Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: Anita Dobson, bbc, brookside, Coronation Street, doctor who, Millie Gibson, neil patrick harris, russell t davies, Susan Twist, the archers
Doctor Who: Is Susan Twist Playing the Same Secret Character?
Character actor Susan Twist has appeared more than once in the new Doctor Who. Could she appear again - and is she a secret major character?
Article Summary
- Susan Twist's multiple roles in Doctor Who fuel theories of a secret character.
- Speculation arises whether she's an immortal figure in the show or a favorite of casting.
- Twist's extensive acting history includes Brookside, Coronation Street, and The Bill.
- Russell T. Davies teases god-level villains - potentially linked to Twist's character?
Susan Twist is an actor you probably haven't heard of, and her appearances in Doctor Who are sparking off wild speculation from fans about who she might turn out to be. Fans just love a wild theory, and Twist's multiple appearances as more than one character are food for just that.
Twist made her first appearance in the opening minutes of the second 60th Anniversary Special "Wild Blue Yonder," where she played Isaac Newton's (Nathaniel Curtis) housekeeper Mrs. Merridrew. In the Christmas Special "The Church on Ruby Street", she is uncredited despite having a speaking role as an audience member in the music club Ruby's band plays at the beginning where she loudly requests Ruby's friend sing "Gaudette," an obscure 16th Century Christmas carol. Is she going to appear again in the upcoming season of Doctor Who? Is she an immortal lurking on Earth through history? Or is Susan Twist just getting more work on the series because her agent is really good and the casting director likes her? Or is she part of showrunner Russell T. Davies' grand plan?
If you look up Susan Twist's CV, you will find that she is a real, living, breathing British character actor who has a long list of credits since 1980. Aside from her current work on Doctor Who, she played a recurring character in 18 episodes of the gone-but-missed Liverpool-based soap opera series Brookside. She has appeared on the defunct and quite demented ITV cop soap opera The Bill, the country's longest-running TV soap Coronation Street (from which the latest Doctor's companion Millie Gibson was discovered), BBC Radio 4 audio dramas like The Archers (the world's longest-running soap opera in any medium, active the 1951) and cop series Stone, and various other TV projects. She's one of the dependable character actors who are so good we tend to take them for granted and not remember them. She is not someone Russell T. Davies, who loves everything about Television, especially the unsung heroes, would neglect. Just look at Nolly, his miniseries about Crossroads star Noelle Gordon on ITV and coming to PBS in Spring 2024.
In "The Giggle", the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) warns the Doctor of a Big Bad named The One Who Waits. There are several candidates for The One Who Waits: Whoever Susan Twist is playing? Anita Dobson's Mrs. Flood? Yet another character yet to show up? We know the next Master is coming as well. Davies has said there will be several god-level baddies like the Toymaker showing up in the upcoming series. Davies does nothing by accident. In the meantime, let's just enjoy Susan Twist's work as a good character actor who continues to entertain us.
New Doctor Who is now streaming on Disney+, you lucky people.