The Big Picture

Doctor Who’s newest companion, Ruby Sunday, makes her grand debut in the Christmas special, “The Church on Ruby Road.” Millie Gibson drew inspiration from previous Doctor Who companions, including Karen Gillan, who gave her advice and support for her role as Ruby. Ruby and the Doctor share a common bond as abandoned children, which brings them closer together and adds depth to their relationship.

At long last, audiences finally get to meet the newest companion travelling in the TARDIS in Doctor Who’s 2023 Christmas special, “The Church on Ruby Road.” The episode introduces fans to one Ruby Sunday as she suffers from a string of bad luck that puts her on a collision course with The Doctor. By the end of the episode, Ruby is ready to set off for her first adventure among the stars with the whole audience wrapped around her little finger. Ncuti Gatwa stepped into the role of the Doctor at the end of the 60th anniversary special, “The Giggle,” but with “The Church on Ruby Road” we finally get to see him in action as he teams up with Ruby to stop a horde of baby eating goblins. Together Gatwa and Millie Gibson are ready to usher in a new era of Doctor Who and the future looks so very bright.

Ahead of the episode’s debut on Disney+, I sat down with Gibson to chat about joining the long-running sci-fi series. During our interview, Gibson spoke about the advice she received from previous companions, relating to the Doctor, Ruby’s family, and the mystery surrounding her character. She also dished on what it was like to learn she’d be singing in her very first episode. You can read the full transcript of our conversation below.

Doctor Who The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord “The Doctor” who is able to regenerate, and the Doctor’s human friends. The Doctor and companion’s journey through time and space in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – saving the universe with a combination of wit, bravery, and kindness. Release Date March 17, 2006 Rating TV-PG Seasons 14 Studio BBC America Streaming Service(s) Disney+

Ruby Sunday and The Doctor Are Kindred Spirits in ‘Doctor Who’

COLLIDER: So, when we meet Ruby, she’s having a pretty rough month, but she still has such a bubbly personality. How did you go about finding that balance of a little bit of sorrow, but a lot of joy?

MILLIE GIBSON: You know what, it was nice. It was refreshing for me, because obviously my last character was very pessimistic, quite down in the dumps about a lot of things. But Ruby, she just felt like a bright beam of hope, and she always looks at the bright side. She’s always, you know, glass half-full. It was lovely to play. I mean, even her energy, I feel it was easy to portray the dialogue because, you know, she’s always thinking of the next thing, always bam-bam-bam-bam-bam. And the Doctor really helps her as well, because his energy is the exact same. So, yeah, I just had fun with it. It was so much fun.

I know you’ve said in the past that you drew some inspiration from Amy Pond. Did you get any advice from Karen [Gillan] or any other companions that really helped you, going into the role?

GIBSON: Yes, yes! I actually reached out to Karen myself, just because I’m in awe of her, and I basically just said, ‘Look, if there’s anything that I should know, I just wanna reach out with pure respect.’ And yeah, she just gave me the warmest, most genuine words, and really, really great advice. And it was so, so cool to talk to her, because she’s one of my idols, so it was — yeah, she didn’t have to do that, and it was so lovely. And also, Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill reached out when I got announced, which was crazy. There’s so many incredible people a part of this world, but yeah, they were so special and so, so nice. I got great advice, but I shall not reveal what they said.

I love that both Ruby and the Doctor come from chosen families. How does that common thread play into their relationship?

GIBSON: Well, it’s so nice. They’re both lost children, and they’re both, you know, abandoned. And they do connect over that in the episode, and I think that brings them closer, and there’s a certain level of fondness between them already. Yeah, they just click really easily. And that’s never happened with a companion before, relating to the Doctor, because how can you relate to a Time Lord with two hearts? Well! We’ve both been abandoned. And yeah, when I first got the role — well, the synopsis for Ruby — it was like, she’s this foundling. So I went and researched foundlings, I went to the Foundling Museum in London, and yeah. It’s just really heartbreaking, and it just adds another layer to Ruby and the Doctor’s relationship.

Speaking of relationships: I love Ruby’s family so much!

GIBSON: Yes!

Will we be seeing more of them in Ruby’s travels with the Doctor in the future?

