This Is Why Doctor Who Fans Aren't All Convinced That Billie Piper Is Really The New Doctor

Doctor Who fans across the world were gagged on Saturday night when Billie Piper made an unexpected return to the franchise.

After weeks of speculation about whether Ncuti Gatwa’s time as The Doctor was coming to an end in the not-too-distant future, the most recent finale saw his character regenerating, after two seasons at the helm of the Tardis.

What few could have foreseen would be that his character would regenerate into what appears to be a new incarnation of The Doctor, played by Billie Piper.

Billie, of course, already has a long history with Doctor Who, starring in the role of Rose Tyler when the reboot first began airing 20 years ago.

The Olivier winner’s unexpected appearance led to a wide array of pretty much every reaction possible on social media, and a slew of headlines hailing her arrival as The Sixteenth Doctor.

However, other fans are not convinced it’s as simple as that.

At the end of the first season of the Doctor Who revival, Rose ended up absorbing the heart of Tardis, becoming a new omniscient entity known as “Bad Wolf”.

Billie most recently appeared in Doctor Who for its 50th anniversary special, this time playing a different being altogether, known as “The Moment”.

So, given the fact that Billie has repeatedly popped up in the long-running sci-fi saga as a variety of different entities – not everyone in the Whovian fandom believes that her latest appearance necessarily means she’s the new Doctor.

Tellingly, her appearance in the final credits says simply “introducing Billie Piper” rather than “introducing Billie Piper as The Doctor”, which is traditionally the terminology used when ushering in a new incarnation of the Time Lord…

Our favourite post of them all, though, has to be this one…

After the episode aired, Billie teased: “It’s no secret how much I love this show, and I have always said I would love to return to the Whoniverse as I have some of my best memories there, so to be given the opportunity to step back on that Tardis one more time was just something I couldn’t refuse, but who, how, why and when, you’ll just have to wait and see...”

Showrunner Russell T Davies also said: “Billie once changed the whole of television, back in 2005, and now she’s done it again!

“It’s an honour and a hoot to welcome her back to the TARDIS, but quite how and why and who is a story yet to be told. After 62 years, the Doctor’s adventures are only just beginning!”

The Doctor has previously regenerated into a familiar face once before, when Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth became a new version of the Time Lord, played by David Tennant in his second stint in charge of the Tardis.

It’s not yet clear whether a new season of Doctor Who is currently on the cards, with tabloid speculation about the show being “rested” at the end of its latest run.

Last month, a BBC spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “As we have previously stated, the decision on season three will be made after season two airs and any other claims are just pure speculation.”