Jodie Whittaker’s time as the Doctor is coming to a close in Sunday’s episode. Lots has been kept a mystery, but we have everything you need to know about Doctor Who’s The Power of the Doctor.
It will officially be the end of the era. Jodie Whittaker’s time as the eponymous Doctor is coming to an end after 5 years in the timeless role. Her casting was historical and her time as the Doctor saw her battle Daleks, Cyberman, and the Master — and a pandemic.
As with much of her era, showrunner Chris Chibnall has kept many of the details under wraps. However, we have all of the escaped information all in one place for your reading pleasure.
What time is Doctor Who on Sunday?
The Power of The Doctor will air on Sunday, October 23 at 7:30 pm on BBC 1. The episode will be on after the Strictly Come Dancing result show and before the new drama, Bloodlands’, final episode.
The episode marks another Doctor Who regeneration, but also is a celebratory centenary special to mark the BBC’s 100th birthday. It was announced last year that lots of iconic BBC shows would be releasing special episodes to mark the anniversary. Doctor Who was one that was announced, and it also lined up with its own special celebration.
Therefore, The Power of the Doctor will be the longest episode of Doctor Who ever. With a run time of just under 90 minutes, the feature-length episode won’t finish until around 9 pm.
Who Will Be in The Power of the Doctor?
Of course, Jodie Whittaker’s the Doctor, Mandip Gill’s Yasmin Khan and John Bishop’s Dan Lewis will be in the episode. All three featured heavily in series 13: Flux, so it would be strange if they weren’t in it. That being said, we may not see too much of John Bishop’s character due to commitment conflicts meaning he couldn’t be fully involved.
However, fans will be glad to know they’ll be plenty of the Doctor and Yaz, staple characters throughout the entire era. In the last episode, Legend of the Sea Devils, the two touched upon their feelings for one another. Shippers will definitely be hoping that will be explored more in their final episode together.
Also coming back from series 13 is Jacob Anderson’s Vinder. We last saw him happy with his wife, Bel, and ‘dog’ Karvanista on a spaceship of their own. We’re not sure if the latter two will be appearing, but we’ll be keeping our hopes up to see the family together again.
We saw her fleetingly in series 13, but fan favourite Kate Stewart will definitely be in the centenary special. The character took a brief hiatus, and fans were worried we may never see her again. Resolution of the Daleks said UNIT had been disbanded and we thought that was it. Luckily, series 13 revealed she had just been hiding. Now, she’s back for good.
The Return Of Some Old Friends, And Enemies
The teaser trailer at the end of Legend of the Sea Devils revealed some familiar faces would be seeing Jodie bow out. Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred played classic companions Tegan and Ace and now they’re being reintroduced to a new audience. Neither companion has returned on television since their original departure, so their appearance is incredibly exciting.
It’s not entirely sure what exactly they’ll be doing, but there are clips of Ace wielding her famous baseball bat ready to take on some Daleks. Either way, it will be great to see them again.
As for villains, something has to be there to take out the Doctor for another regeneration. However, The Power of the Doctor is spoiling us for choice. For the first time since its 2005 revival, the Daleks, Cybermen and the Master will all be in the special. The only other time was back in 1983, which had nowhere near the scale Sunday’s episode promises.
Ashad, the part-converted cyberman and Sacha Dhawan’s Master were last seen at the end of series 12. However, both will be appearing in the regeneration episode. “Welcome to the end of your existence,” the Master says, looking a little dishevelled compared to last time.
Dhawan’s master has become quickly adored by fans and many are hoping that he won’t be leaving with the era. Nothing has been confirmed yet.
Who will Jodie Whittaker be regenerating into?
Ncuti Gatwa of Sex Education fame was announced to play the Doctor earlier this year. However, it has also been confirmed that David Tennant will be playing the Doctor for the 60th-anniversary episodes.
Therefore, it’s a little uncertain who we will be seeing at the end of the episode. The press releases for the episode stopped before the regeneration, so there are very few select people who know this information. It should be either Tennant or Gatwa, however, at this point, it could be anyone. It is Doctor Who after all.
The episode is heavily (and I mean heavily) embargoed, so this is something you’ll just have to watch and see for yourself.