GIBSON: Yes! Yes, yes, you will, you will. And when you do, they are just snippets of joy, and yeah, they’re so, so special onscreen. Their personality and vibes just bring any scene alive. I mean, I love working with Angela [Wynter] and Michelle [Greenidge], and Anita [Dobson] — you’ll see Anita, I will say that. So yeah, that whole dynamic is so much fun to act with. It’s so cool.

Goblin Songs and Found Families Surround Millie Gibson in her Debut ‘Doctor Who’ Appearance
Image via Disney+

Ruby’s also wrapped in a bit of mystery. Can you talk a little bit about whether we’ll ever find out who her mother is, or is Ruby’s story more about finding out about who Ruby is?

GIBSON: Yeah! I think it’s a bit of both, and I think that’s so important, because she has to find — I think she feels like she has to find her mother to find out who she is, but I think the Doctor teaches her that’s not always the case. It is a mystery, and it’s a fun one to portray and play on screen, but it will follow you through the series, and I think will be really interesting to see what the fans kind of think of who her mother is. So, yeah, it’ll be really cool to see some guesses.

So, the Goblin Song is so much fun.

GIBSON: I know!

I’d love to know when you found out you would also be singing it, and what it was like to jump right into that wackiness of Doctor Who.

GIBSON: Well, it’s just classic Russell. Even in the audition, he didn’t ask if I could sing, or anything. I don’t pride myself on my singing, but yeah, I guess they were hoping for an alright voice and a bit of auto-tuning, and we’ll be fine! But yeah, they just said — I think it was in the read-through, and I think the behind-the-scenes team has footage of me and Ncuti hearing the song for the very first time, and we just kind of went, ‘What?!’ It was just, yeah, yeah, a whole new Doctor Who for sure. And I think it’s a really magical element to the Christmas show, but I will say my singing is questionable. When — I thought we were going to do it in a studio, and then they ended up just going, ‘Okay, action’ and me and Ncuti were like, ‘Heh, heh…’ and we just started to sing on the spot, and it was — yeah, we just got thrown in the deep end there. But yeah, again, so much fun.

We’ve gotten a few glimpses of some pretty spectacular outfits and costumes that you and the Doctor wear in future episodes. Can you talk a little bit about Ruby’s style, and any fits you’re excited for us to see?

GIBSON: Ooh, I ponder whether the Regency is my favorite outfit, or the ’60s outfit is my favorite. I think it’s the Regency dress. But yeah, it’s a really cool — they’re both really cool episodes. What I love most about Doctor Who is when they go back in time, and go to all these cool eras and slot in and have fun. It’s a really, really clever concept. But yeah, I’ve loved Ruby’s outfits the whole way through. I felt so, so cool in them. I will say, there is one outfit in the last episode that I felt pretty badass in.

Millie Gibson Has High Praise For Her ‘Doctor Who’ Co-Stars

When I spoke with Ncuti [Gatwa], he told me that you were really excited to work with Jinkx Monsoon. I know you guys run into Jonathan Groff, [and] Bonnie Langford. What was it like to work with these incredible guest stars, and experience that?

GIBSON: Oh my gosh, like a dream. I was blown away. You know, Russell just says these things so aloofly as well. He’s like, ‘Oh, by the way, so-and-so plays this,’ and I’m like ‘Hang on, what?!’ So yeah, I mean, all of them were an absolute delight and a breath of fresh air. Their energy, their characters, I can’t even choose who’s my favorite. But they make the episodes. I think these cameo appearances are just genius, and yeah. I mean, Jinkx is gonna blow you away for sure. I think her character is really, really interesting. But so is Jonathan Groff! I genuinely can’t decide, but yeah, I was in total awe of them. It was bizarre, really, but you just have to wrap your head around it.

You have such incredible chemistry with Ncuti. I’m so excited for the two of you to just take on this world. What are you most excited for fans to see about that dynamic and about Ruby’s character?

GIBSON: I think the humor! I mean, without brushing my ego, I think our humor together is really, really good, and a lot of that just came from our own personalities, and that was just our natural way of working together, and it was, yeah. You can imagine behind the scenes it was just fits of giggles after a take, and yeah, it really incorporated into our characters and their relationship as a whole for sure. I think Ruby and the Doctor are very similar to me and Ncuti, so I think, yeah, just seeing the connection along the way is gonna be really fun. Just the situations they get into, it’s just funny how their personalities deal with it.

“The Church on Ruby Road” and Doctor Who’s three 60th anniversary specials are now available to stream on Disney+.

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