Sunday girl (2025)
- Publication: TV Times
- Date: 2025-05-03
- Author:
- Page: 10
- Language: English
MILLIE GIBSON on the romance and risks ahead as Ruby returns to the TARDIS
The opportunity to travel through space and time might seem to many like an unimaginable privilege. But what happens once the adventure is all over?
This is the question at the heart of Lucky Day, the fourth instalment in the current run of BBC1's sci-fi epic Doctor Who, which marks the return of former companion Ruby Sunday (played by Millie Gibson).
Following many thrilling escapades with the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) last year, foundling Ruby departed the TARDIS after finding her birth parents in order to get to know them properly. However, coming back to everyday routines on Earth hasn't been easy...
'You saw Ruby look out of the window in [2024 Christmas special] Toy to the World, and I think she is waiting for the Doctor,' shares Millie, 20, who rose to fame playing teen tearaway Kelly Neelan in ITV soap Coronation Street before joining the Whoniverse.
'She's returning to her life and pretending it's back to normal, but she can't really get her head around all the things that she saw while travelling with the Doctor. So she's trying to process all of that.'
DREAMS & DRAMAS
Since viewers last saw her, Ruby has been busy spending time with her birth parents as well as reconnecting with her adoptive mum, Carla (Michelle Greenidge). But there's also been another development in her life: she now has a boyfriend, Conrad Clark, portrayed by World on Fire and The Little Mermaid's Jonah Hauer-King.
'I absolutely love Jonah he was just a burst of energy,' says Millie. 'I'm exceptionally excited for people to see what's in store for Ruby's first love interest. I think Conrad gives off the energy that he wants to match up to the Doctor. It's one of those things where your new boyfriend wants to be better than your ex - however, he is just so sweet and clumsy!'
But danger lies ahead for Ruby and Conrad as a fearsome new monster known as The Shreek comes into their lives.
'Gethin Alderman, who played The Shreek, was the loveliest person ever but terrifying!' recalls Millie. 'There is a scene in a cafe in which director Peter Hoar does a really cool, nightmarish thing where what Ruby's telling Conrad about The Shreek actually happens - it all melts into one another to make this horror-story aspect come to life.'
PAST TO FUTURE
To defeat The Shreek, Ruby joins forces with her pals at UNIT, the fictional Earth-based international military agency that monitors alien threats, led by Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave). The plot also sees the return of scientific adviser Shirley Bingham, played by Ruth Madeley, who didn't appear in the previous season as she was busy filming BBC1 thriller Nightsleeper (2024) - and Millie was delighted to finally share some scenes with her.
'I absolutely love working with Jemma and Ruth,' she smiles. 'Their characters are like Ruby's third and fourth mothers. There's even a line in the script where Shirley makes a joke about it! As this [eight-part] season goes on, you see Ruby and Shirley's relationship develop a lot more. I feel like they both have a Northern sense of humour that they can each relate to.'
While Ruby is excited to be back in action, her time in the TARDIS has clearly taken a psychological toll on her, and Millie promises that this episode won't shy away from that.
'There's a scene where Ruby talks about all her experiences in the last season, and I love a specific line that [episode writer] Pete McTighe wrote for her,' she explains. 'She's opening up to Conrad about her post-traumatic stress disorder from her travels with the Doctor; it's a really strong speech that was also kind of humorous, because it's so bonkers what she's experienced.'
Millie's also been busy since finishing filming on Doctor Who, and she will be back on our screens in 5's upcoming adaptation of novelist John Galsworthy's celebrated family drama The Forsyte Saga, playing dancer Irene Heron. While she's not revealing exactly how long Ruby will be sticking around for, Millie is glad that she got to step into the Whoniverse again.
'It feels like returning home after a long day,' she smiles. It's nice to be playing Ruby in a whole new light. As she grows up, so do I, and in this season, you get to see a more mature, stronger version of her. I'm excited to be back!'
DOCTOR WHO is previewed on p36-37
Captions:
Connection: Ruby with boyfriend Conrad
Military agent: Kate monitors alien activity
Reunited: Ruby is back to help the Doctor
Viewers are set to find out more about Ruby Sunday's new boyfriend Conrad Clark in this week's episode including the fact that she isn't his only connection to the Doctor!
'Conrad meets the Doctor when he is a young boy and, from that point, he's obsessed with him,' reveals Jonah Hauer-King, 29. 'He idolises him on some level, and has dedicated a lot of his life to finding out about him and trying to meet him. When we meet Conrad, he's running a podcast that, at least in part, focuses on sightings of the Doctor. He's a superfan.'
Having that experience with the Doctor means that Conrad is one of the few people who Ruby can truly open up to about everything she's gone through, and Jonah enjoyed exploring that dynamic with co-star Millie Gibson, who plays the Time Lord's former companion.
'Without giving too much away, the episode is very much about their relationship,' he teases. 'I hadn't seen Millie in Doctor Who when I filmed this episode, as her first season on the show hadn't come out yet, but I was immediately struck by her talent and her warmth. We were on set together all day, every day fora few weeks and we had so much fun.'
Whether Ruby and Conrad's relationship is built to last remains to be seen, but Jonah believes that fans have a real treat in store this Saturday.
'This episode has a lot of what we've come to expect from Doctor Who, with the heart, the soul, the monsters and the scares, but I think there's something particularly grounded and unique about it,' he explains. 'I'm a big fan of [current showrunner] Russell T. Davies, so any chance to work with him was very appealing - and it was great that it happened to be on Doctor Who!'
Guest star JONAH HAUER-KING on playing a potential match for Ruby
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- APA 6th ed.: (2025-05-03). Sunday girl (2025). TV Times p. 10.
- MLA 7th ed.: "Sunday girl (2025)." TV Times [add city] 2025-05-03, 10. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Sunday girl (2025)." TV Times, edition, sec., 2025-05-03
- Turabian: "Sunday girl (2025)." TV Times, 2025-05-03, section, 10 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Sunday girl (2025) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Sunday_girl_(2025) | work=TV Times | pages=10 | date=2025-05-03 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=12 July 2026 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Sunday girl (2025) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Sunday_girl_(2025) | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=12 July 2026}}</ref>
