Russell T Davies Reveals Billie Piper’s Shocking 'Doctor Who' Return Wasn't the Original Ending

Published Oct 5, 2026, 6:15 PM EDT

Erielle Sudario is a Collider News and Feature Author from Australia and has worked in the journalism industry since 2018. She has a passion for entertainment and pop culture news and has interviewed YouTubers, voice actors, film directors, and musicians throughout her career. When she's not writing, you can see Erielle building keyboards, reading a good book, playing video games, and creating content on social media.

Before Doctor Who entered its latest hiatus, the Season 15 finale shocked audiences by showing Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor regeneration scene. This moment was shocking, yet confusing for many, as there were no official announcements and the credits didn't answer their questions. Now we know why that moment appeared in Doctor Who's final episode.

The Season 15 finale of Doctor Who aired on May 31, 2025, and the final scene featured the Doctor regenerating into someone who resembles former companion Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper. Unlike previous Doctor casting reveals, which included a formal announcement before the regeneration episode or confirmation in the credits, the Season 15 finale did not give Piper a clear role, sparking questions about whether she would be the 16th incarnation of the Doctor or something else entirely.

Recently, The Guardian released an excerpt from Russell T Davies' upcoming memoir, The Queerest of Folk: A Life in Television, in which he discussed Doctor Who's final moments before its hiatus. According to the showrunner, the original ending was meant to be open-ended since Gatwa was leaving the show early. Unfortunately, they worried about how children would interpret it. So they decided to alter the ending, and fortunately, Piper was available to shoot the final scene. This is what he wrote:

"As the third series was in flux, the finale was intended to climax with an open-ended regeneration. So we shot that with Ncuti: he smiled and said his last line, and the screen melted into a golden glow … Except when we edited that together, it looked like the death of the show. We said, 'Think of children watching that. It’s like a death. We can’t do that to them...' We were stuck in limbo with many months of inaction, while I sat there watching an ending that looked like too much of an ending. So I summoned a Zoom with all our execs, and I said: 'We can’t transmit this.' We need someone to step in. We need someone to be there. Someone for him to physically regenerate into in front of our eyes. We decided the Doctor should regenerate into…Billie Piper!

We approached her, and she was so delighted to do it, because she loves Doctor Who and she loves the team. We’ve all stayed great mates across the years, and Bad Wolf made Billie’s I Hate Suzie series. She gave us the fastest yes we could have had."

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In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.

AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely.

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Is Billie Piper Going to Be The New Doctor?

Ever since the finale aired, there's been debate over whether Piper was going to play the Doctor, as the credits didn't list her as such. This sparked conversation from previous cast members and fans online. While nothing has been confirmed, this chatter about the finale was something Davies wanted. This is what he said about the reaction:

"And it worked, because everyone paid attention to the show once more. I can’t begin to tell you how many people – in the streets, students here in Manchester, members of my own family – were talking about it. Two days after transmission, I went to Charlotte Moore’s farewell drinks in London. The great and good of television were there, and I couldn’t believe how many people asked me about Billie. Proper, seasoned television professionals who I never would have thought watch Doctor Who, all saying: 'Billie, Billie, Billie!'"

As of writing, Doctor Who has launched a competitive tender process to find producers to continue the show. The BBC aims for a 2028 or 2029 release date and is asking for pitches that would "maximize the scale and emotional impact of the Doctor Who universe." Pitches have already ended, and a shortlist of producers will be interviewed in January 2027, with a new production contract expected by March 2027.

Doctor Who is available to stream on Disney+. Follow Collider for more updates.