Warning: SPOILERS ahead for the Doctor Who season 14 finale!
Summary
Doctor Whoshowrunner Russell T Davies reveals how David Tennant’s special episodes for the 60th anniversary of the show teased Sutekh’s return in season 14. Theend ofDoctor Whoseason 14saw the Osiran come back in the final two episodes, having previously appeared in the serial “Pyramids of Mars” in 1975. Although the villain’s return was a surprise, it also marked one of many times in recent years the show has brought back threats from its original run in new forms.
Speaking onDoctor Who Unleashed, though, Davies revealed that Sutekh’s return was actually foreshadowed during Tennant’s special episodes as the Fourteenth Doctor last year. The showrunner explains howthe title sequence for those episodes involving the TARDIS and the vortexwere early clues that the villain was going to make a comeback. Check out what Davies had to say below:
See, way way back, when we did the title sequence, way back for the specials for David Tennant, that’s why I wanted the TARDIS to spark with the vortex, because I knew this was coming. I said, at the end of the series, the interaction between an object and the vortex sparking will be important. So that’s why it’s always been there.
Russell T Davies Seems To Have The Fifteenth Doctor’s Run Planned Out In Advance
Major Storytelling Moments Indicate A Big Overarching Narrative
The final episode ofseason 14 answers some major questions and resolves big story events, while also leaving some threads dangling to be explored inDoctor Whoseason 15.This included Sutekh being defeated by getting thrown back into a Time Vortex, while it’s revealed Ruby’s mother was simply a teenager who’d gotten pregnant at a young age. At the same time, though, the story sets up the Doctor needing a new companion, while also offering only cryptic hints about who Mrs. Flood could really be.
With season 15 already filmed, and plans for a potential season 16 already in the works,it appears Davies already knows what direction the Fifteenth Doctor’s story is going to go in. This means he’s likely already planned out details aboutwho Mrs. Flood really isand what the Doctor will do after Ruby temporarily leaves him as his companion. Because of how meticulously plotted Sutekh’s return was, it will make sense for that same level of detail to apply to many other developments the story has moving forward.
As the Fifteenth Doctor’s story progresses, it seems other threats from the past could become just as dangerous as they were when he first met them. However, if familiar characters do come back in surprising ways, it will probably happen in ways that enhance the overall story being told. Given the level of detail that’s been present in season 14, future episodes ofDoctor Whomay also pay off hints the audience doesn’t even know about yet.
The next episode ofDoctor Whowill be the 2024 Christmas special, titled “Joy to the World,” airing on December 25.
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Doctor Who: Released on July 28, 2025, this series follows the Doctor and their companion as they journey across time and space, encountering a range of extraordinary friends and adversaries, expanding the universe of the long-running British science fiction series.
