Ruby Sunday
| Ruby Sunday | |
|---|---|
| Doctor Who character | |
| First appearance | "The Church on Ruby Road" (2023) |
| Portrayed by | Millie Gibson |
| Duration | 2023–present |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Human |
| Affiliation | Fifteenth Doctor |
| Relatives | Carla Sunday (adoptive mother) Cherry Sunday (adoptive maternal grandmother) |
| Home | Earth |
| Home era | 21st century |
Ruby Sunday is a fictional character created by Russell T Davies and portrayed by Millie Gibson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the show's fourteenth series, starting with the Christmas special, Ruby serves as a companion of the Fifteenth Doctor, an incarnation of the alien time traveller known as the Doctor (portrayed by Ncuti Gatwa).
Appearances
Ruby Sunday is introduced in the fourteenth series' Christmas Special, "The Church on Ruby Road". Ruby was born on Christmas Eve 2004. Her birth mother abandoned her on the outside of the titular Ruby Road church. She was then fostered and adopted by Carla Sunday. Nineteen years later, Ruby is trying to find information about her birth parents, to no avail. She is also experiencing unnatural bad luck, attracting the Fifteenth Doctor's interest. When her adoptive mother's new foster baby is kidnapped by human-eater goblins, Ruby boards their flying ship and formally meets the Doctor. After deducing that the goblins feed on coincidence and cause Ruby's bad luck, the Doctor and Ruby save the baby. However, the creatures go back in time to kidnap Ruby on her birth day and eat her. The Doctor follows them and saves Ruby. Back to 2023, Ruby understands the Doctor is a time traveller and follows him inside the TARDIS.[1]
Casting and development
In July 2021, Jodie Whittaker announced that she would end her tenure as the Thirteenth Doctor by 2022.[2] Mandip Gill and John Bishop, who portrayed the Thirteenth Doctor's companions Yasmin Khan and Dan Lewis, later stated that they were unsure if they would continue starring following the 2022 specials, but Gill confirmed her departure from the show on 3 May 2022.[3] Later that month, it was announced that Catherine Tate would return as Donna Noble to act as the companion for David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor during the 2023 specials.[4] Auditions for the Fifteenth Doctor's companion took place on 24 September 2022.[5] On 18 November 2022, during Children in Need, Millie Gibson was announced as the new companion Ruby Sunday.[6]
In November 2023, it was confirmed that Gibson would stay over for the fifteenth series.[7]
Reception
Following her introduction, Ruby Sunday was positively received by critics. Empire's Jordan King praised the character's dynamics with Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor, and commented that "there's more than enough in Gibson's performance to suggest far greater depths yet for her to explore with the character."[8] Ed Power from The Independent mentioned that Gibson's performance made her "immediately likeable", calling Ruby "a wonderful new companion".[9]
References
- ^ Writer Russell T Davies, Director Mark Tonderai (25 December 2023). "The Church on Ruby Road". Doctor Who. Series 14. Episode 0. Cardiff. BBC. BBC One.
- ^ "Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall to leave in 2022". BBC News. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ Fullerton, Huw (25 October 2021). "John Bishop and Mandip Gill say they could stay in Doctor Who after Jodie Whittaker's exit: "It's a conversation to be had"". Radio Times. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
- ^ "David Tennant and Catherine Tate return to Doctor Who". Doctor Who. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ TVZone (9 November 2022). "Doctor Who: Series 14 Updates And Production Team Confirmed". TVZoneUK. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "Millie Gibson is the new Doctor Who companion, Ruby Sunday | Doctor Who". Doctor Who TV. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ Laford, Andrea (15 November 2023). "Millie Gibson films scenes for 2025 Doctor Who in Bristol". CultBox. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ King, Jordan (25 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Church On Ruby Road Review". Empire. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ Power, Ed (25 December 2023). "Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Church on Ruby Road review – the charismatic Ncuti Gatwa knocks it out of the park". The Independant. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
External links
- Ruby Sunday on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki
