Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies details the heartbreaking backstory of Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor's companion Ruby

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Exclusive: Russell T Davies speaks on Doctor Who's Ruby and her rather troubling origins

Doctor Who
(Image credit: BBC Studios)

Showrunner Russell T Davies reveals that this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, titled Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road, will focus not only on The Doctor’s new sidekick Ruby, but her origins too. 

"It’s unashamedly the story of Ruby, it’s called 'The Church On Ruby Road' because that’s where the church is where Ruby was left as a baby in 2004," Davies tells SFX magazine in the new issue, which features Doctor Who on the cover. "So, she’s named after that church. She’s a foundling, so no one knows who her mother or father is." He continues, "She was named after the church on Ruby Road."

Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson, is The Fifteenth Doctor’s companion and will join Ncuti Gatwa in the upcoming new season premiering in 2024 (which Davies is calling season 1). Davies has also shared how he found Gibson whilst watching the British television drama Coronation Street, in which she stars. The Christmas special, which will explore Ruby’s troubled start in life, marks Gatwa and Gibson’s first full episode together and will see the pair meet before they embark on their first adventure together.

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Later in the interview, Davies mentions that Ruby being named after Ruby Road will carry over into the next season as well as other themes brought up in the episode. "Not every question is answered in the Christmas special and that continues all the way through to the most magnificent finale ever shot on planet Earth. No hype! I swear that’s true," the showrunner explains.

The Church on Ruby Road is the fourth Doctor Who special set to release this year, after the show welcomed back David Tennant for three episodes in celebration of the series’ 60th anniversary. 

Doctor Who: The Church On Ruby Road premieres on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, and Disney Plus on December 25, 2023. The above is just a snippet from our interview with Davies, available in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Doctor Who on the cover and is available on newsstands from Friday, December 1. For even more from SFX, sign up for the newsletter, sending all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox.

Darren Scott

I'm the Editor of SFX, the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine – available digitally and in print every four weeks since 1995. I've been editing magazines, and writing for numerous publications since before the Time War. Obviously SFX is the best one. I knew being a geek would work out fine.

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