Whizzing around the universe and battling aliens left, right, and center ensures that change is always at the heart of Doctor Who. Whether it’s the titular character’s face or the TARDIS’s interior design, anything can be altered! However, some things remain unaffected by the winds of time, leading one previous cast-member to suggest that her character’s feelings about the Doctor won’t have changed one bit — even though he’s regenerating as a woman ready for Season 11!
Billie Piper Supports A Romance Between Rose & The Thirteenth Doctor
Billie Piper wowed Doctor Who fans in the mid 2000’s with her endearing and relatable take on the traditional Doctor’s companion. Brave and kind, Rose’s travels with the Doctor were the first time that the show attempted to build a romance between a companion and the titular Time Lord.
Fast forward to 2017, and the famous sci-fi show is entering a brave new world with Jodie Whittaker at the helm of the TARDIS, and to some Whovians a question naturally presented itself: if Rose were to reappear on the scene, would the Doctor’s new and decidedly different regeneration change her feelings for them? It’s a fair point, especially considering that Rose fell in love with both the Ninth (Christopher Eccleston) and Tenth (#DavidTennant) incarnations respectively, but now it seems as though she’d definitely be enamored with numero Thirteen as well!
During two different Doctor Who conventions recently, Billie Piper confirmed that Rose’s love would endure for Gallifrey’s most famous progeny.
Several fans relayed the news on Twitter and when the comments were later picked up by Attitude Magazine, Piper confirmed their legitimacy, writing “Yehhhh she would,” along with “Jodie’s a babe.”
Since resident Doctor Peter Capaldi revealed that he was leaving Doctor Who, Piper has been a huge supporter of the Doctor’s evolution into her female incarnation. When Attitude later quizzed Piper about the upcoming regeneration, she again expressed excitement for Jodie Whittaker’s upcoming debut in the role
“I think it’ll bring something totally different…And I think that in whatever capacity, if they’re going to save the world and travel through time, they’re gonna have to have a strong allegiance!”
Well, the Doctor and Rose certainly had that! Indeed, the loss of Rose in the Battle of Canary Wharf continued to weigh heavily on the Doctor’s mind for some time afterwards. With these comments, Billie Piper has given fans something to mull over whilst we wait for the Christmas Special ‘Twice Upon A Time’, but will we ever see Rose meet the Thirteenth Doctor on TV?
Could We See Rose Return To The TARDIS?
It may have been over a decade since she was a full-time member of the TARDIS team, but the fan-love for Rose Tyler has never wavered. Yet, whilst there would be a lot of support for Rose Tyler’s reunion with the Doctor, her story did effectively end on Doctor Who.
After all, the episode ‘Journey’s End’ saw her return to live with the the Meta-Crisis clone of the Tenth Doctor on a parallel Earth while the true Doctor returned to our Earth. Indeed, so satisfying was this conclusion that show runner Stephen Moffat was unwilling to tamper with her story and opted to sidestep it in the 50th Anniversary special, despite wanting to bring Rose back. Instead, Piper returned as The Moment, a sentient and deadly weapon that took Rose’s form as it attempted to persuade the Doctor not to destroy Gallifrey and the Daleks.
Plus, there is the tricky fact that Rose and the Doctor are separated by the barriers between parallel worlds, although this is arguably changeable. After all, the Doctor regularly reboots or changes the fabric of reality in his travels, and now that the Time Lords are back to police the portals of the multiverse, anything is possible. So whilst Piper may not return to the TARDIS on a full-time basis as Rose, she could definitely reappear on our screens at some point down the line.
Would Rose And The Doctor Resume Their Romance?
The arrival of Jodie Whittaker’s incarnation of the Doctor raises many interesting questions about Doctor Who going forward, especially where the relationships with her companions are concerned. For example, if a new lady enters the TARDIS, could she potentially catch the Doctor’s eye as Rose did? Or if Rose returns, will they pick up where they left off?
Since the Doctor has assumed a paternal role for the majority of the show’s run, many fans have categorized him as asexual. However the Eleventh Doctor’s (#MattSmith) marriage to River Song (Alex Kingston) — coupled with the fact the First Doctor (William Hartnell) was travelling with his granddaughter Susan when the show began — indicates that the character has heterosexual preferences.
Yet, the Doctor has long been portrayed as a character who appreciates the universe and all its wonderful life forms for what they are. Indeed, even though he/she regenerates from time to time, a sense of justice and compassion carries over from incarnation to incarnation. This is also the same when it comes to love.
![[Credit: Twitter]](https://i2.wp.com/images.moviepilot.com/images/c_limit,q_auto:good,w_600/amhbwqrnv7fwuwlbc4ia/credit-twitter.jpg?w=620&ssl=1)
Certainly, Steven Moffat himself confirmed that the Eleventh Doctor still loved Rose, even after all of that time apart. There’s no reason that this should change just because the Doctor is changing into a woman. Moreover, as the aforementioned quote from the recent episode ‘World Enough and Time’ shows, Time Lords are very flexible where love and gender are concerned, so it stands to reason that there could be some #LGBT love heading into the TARDIS.
Unfortunately, it’s worth remembering that the inter-species kiss shared by Madama Vastra (Neve McIntosh) and her wife Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) certainly caused uproar when it was first broadcast inDoctor Who several years ago. Therefore, it’ll be intriguing to see whether or not the BBC will want to court even more controversy over their flagship family show, especially following the outcry over the Thirteenth Doctor’s reveal.
Unfortunately, until we see and hear more about Chris Chibnall’s new approach to Doctor Who, we can only speculate about the Thirteenth Doctor’s love life. Whichever way it goes though, Billie Piper summed up the feelings of many fans by saying:
“I think this is just the beginning of something really exciting.”
Don’t we all, Billie? Although, let’s just hope there aren’t any more scenes like the one at Bad Wolf Bay; I’m not sure our emotions could take another moment like that!
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