The BBC itself took a stab at the season finale of Doctor Who, which came to a rather shocking and confusing conclusion.
The BBC comedy podcast Dead Ringers is known for its pop culture parodies, but it did not hold back during its Doctor Who segment. At one point, the villain, who is only referred to as CGI Monster, asks the Doctor and his companion, "Do you think lazily-written mawkishness is going to scare me?" After his companion compliments him by saying that he "lifts everyone up by his example," the monster begins to die. "It worked, it died of cringe!" the companion exclaims. The segment then ends with the Doctor saying, "Laters, I'm going to regenerate into Billie Piper for clicks!"
In the final moments of the episode, The Doctor regenerates into Piper, who previously played fan-favorite companion Rose Tyler during the David Tennant era of the show back in 2005. The usual "introducing" on-screen text, however, did not include "as the Doctor." At the moment, it doesn't seem like Piper is set to be the next Doctor, but it also doesn't seem likely that the Doctor would regenerate into Rose Tyler. A previously released promo photo also showed what appears to be a different ending for the episode, with Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor dancing alongside Varada Sethu's Belinda...so it's possible that it was a last-minute change.
Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK, and streaming on Disney Plus worldwide. For more, check out our list of upcoming TV shows in 2025 and beyond.
