Doctor Who boss promises 'astonishing' Mrs Flood revelations

Anita Dobson's character has taken over Susan Twist as the show's main mystery.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MAY 08: Russell T Davies attends the U.S. Premiere Of The New Season Of Disney+ Series
Russell T Davies pictured at the US premiere of Doctor Who series 14. (Tommaso Boddi/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)

Doctor Who boss Russell T Davies has promised "astonishing reveals" on the horizon, after fans voiced their issues with the neverending mysteries under his stewardship.

In the latest episode of behind-the-scenes spin-off Doctor Who: Unleashed, which aired on Saturday following the series 14 finale, Davies discussed the various teaser-loaded cameos from Mrs Flood (played by the wife of Queen guitarist Brian May, Anita Dobson), who most recently claimed she "had such plans" before Sutekh's dust of death got to her.

Aware that Whovians are clamouring for answers, the TV writer confirmed that everything will make sense eventually - just as it did with Ruby Sunday's mother and Susan Twist.

Doctor Who S1,22-06-2024,Empire of Death,8 - Empire of Death,Mrs Flood (ANITA DOBSON) & Cherry (ANGELA WYNTER),*NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL 0001 HRS, SUNDAY 16TH JUNE, 2024*,BBC STUDIOS 2023,James Pardon
Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood and Angela Wynter as Cherry. (BBC Studios/James Pardon)

Davies, who originally revived Doctor Who in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper before taking a 12-year break, began by sharing: "Clearly there's a mystery with Mrs Flood. We've seen her way back in [Christmas special] The Church of Ruby Road where Ncuti [Gatwa] and Millie [Gibson] first appeared.

"She was the next door neighbour but then suddenly ends that episode with a great line to camera."

He also recalled her brief screentime in an episode titled 73 Yards and then last weekend's The Legend of Ruby Rose, where she got "a bit closer to the action", before switching his attention to the eighth and final instalment.

"She's not part of what Sutekh was up to," added Davis, "she's kind of trapped in whatever Sutekh was up to in as much as the whole world is. Well, I wonder what means.

"I can promise you reveals, I can promise you astonishing reveals and a lot of fun with her as well. [Dobson is] so much fun to work with, so good times with Mrs Flood to come!"

Speaking on Unleashed too, Dobson commented: "Mrs Flood's sort of changing. We don't quite know what into but she's definitely changing, yeah, or else she needs to see a therapist big time!"

Mrs Flood dressed all in white. (BBC screenshot)
Who is Mrs Flood? (BBC screenshot)

Thanks to Mrs Flood's series-closing monologue, which alluded to "absolute terror" waiting in the wings for the Time Lord, it's safe to assume that she could be the latest iteration of fellow time-traveller Romana.

Companion to Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor, this Gallifreyan's very first episode (The Ribos Operation) saw her portrayed by the late Mary Tamm. In it, she too dressed in a snow-white hooded fur coat, and given her standing as another Time Lord, Romano bears the gift of regeneration.

This theory's got legs.

Voice actor Gabriel Woolf in the recording booth. (BBC screenshot)
Voice actor Gabriel Woolf in the recording booth. (BBC screenshot)

Elsewhere on Unleashed, 91-year-old actor Gabriel Woolf addressed his long-awaited return as the voice of villain Sutekh - a character he first breathed life into during 1975's The Pyramids of Mars.

"Unbelievable. I mean, it's 48 years!" he laughed while talking to the cameramen. "It was a very small part of my life but it became bigger and bigger and bigger as the years went by."

Davies was understandably stoked to get Woolf back onboard, revealing: "It was such an amazing thing to do, to get Gabriel Woolf back as the villain. We'd always loved him as the voice of evil, he actually crops up in a David Tennant episode [2006's The Satan Pit] as the voice of the Beast.

"To get him to do the voice again is one of them gifts you get in Doctor Who, one of those great gifts of continuity that he's still working, he's still happy to be part of Doctor Who, is brilliant."

Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.