Doctor Who favourite Billie Piper speaks out on "last-minute" regeneration scene and how it was "very emotional to film"
Piper was speaking at Florida Supercon 2025, while sat alongside Ninth Doctor star Christopher Eccleston.
It's been two months since Billie Piper made a shock return to Doctor Who, appearing out of Ncuti Gatwa's regeneration energy at the end of The Reality War.
Since then, questions have swirled as to what this means for the series going forward. Is Piper playing the 16th Doctor? Or will there be some sort of twist, in which the Doctor has swapped bodies with Piper's previous character, Rose Tyler?
While we are yet to get any answers to these mysteries, and likely won't for some time, we have now finally heard from the woman herself, with Piper opening up about her return during an appearance at Florida Supercon 2025.
While on stage with Ninth Doctor star Christopher Eccleston for a panel, Piper was asked by a member of the audience about how her return came together and what her reaction to it was.
Piper said: "This is such a minefield - I have to really engage with how I answer this. All I can say is I was approached very last-minute, and I can't talk about in what capacity, but I found it very emotional to film and I think it's a really great ending.
"As in, I just found it quite moving, and it was really fun to film because it had such a sort of cloak and dagger feeling about getting it made. So, yeah, I have to lie a lot about anything to do with Doctor Who, it seems."
You can watch the section featuring Piper's response in the video below, from 32:35.
It's unclear when fans will see the resolution to The Reality War's cliffhanger, as the future of Doctor Who is currently uncertain as we wait for news of the BBC's production and distribution deal with Disney.
Regardless of how this shapes out, BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell has said he is "committed" to the series going forward.
The next time fans will get to visit the Whoniverse on screen will be later this year, when spin-off series The War Between the Land and the Sea debuts.
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
