Doctor Who showrunner almost dropped Susan Foreman reference

It was the second mention of the classic character, following a brief name-drop in The Devil's Chord, where the Doctor concluded that she most likely perished in the genocide of the Time Lords.

In the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine – out now – showrunner Davies has discussed his repeated references to the legacy character, revealing that they certainly weren't a red line when it came to script revisions.

"If my bosses had said, 'What the hell are you on about?' I would have dropped it in a second, but actually they loved it," he explained. "They were interested in it, 'Ooh, what’s this?'

"People respond to good backstories – like they responded to an invented Time War, in 2005. It’s the name of the game these days. So that’s when it really got rich. And this was before we’d cast Susan Twist."

The identity of Susan Twist, now known to be a herald of powerful villain Sutekh (returning from 1975's Pyramids of Mars), was a point of speculation for many weeks, with Davies originally teasing that her repeated appearances were mere coincidence.

Now, we know the reverse is true – as if there was ever any doubt!

Davies continued: "I was already saying to the production team, 'You must cast Susan,' because she’s a brilliant actress, but also… that name is fascinating, isn’t it? Susan Twist.

"I’d tucked that away in a corner of my mind, thinking, 'Imagine if we did a twist around Susan.' So it just came together. It’s so mad."

Doctor Who season 14 is now available on BBC iPlayer.

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