"Hello grandma!": Doctor Who's Susan actress wants to meet Jodie Whittaker on screen
Carole Ann Ford played the original Doctor's companion
Remember Susan Foreman? The Doctor’s granddaughter who flew in the Tardis, fought the Daleks and even brought five versions of the Time Lord together in The Five Doctors? Well, she’d love to team up with Jodie Whittaker’s incarnation.
More specifically, Carole Ann Ford, who played Doctor Who’s original companion has said she wants to cross paths with the Thirteenth Doc. "I really would like to meet her," she told Doctor Who Magazine. "Wouldn't it be fun?! What would I say to her? 'Hello Grandma!'"
"Jodie's got a very strong presence," she added, referring to her debut scene in Christmas special Twice Upon a Time. "I saw the moment she arrived and I've been thinking about it quite a lot.”
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Ford – who left the show after 1964’s The Dalek Invasion of Earth, before briefly returning in 1983's The Five Doctors – also revealed she found the idea of a female doctor unbelievable before Whittaker’s casting: “I couldn’t imagine [a female Doctor] ever happening. It would never have occurred to me unless someone had suggested it.”
Unfortunately for Susan, the Tardis looks pretty full at the moment. In the upcoming series, three companions will materialise next to The Doctor, including Bradley Walsh’s yet-to-be-revealed character.
But hey, there’s no reason Ford couldn’t make a guest appearance, right? After all her fate has been unknown for years, with the ninth Doctor suggesting his "whole family" was now dead and the name “Foreman. S." recorded on the Roll of Honours Board. Perhaps a new story could fill in the blanks?
Your move, Mr Chibnall.
Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this Autumn
Authors
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.