Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: doctor who

Doctor Who: Billie Piper "Approached Very Last-Minute" for Regen Scene

Billie Piper chose her words carefully, discussing rejoining "The Whoniverse" during the Doctor Who Season 2 finale, "The Reality War."

When it comes to the future of the BBC's Doctor Who, there are just as many questions to ask behind the scenes as there are regarding what's been hitting our screens. Regarding cliffhanger suspense, you have to give Showrunner Russell T. Davies a ton of creative credit for throwing out a huge shocker at the end of the season finale. When a Doctor regenerates, it's headline-worthy but not surprising (though Ncuti Gatwa exiting after only two seasons will always be a waste of a great talent who deserved many more seasons, just like Jodie Whittaker). But when "The Reality War" saw Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor regenerate into none other than Billie Piper, it didn't take long for fans to lose their collective s**t in any number of ways.

Did we just meet the Sixteenth Doctor, choosing to take on the look of Piper's Rose Tyler? Could that be Rose, and something got screwed up with the regeneration? Joined by Christopher Eccleston for a panel at Florida SuperCon 2025, Piper chose her words carefully when discussing her return to the franchise. "This is such a minefield. I have to really engage with how I answer this. All I can say is I was approached very last-minute, and I can't talk about in what capacity, but I found it very emotional to film, and I think it's a really great ending," Piper shared. "As in, I just found it quite moving, and it was really fun to film because it had such a sort of cloak-and-dagger feeling about getting it made. So, yeah, I have to lie a lot about anything to do with 'Doctor Who,' it seems."

BBC Studios "Really Committed" to Doctor Who; Disney "Crucial Partner"

After the publication of the BBC Annual Report earlier this month, BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell made it clear that the studio is "really committed to 'Doctor Who' and is continuing to look at ways in which we can bring the show to fans." For Fussell, the strength of the show's brand and its history is a major plus.

"Fans love the 'Doctor Who' brand. It's been that way since before I was in short trousers," Fussell shared. As for Disney, he noted that "The Mouse" has been a "key partner of ours" on shows like Doctor Who, Bluey, Dancing with the Stars, and others, as well as "a decade's worth of natural history" between the two.  "They are a crucial partner and we share a lot of the same values, so I'm really proud of the way that relationship has worked," Fussell explained.

Here's the complete response from an interview with THR: "We're really committed to Doctor Who. We really want to carry on looking at ways for fans to interact with the brand. We look after the brand, whether it's at Comic Con, merchandising, or whether it's the distribution deal we've done. The BBC and Disney haven't made a decision yet. When they do, they'll announce it. There's no point me speculating on it. But Doctor Who is a much-loved brand by everyone in BBC Studios, and we love being part of that sort."

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