When Doctor Who returns this May, it will be with a "season 1" meant to serve as an entry point for new and lapsed viewers.
However, showrunner Russell T Davies - who first took charge of the series when it was rebooted with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in 2005 - isn't looking to alienate longtime fans. In fact, he tells Entertainment Weekly (via SFFGazette.com) that the divisive "Timeless Child" arc is a key source of inspiration for Ruby Sunday's story.
During Jodie Whittaker's stint in the TARDIS, we learned that the Doctor wasn't born on Gallifrey and may have hailed from another universe altogether. The planet's leaders stole the orphan's ability to regenerate and the "Timeless Child" (whose memories were wiped by the Divison) became the basis for the Time Lords.
"That story’s going to be the spine of the whole show," Davies teases, confirming that despite tabloid speculation, Ruby will also be a huge part of season 2. "We’re heading into season 2, and my God, Ruby Sunday is important to that. There’s good stuff to come."
With no knowledge of his past, it seems the Doctor and Ruby will bond over the mystery surrounding their respective childhoods and the fact they're both orphans.
Elsewhere in the interview, the showrunner reveals that after originally agreeing to write a few specials revolving around David Tennant's Doctor and Catherine Tate's Donna Noble, the BBC came to him with an offer he couldn't refuse. The biggest selling point? A proper budget.
"They sprung the trap on me," Davies laughs. "They said, 'We want to make Doctor Who bigger. We want to take it to a streamer. We want to go worldwide. We want it to have a bigger budget. And we want it to be up there with Stranger Things and Star Trek and the Marvel shows. We think that it’s good enough, and we believe in the show to know that it can have that heft, weight, and swagger.'"
Calling the pitch "music to my ears," he adds, "Finally, we can afford for different members of an alien race to have different faces!"
"It was one of those times in my life where people said, 'Oh, you can do anything you want now.' It’s very rarely true for a writer, but actually, that was one of those moments when I thought, 'Okay, I can do whatever I want.' So, to turn around and tell my agency, 'I’m going back to Doctor Who,' it was quite a moment."
You can check out some stills from Doctor Who's upcoming return, along with a cool new banner, in the X posts below.