Doctor Who's Millie Gibson finally speaks out on tabloid rumours about her show 'exit'
The actress has suggested she wasn't "able to speak up" to deny the reports she'd been axed.
Millie Gibson has addressed reports surrounding her time on Doctor Who, admitting that she felt "awful" after being put in a "tough" position by claims published by tabloid newspapers.
One story published in June 2023 suggested Gibson had been labelled a "diva" after struggling with the show's intense shooting schedule, while another that followed in January 2024 suggested the then 19-year-old had been "dropped" as companion Ruby Sunday.
Gibson in fact returned to Doctor Who for several episodes alongside series newcomer Varada Sethu, with both appearing alongside Ncuti Gatwa in 2025's run of episodes.
Speaking to The i Paper, the actress admitted that the experience was "horrific" – adding that she wasn't "able to speak up" to deny the reports she'd been axed, as this would've risked spoiling the show's top-secret storylines.
"I couldn’t be like, ‘It’s a lie!’ [because] they’d be like, 'Well, that’s spoilers,'" she said.
"It was quite hard to stand up for myself without ruining the show. I was like, 'Oh, this is horrific because it just looks like it’s true.'"
Gibson added that it was "awful" being the subject of these reports, with friends and associates believing she had indeed been axed.
"What was frustrating was the amount of people that were like, 'Oh, sorry, this has happened, mate,' and I was like, 'Yeah, it’s not [happened], but thank you.'"
Gibson's next project is 5's period drama The Forsytes, a new adaptation of John Galsworthy's novels, in which she plays Irene.
The most recent season of Doctor Who wrapped up in May, with Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor regenerating into none other than Billie Piper – though whether she is truly the next incarnation of the Time Lord remains to be seen.
Fans are still waiting for confirmation on when the series might return to the airwaves, with producer Jane Tranter confirming that Disney – which co-produces the show with the BBC – does not have to decide on further seasons until after the upcoming spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, has aired.
Still, BBC executives have stressed that the series is safe no matter what – chief content officer Kate Phillips reassured viewers at the Edinburgh TV Festival that Doctor Who is "going nowhere", adding that it will remain on the BBC "with or without Disney".
Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
