Millie Gibson will appear as Ruby Sunday in just two episodes of the next series of Doctor Who, it has been claimed.
In Saturday night's finale, foundling Ruby discovered the true identity of her mother - an "ordinary" woman who gave her away aged 15 - and left The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) in order to reconnect with her birth family.
Gibson will not be part of this year's Christmas special, with Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan boarding the TARDIS for a one-off festive adventure.
The 2025 series will introduce Varada Sethu as a new companion, supposedly alongside a returning Gibson - but The Mirror claims that Ruby will feature in just two of the eight episodes.
A source told the newspaper: "In next year's series there is a big standalone episode featuring Ruby reminiscing about her time with The Doctor, as a flashback.
"And then the story about her and her family members is wrapped up in the season finale. But it's more about them than her."
Speaking on this week's Doctor Who: Unleashed, showrunner Russell T Davies said of Ruby's return: "This is a pause. I genuinely felt Ruby's story paused there.
"She couldn't get all that information about her family, all that emotional overload, and run off in the TARDIS. It pauses there. She's coming back."
Whether Gibson will return to the show full or part time in the 2026 series is unknown as it has yet to be officially commissioned by the BBC and Disney+, although Davies has already been working on the scripts in preparation.
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