The New Doctor Who Season Will See The Return Of Another Familiar Character

It's a great (and somewhat confusing) time to be a Whovian. Although Ncuti Gatwa has been announced as the next Doctor, and Millie Gibson's been announced as the next companion, these are not the main characters we'll be following as we head into the 60th Anniversary Specials. Instead, those three special episodes will be focused on the return of the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), who is now technically the Fourteenth Doctor too. There's also the return of Donna Noble to look out for, as well as the return of the old showrunner Russell T. Davies, who ran the revival show from seasons 1 through 4. 

The one thing we know for sure is that, when those specials are over, we will get a regular season with Gatwa and Gibson. With Davies sticking around as showrunner, you'd think it'd be safe to say that most of the returning characters would be from those early seasons. Viewers wouldn't be too surprised if Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) or Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) came back for an episode or two. 

What is a little surprising, however, is the return of any character from showrunner Steven Moffat's run of the series, or from the episodes overseen by recent showrunner Chris Chibnall. Moffat, after all, mostly avoided bringing back characters from the Davies' era, just as Chibnall largely avoided bringing back Moffat or Davies-specific characters. That's why it's nice to find out that Jemma Redgrave, who's played Kate Lethbridge-Stewart ever since season 7, is returning for Gatwa's first season. She'll be joined by Aneurin Barnard, an actor best known from his role as Gibson in "Dunkirk" and was recently seen as Daniel Solace in the Netflix series "1899."

Kate was introduced in season 7's "The Power of Three" as the head of UNIT, The United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) takes a liking to her instantly. because she's the daughter of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), a beloved long-running character from the classic series. 

Kate is smart and idealistic, pushing UNIT from within to be a more peaceful, scientific group. She usually shows up in stories where Earth is under attack, like when Cybermen invade in the season 8 finale. She's almost always an ally to the Doctor, although at times the two clash due to some ideological differences. Whereas the Doctor is almost always a pacifist, Kate is a little more willing to go to war if she thinks it's necessary, which leads to a near-falling out in the "Zygon Invasion/Inversion" two-parter in season 9. Luckily she eventually agrees with the Doctor's pleas for peace, and the two characters remain on good terms. 

Kate made a few handful of appearances throughout Chibnall's era, the latest of which was in the 2021 episode "The Vanquishers." The fact that she's appeared so recently on the show means her return in season 14 isn't too big of a shock, but it's still significant. Nobody would've blamed Davies if he'd decided to bring back Torchwood as the main Earth-bound government force the Doctor had to interact with. 

As for who Aneurin Barnard will play? There are no details yet, but it seems like he'll be an entirely new character. Maybe he'll get to join in on a couple of adventures through time and space, or maybe he'll turn out to be the season's main villain. Barnard made a strong impression with his recent performance on "1899," a popular series that's nevertheless ended up on Netflix's growing list of prematurely-cancelled shows, so it'll be exciting to see what he brings to "Doctor Who."

Unfortunately, with Tennant taking up the focus of the 60th Anniversary Specials, we're not likely to meet Barnard's new character until 2024. As fo rwhether Davies' run will feel like a return to the first four seasons or like something entirely new, we'll have to wait awhile before we find out anything for sure. 

Kate's return, however, is probably the clearest indication so far that Davies isn't interested in just repeating the beats of his own era of the show. If you're a viewer hoping that other Moffat-era characters might return someday as well, or someone who wasn't a huge fan of the Davies' run in general, this is a small but promising sign.