and sieges, but that’s nothing compared to what lies ahead for Ruby Sunday.”
The previous companion announcement came at the end of the 2021 New Year’s Day special, Revolution of the Daleks, introducing John Bishop as Dan Lewis. He was written out of the series in The Power of the Doctor, the last story to star Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor and Mandip Gill as Yasmin Khan.
For some time, it’s been rumoured that Yasmin Finney would be the new companion, after she was announced to be starring in the 60th anniversary specials. And while she still might take a place in the TARDIS, right now, we just know she’ll be seen alongside Catherine Tate as Donna Noble and David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor.
Anyone else really excited to see the Doctor and Ruby in action?
Oh, and seeing as Russell was smart and thoughtful enough to announce this major Doctor Who event during a charity gig — please remember to donate to Children in Need!
