Millie Gibson to Leave DOCTOR WHO in 2025, Varada Sethu Becomes New Companion

 
Goodbye, Ruby Sunday.

Variety has confirmed an earlier report from British tabloid The Mirror that Doctor Who star Millie Gibson, who plays the Doctor's new companion Ruby Sunday, will be leaving the series after just one full season. Gibson reportedly will be replaced by actress Varada Sethu during the fifteenth season of the series that returned in 2005. Ncuti Gatwa, who plays the Fifteenth Doctor, will remain with the series.

According to the original Mirror article, the decision to write out Ruby Sunday was made last year by showrunner Russell T Davies after filming on Gibson's first run ended. Reportedly, Gibson will not appear in the 2024 Christmas special later this year and will make only a handful of appearances across Gatwa’s second series as the Doctor during 2025. In next year’s series, her character is expected to appear in just three of the eight episodes, with one of them a standalone story wrapping up Ruby Sunday’s journey with the Doctor. After that, Sethu will take over, who has already started filming at the studios in Cardiff.

One of The Mirror's sources reportedly stated, "Varada is a real gem, Russell was just blown away by her talent. The cast and crew have really warmed to her and he’s sure the fans will too."

Sethu, 32, is probably best known as Cinta Kaz from the Star Wars TV drama series Andor. She's also appeared as Shira in the movie Jurassic World Dominion and in the TV series Doctors, Hard Sun, and Hanna.

Doctor Who returns for the show's fourteenth season in May 2024 on Disney+.