A new interview in Doctor Who Magazine might hint that K9, the loveable robot dog, is returning to Doctor Who, for either the 60th anniversary special(s) or even before that.
Juno Dawson, writer of the podcast Redacted, spoke about the behind-the-scenes of the story, and revealed that they were going to include Donna Noble, but that was vetoed. Juno said:
“Initially, Donna was supposed to be in episode seven [Requiem]. But we were told ‘absolutely not’, for obvious reasons now.”
Those obvious reasons being that Catherine Tate has since been revealed to be returning to the TV series alongside Tenth Doctor actor, David Tennant. But what’s especially interesting is that Dawson goes on to say:
“I’m so glad we couldn’t use K9 in the end, because I adore Floater!”
For those who haven’t listened to Redacted, the unfortunately-named Floater is an alien, voiced by Alasdair Beckett-King, who appeared in three episodes.
So why couldn’t they use K9? Could it be that the companion to the Fourth Doctor (and Sarah Jane Smith!) is actually returning to the TV programme too? Well, let’s not get our hopes up just yet.
It’s true that K9 could come back during Russell T Davies’ upcoming era: he seemed to like the little dog, bringing him back for a few appearances during the showrunner’s previous tenure, notably in the spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, plus the Series 4 finale, Journey’s End. We could see him crop up again with Tennant’s Doctor, particularly because 2023 is the franchise’s 60th anniversary.
As Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred are returning as Tegan and Ace respectively for the so-called Centenary special (actually celebrating 100 years of the BBC), it’s possible K9 will show up in the next episode too, i.e. the last to star Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor.
Or it could be a rights issue. K9 was co-created by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, both of whom have no sadly passed away; might the rights for K9 be wrapped up in their estates?
Either way, we’ll find out soon enough. Would we like to see K9 back? Affirmative!
