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Doctor Who's new companion is set to be revealed tonight (Friday, November 18), Russell T Davies has confirmed. The showrunner took to Instagram this morning to share an image of a couple of heart emojis – a symbol for the two-hearted titular Time Lord – a plus sign, and a red diamond, and told his followers that the sidekick's identity will be announced during live BBC fundraiser Children in Need.
"Exciting!" Davies captioned the post, "And hey, I know times are tough, but if you could donate, that would be amazing. It's the best cause."
The diamond emoji is a reference to Doctor Who's 60th anniversary, which will coincide with Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa's introduction as the Fifteenth Doctor in 2023. So those desperate to find out sooner than this evening won't have much luck trying to use it as a clue, unfortunately. Davies looks to be keeping tight-lipped in the comments section, too, simply writing variations of, "Here we go again" and "So much fun" to several celebrity repliers.
Whoever the mystery companion is will be the latest in a long line of the Doctor's most trusted allies. Just in terms of the reboots, we've seen the Time Lord team up with the likes of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), Dan Lewis (John Bishop).
Another notable partner over the years has been Catherine Tate's Donna Noble, who hopped aboard the TARDIS during David Tennant's run as the Tenth Doctor. Both actors are geared up to reprise their roles, with Tennant playing the Fourteenth Doctor this time around, when the long-running sci-fi show returns next year.
Back in May 2022, it was confirmed that Heartstopper's Yasmin Finney would also appear in the three-part anniversary special as a character named Rose. The late Bernard Cribbins, Jacqueline King and Karl Collins are also set to return as Wilfred Mott, Sylvia Noble and Shaun Temple, respectively. Neil Patrick Harris will also feature.
Doctor Who is set to return to BBC One in the UK and Disney Plus internationally in November 2023. While we wait, check out our list of the best new shows coming your way in 2022 and beyond.
