What Billie Piper said in the past about Doctor Who being a woman
Fans still aren't sure if she's actually The Doctor.
Billie Piper made a triumphant return to Doctor Who over the weekend, but gave fans more questions than answers.
The season two finale The Reality War ended on a universe shattering bombshell with Ncuti Gatwa regenerating and transforming into the former Rose Tyler actress.
Whovians are still trying to figure out what it all means, including whether or not she’s actually the 16th Doctor.
If she is, that would make Billie,42, the second woman to take on the iconic role after 13th Doctor Jodie Whittaker, who also made a surprise appearance in the episode.
However, it seems Billie, 42, hasn’t always been on board with the idea of a woman in control of the TARDIS.
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‘I don’t think the Doctor should be a woman,’ she initially told HELLO! in 2009, likening it to James Bond.
Some fans are sure she will be the next iteration of the Time Lord (Picture: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/James Pardon/PA Wire)To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
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Previous Page Next PageShe added: ‘Forgive me, I know it’s not a feminist thing to say, but it’s like saying, “Let’s make James Bond a woman”. It’s a man’s role.’
Eight years later, her stance had changed and she showed a change of heart, the same year Jodie was cast.
She told the BBC: ‘I think it would be great [to have a female Doctor] given the spirit of the world at the moment. I think it would be timely.’
Jodie Whittaker was the first woman to play The Doctor in 2017 (Picture: CREDIT LINE:BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/James Pardon) Ncuti Gatwa has left the TARDIS after his shock regeneration (Picture: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/James Pardon)Billie played assistant Rose full time from 2005 to 2006 opposite Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant, and later returned for season four before appearing as The Moment in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special.
It’s still unclear whether or not she actually is the Doctor or not for her new stint, as the he episode rolled to credits on Saturday with the curious phrasing: ‘Introducing Billie Piper.’
And despite many fans naturally jumping to conclusions about her being Ncuti’s successor as the Time Lord, she has not actually been labelled as such through any official channels.
On social media she reflected on her return and teased ‘who, how, why and when, you’ll just have to wait and see’.
Billie previously starred on Doctor Who as Rose Tyler (Picture: BBC) She only had kind words for Ncuti (Picture: Billie Piper/Instagram)And the BBC added: ‘Just how and why she [Billie Piper] is back remains to be seen…’ while showrunner Russell T Davies echoed ‘quite how and why and who is a story yet to be told’.
Regardless, she has the backing of Ncuti.
After sharing a nod to her original character Rose upon her return to the show, the departing Doctor reshared it on his story and wrote: ‘Legend. Icon.’
She wrote on her own Instagram story: ‘Joy to the world Ncuti Gatwa. You were/are bloody brilliant. Truly memorable, big on feels. Utterly mesmerising.’
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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