In terms of other Doctors who could appear in the special, there’s another obvious choice: Ncuti Gatwa.
Sure, he’s only just left the show. But his exit was notoriously rushed, and this would be a way of putting that right.
And before you say that it would be highly unusual for a departed Doctor to reappear in the very next story, Matt Smith did it in Deep Breath! Similarly, there was barely any time at all between Jodie Whittaker’s departure and her recent return in The Reality War.
Like these examples, and stuff like Amy cropping up in The Time of the Doctor or Clara in Twice Upon a Time, it could just be a cameo. These big special episodes are often flooded with cameos anyway, so it wouldn’t feel too amiss. But we wouldn’t complain if Gatwa had lead billing alongside Piper and Tennant either!
Though Gatwa did get a pretty good regeneration scene, it still doesn’t feel like he’s properly said goodbye, if you know what we mean. His exit wasn’t planned and it all felt a bit rushed! And if this special truly is the end for RTD2, it would be fitting for the face of that era to appear in some form.
The only question is whether Gatwa would want to open that whole can of worms again so quickly. It seems unlikely, but this is our wishlist, we can dream!
