Doctor Who answers 73 Yards mystery – Millie Gibson explains surprise episode link

The widely-praised instalment saw Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday followed by a mysterious woman, with viewers seeing Ruby grow up and live out different stages of her life.

By the end of the episode, though, when we return to the present day, it seems Ruby doesn't remember anything of her adventures in 73 Yards. So what happened to the life that she lived in that episode and all her memories?

Now, Wish World has revealed that Ruby constantly has a mirrored sense of reality in her mind after living her life out in 73 Yards.

The episode shows all of our heroes, including the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) dropped into an alternate reality, controlled by the Rani (Archie Panjabi) and Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King) – and having any doubts about the truth of that reality is grounds for very harsh punishment indeed.

Speaking to Ruth Madeley's Shirley Anne Bingham about their doubts of the Wish World, Ruby says: "There's this man called the Doctor and he's connected somehow. Because it feels like I've lived through this before."

As we see flashes of Ruby's life from 73 Yards, she adds: "I've seen 2025 and it was different."

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about that moment, Gibson explained: "She's the only one that has this distorted reality where she knows the truth, and that's basically because of 73 Yards – she's always got this mirrored version of reality in her mind that no one else sees.

"She can't catch a break – no one's really listening to her! and that's what makes her so unique in this episode...it's a really unique path for Ruby this finale, because she's the only one that kind of knows what's going on."

She added of the 73 Yards connection: "I didn't expect it. I think it needed it as well, because I think a lot of viewers love that episode, but were also a bit like, 'Okay, but what now?'

"So I think this links that all together really well, and I think it's so clever. I mean, I love doing that storyline, and I always wondered where that world went.

"So I think when it comes back into this, it's really cool, and it was almost playing that kind of confused thing again, like, 'Where's the Doctor, but why is no one listening to me?' So all kind of links up really well. I think it's needed for this episode, for sure."

Elsewhere, Wish World saw the return of Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush, as well as a surprise comeback from Jonathan Groff's Rogue. Plus, it heralded the return of iconic villain Omega.

As for whether we'll see any more familiar faces in the finale episode, Gibson teased: "Russell has such a knack for adding these Easter eggs in... I know that he is linking a lot of the Doctor's life into the finale, which is always really intriguing.

"And I think having some faces that you haven't seen in the season yet will be back...I can say it's a stellar cast, and I have had the best time working in this finale for sure."

Doctor Who continues on Saturday 31st May, with new episodes available from 8am on Saturdays on BBC iPlayer in the UK and later the same day on BBC One. The series is available on Disney+ outside of the UK.

Add Doctor Who to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

Dive into our Doctor Who story guide: reviews of every episode since 1963, plus cast & crew listings, production trivia, and exclusive material from the Radio Times archive.

Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.