Doctor Who boss confirms Mrs Flood will return every episode – compares her to Susan Twist
Anita Dobson's villain will get "an awful lot more to do" in the new season.
The enigmatic Mrs Flood is set to play a larger role in the new season of Doctor Who, as the series builds to the reveal of the character's true identity.
Flood (played by Anita Dobson) was first introduced in 2023 Christmas special The Church on Ruby Road as the neighbour of Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) – though at first she appeared to be an ordinary human, she later revealed knowledge of the TARDIS and in subsequent appearances seemed familiar with the malevolent Sutekh.
Dobson previously confirmed to RadioTimes.com that the upcoming season of Doctor Who will reveal "who [Flood] is and what she's about".
At the launch of the new season, showrunner Russell T Davies confirmed that the character will be "popping up every week" ahead of the finale reveal – comparing her presence to the recurring character played last season by Susan Twist.
"Last year, we had Susan Triad popping up every week, but she had no idea who she was," Davies said.
"This is the complete opposite – this is someone who clearly knows very much [who she is]... she kind of unveiled herself at the end of the last series, standing on a rooftop, with a parasol, in a white fur coat, in the snow, saying 'I'm going to bring absolute terror!' – so the gloves are off, really!"
Davies added that Dobson as Flood gets "an awful lot more to do" in the new episodes, saying, "You'll see that as it develops."
Other guest stars set to appear in the new season include Freddie Fox, Christopher Chung, Rose Ayling-Ellis, and returning faces from UNIT, such as Jemma Redgrave and Bonnie Langford.
The season will feature eight episodes, written by Davies alongside contributors Pete McTighe, Juno Dawson, Inua Ellams and Sharma Angel-Walfall.
Davies has reiterated that he is still waiting on an answer as to the show's future after the next season – and that he "hope[s] it comes back".
"There's no decision until after season 2," he affirmed. "It's funny, because even people who work on the show think that means we're having secret meetings about it. People I work with every year say, 'What's really happening?' and I'm going, 'Nothing! No meetings, nothing.'"
Disney+ has co-produced the last two seasons of the show alongside the BBC, so needs to sign off on more episodes before production can begin.
Doctor Who will air from Saturday 12th April at 6:50pm on BBC One, with new episodes available from 8am on Saturdays on BBC iPlayer in the UK. The series will be available on Disney+ outside of the UK.
Read more:
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- Doctor Who unveils new episode 1 images – what has Mrs Flood seen?
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
