Doctor Who season 14 finale minor spoilers follow.
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has dropped a curious hint about Fleabag star Sian Clifford’s appearance in the season 14 finale.
It was announced last week that the BAFTA TV Award-winning actor will be playing the intriguingly-named Kind Woman in this weekend’s season-closer ‘Empire of Death’, which streams on BBC iPlayer at midnight on Saturday.
Clifford’s appearance was not announced with the rest of the Doctor Who guest cast before the season started, with little known about her character besides her name.
Related: Doctor Who merchandise and biggest summer deals
Speaking on The Official Doctor Who Podcast, Russell T Davies seemingly hinted at how Kind Woman will fit in with The Doctor and Ruby’s battle against Sutekh the Destroyer and Susan Triad.
“All of these people are brilliant and Mel’s still there, everyone’s fighting and winning and losing but far away on a distant planet, a kind woman is waiting with something absolutely vital,” he teased.
This mysterious character is all the more interesting because of the questions still remaining about Ruby Sunday’s origins ahead of ‘Empire of Death’.
Despite The Doctor and UNIT’s efforts to identify Ruby’s mother by using a Time Window to go back to Christmas Eve 2004, no-one was able to see the face of the hooded woman who placed newborn Ruby on the church doorstep.
Related: How to get Doctor Who‘s three new Ncuti Gatwa books on sale
The heroes have been a bit busy since their trip back to 2004, with the sudden re-emergence of the self-proclaimed “god of all gods” Sutekh in a fiendish plot to destroy The Doctor.
There are other mysteries that fans are hoping will be resolved in ‘Empire of Death’, including the identity of Ruby’s neighbour Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson).
Mrs Flood showed her familiarity with a TARDIS earlier in the season, then accurately predicted that Sutekh was the oft-mentioned ‘The One Who Waits’. Who exactly is she?
Doctor Who debuts new episodes at midnight on Saturday, airing on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
Interested in talking about Doctor Who? Visit our dedicated sub-forum
Night News Editor
Justin has been with Digital Spy since 2010, and in that time, has covered countless major news events for DS from the US.Â
He has worked previously as both a reporter and sub editor for the brand, prior to taking on the position of Night News Editor in 2016.Â
Over more than a decade, he has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. As a US contributor to Digital Spy, Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo.