Doctor Who: 6 wild theories about Susan Foreman’s comeback 

The latest episode of Doctor Who season fifteen was titled The Interstellar Song and featured a rather unexpected cameo. The granddaughter and original companion of Doctor Who, i.e., Susan Foreman, appeared briefly on the latest episode of the show's fifteenth episode. The cameo was remarkable because the original actress who first portrayed Susan Foreman, i.e, Carol Ann Ford herself, appeared in the cameo.

The positioning of the cameo in the narrative of Doctor Who season fifteen was nothing short of brilliant. Susan was seen as a vision calling out to the Doctor right before he froze. Susan even harkened to the Fifteen to find her trail, which has given rise to the speculation that maybe she didn't appear solely based on a hallucinatory vision and that her appearance might hold a deeper significance.

While it was previously held that Susan might have died as a result of the Master's destruction of Gallifrey, it now seems as if she's languishing somewhere in the depths of mystery, awaiting the Doctor's arrival to rescue her. As a result, several theories have popped up explaining the whereabouts of Susan, and here we take a look at six of them.

---

What are the 6 wild theories about Susan Foreman's comeback?

Keep reading to learn more.

1) Susan is Alive because Gallifrey somehow survived

This Doctor Who theory might come across as rather outrageous to many of the Whovians, but it still holds viable potential. Susan might just be alive after the recourse to Gallifrey, as the latter survived the Master's assault. We might never know for certain if Susan ever left Earth to follow in the footsteps of the Doctor or if she remained in Gallifrey. If this were to be true, it would also mean that the Time Lords are still in order. In any case, Gallifrey's survival has already been used as a plot point way too many times on the show.

---

2) Susan is dead and might come back as a Data Ghost

This theory suggests that Susan might be dead in corporeal terms and that her consciousness has been kept alive in a way that makes her a data ghost. This would explain why nobody has ever heard from her in a long time and also why she appears as a vision to the Doctor. Being a data ghost also means that Susan would be staying inside the TARDIS.

---

3) Susan might be Ruby Sunday's Grandmother

Ruby Sunday as the fifteenth Doctor's first companion on Doctor Who and the revelation of her biological mother's identity was rather lacklustre on the show. This opens the door for the showrunners to cleverly incorporate Susan as Ruby Sunday's biological grandmother. This creative choice would at once explain Ruby's intriguing lineage and establish its relevance to the rest of the show's lore, as well as bring back Susan in an important role.

---

4) Susan Might Be Belinda Chandra's mother

Is it just a coincidence that Belinda Chandra's parents haven't yet made an appearance on Doctor Who? The mystery is further deepened when one takes into account the fact that although Chandra has been constantly stating that she wanted to go back to her parents, nothing of the sort has happened, and no mention of her parents seems to be forthcoming. Herein lies the crux of this theory, i.e., by bringing Susan back as Belinda's mother, the showrunners could put two enduring question marks on the show to rest.

---

5) Susan sought help from the 14th Doctor's TARDIS

When Susan Foreman appeared in her cameo on the latest episode of Doctor Who, she did seem to be within the Fifteenth Doctor's TARDIS. Although she had never been known to have stepped inside this time-travelling machine, it could be speculated that she might have left Earth right before the planet was destroyed on May 24, 2025, and was helped in this endeavor by Fourteen's TARDIS.

---

6) Rani has imprisoned Susan

This last theory suggests that Susan Foreman might have been abducted by the feared Mrs. Flood regeneration known as Rani. It is a known fact that Rani has been purposefully working to cause harm to the Doctor, and in his quest, she would stop at nothing to fulfill her schemes. This would mean hurting Susan, as she is the Doctor's granddaughter and quite close to him.

---

Showrunner opens up about Doctor Who

BBC recently interviewed Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies about his vision for the show's latest installment. When asked about the portrayal of a hitherto unknown and different side of the eponymous Doctor on the latest iteration of the show, Davies remarked:

"There are always different sides to him. Again, without giving away too much, there’s a couple of episodes where he’s very much out of his depth. It’s always very interesting to watch an actor and work out what they’re not doing, so we can push things into that area, which is difficult with Ncuti because he’s got absolutely full range and he offers you everything. But nonetheless, there’s some moments of real genuine comedy that I think we’ve never had a chance to play, and at the other end of the scale, absolute darkness… Ncuti is wonderful, that’s what these great Doctors are, and I’ve been lucky enough to work with many of them. It’s just limitless performance where you think they could be as angry, or as sad, or as happy, or as mad as you could possibly hope for, and they simply deliver. It’s brilliant."

Davies was then asked about the relationship dynamic between Belinda and the Doctor, to which he answered:

"She’s tougher with him than Ruby (Sunday, played by Millie Gibson) was. Ruby was younger, and Ruby was also looking for a family and a more exciting life. Finding the TARDIS fitted her exactly, and we’re coming back to that story, because of course Ruby’s returning, but for Belinda it’s more of a life interruption and “how dare he have the nerve to do this”.

Doctor Who is exclusively available on BBC.