Billie Piper: Nostalgia, Gimmick or Desperation

Rumours circulated that Ncuti Gatwa had already handed over the TARDIS keys before his tenure as the Fifteenth Doctor had even started, and fans were left wondering if the search for the Sixteenth Doctor was under way. Surely the BBC would find someone with the calibre that would be perfect to pilot the TARDIS for further adventures, right? Think of how many big name have been on shortlists and fan polls, think of how many actors or actresses the BBC have to choose from.

So, with the season 2 or series 15 finale hitting the screens and movie theatres, fans watched in awe or frustration or confusion or (insert other emotion here) as Ncuti Gatwa left the show after two short, rather unremarkable years, only to be replaced with – Rose Tyler? Okay who’s joking around here? Come on speak up? Where’s the real ending? Who’s next? What do you mean this is real?

            With Billie Piper as the next incarnation as The Doctor one has to wonder what on Earth is going on at the BBC. For the first time a former companion actress will play The Doctor. Billie Piper played Rose from 2005 – 2006, only to return in 2008 and 2010 for further appearances, whilst another appearance as The Moment in The Day of the Doctor occurred in 2013. Is this a nostalgia movement to return to the good-old days when the show had character, heart, good writing, great monsters, decent story arcs, memorable moments, quotable lines etc. etc. etc. etc.? Is this a crowd-pleasing movement to give heartbreaking fans seeing Doctor Who decent into a childish imitation of what the show once was, a fresh new look that will regenerate the show once more? Or is this a desperation movement to give us the second female Doctor to do nothing but be a crowd-pleasing move? Is this, is this -

Did anyone really want to see a companion play The Doctor, considering how many actors would do anything to land the part of the famous Time Lord? Is this really what the BBC want? Is this really the direction for the show for the next few years? Is this really what the part of The Doctor has come down to?

The Twelfth Doctor previously borrowed the appearance of Caecilius from The Fires of Pompeii, the Fourteenth Doctor returned to his appearance from his Tenth incarnation, and now the Sixteenth Doctor is borrowing from a companion he (or she) travelled with; who if you remember: kissed him (several times), professed her love for him, and is technically married to him (remember the meta crisis Doctor from Journey’s End? Remember BBC? No? Well, it looks the BBC are just doing what they want and no longer care about their most profitable and best loved show of all time.

Who’s next Freema Agyeman as the Seventeenth Doctor?