Summary

  • Doctor Who teases the possible return of a character from David Tennant's era for the 60th anniversary specials in 2023.
  • The Sub-Wave Network makes a comeback, potentially indicating the return of Harriet Jones and her search for help.
  • Russell T Davies revealed that Harriet Jones is still alive, adding to the speculation surrounding her involvement in the specials.

Doctor Who has just teased that a character who died during David Tennant's Tenth Doctor era may be returning for the 60th anniversary specials in 2023. Written by Russell T Davies and reuniting David Tennant with Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who looks set to have a specific focus on the RTD era. Alongside Tennant and Tate, the late Bernard Cribbins is rumored to be making a small appearance as Wilfred Mott in his final TV appearance, while Jacqueline King returns as Donna's mother Sylvia Noble.

Heartstopper star Yasmin Finney has also been cast as Doctor Who's new Rose, another huge reference to RTD's first era as showrunner. Doctor Who's social media s have also got in on the RTD-era nostalgia by resurrecting WhoSpy, posting daily enigmatic behind-the-scenes production images online. Doctor Who's Instagram also unveiled their Broadcast channel, giving it a very familiar name. To quote Instagram, broadcast channels are a one-to-many messaging tool which can share "sneak peeks of content." Doctor Who fans will be eagerly awaiting the first broadcast, but in the meantime, the choice of the channel name - the Sub-Wave Network - has created speculation about the possible return of a previously dead character.

Doctor Who Brings Back The Sub-Wave Network - And Harriet Jones?

Harriet Jones holds up her ID in Doctor Who

Doctor Who opened the Subwave Network on the same day that podcast spinoff series Doctor Who: Redacted began season 2 on BBC Sounds. In Redacted season 2, Cleo Proctor (Charley Craggs) is desperate to meet the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) again, but the Doctor is nowhere to be found, in any incarnation. In Doctor Who season 4, the Subwave Network was used by disgraced Prime Minister Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton) to track down the Tenth Doctor for help with the Dalek threat before she was apparently exterminated. It's possible, therefore, that the Sub-Wave Network is being resurrected as part of Redacted season 2's hunt for the Doctor.

However, creating an Instagram broadcast channel to promote a Doctor Who spinoff podcast feels small scale. With a new trailer due to drop on Saturday, September 23 - two months before the 60th anniversary - it's more likely it will be promoting the specials. With David Tennant back as the Doctor, it makes perfect sense to resurrect the Sub-Wave Network as it was sentient technology designed to communicate with those who had a connection to this particular incarnation. This implies that the Sub-Wave Network and the woman who helped to develop it could be making a comeback for Doctor Who's 60th anniversary.

RTD Already Revealed That Harriet Jones Escaped The Daleks

Harriet Jones with a Dalek, Sycorax and Slitheen

Russell T Davies revealed (via Radio Times) that Harriet Jones was still alive when promoting the book Now We Are Six Hundred by James Goss. A collection of verses with illustrations by RTD, the book contained a poem called "Harriet Jones, PM" which described her final moments. However, RTD mischievously illustrated the poem with a picture of her escaping through a trap door and riding away from the Daleks on a motorbike. Davies then went on record to say that, in his mind, this is canonically what happened to Jones in Doctor Who, meaning that she's still alive somewhere.

The return of the Sub-Wave Network certainly suggests that Harriet Jones is looking for help once again, perhaps to deal with Neil Patrick Harris' enigmatic Doctor Who villain. Alternatively, the Sub-Wave Network was entrusted to Torchwood, which means that it could be the secretive intelligence agency that are trying to track down the Doctor. Whoever's in charge of the Sub-Wave Network, its first broadcast from the official Doctor Who Instagram will be a must-watch.