There are no shortage of classic ‘Doctor Who’ characters that longtime fans have hoped to see once again since the show’s 2005 revival. But out of all of them, few can be said to occupy the particularly special place in both the show’s mythology and the collective imagination of its fans that Susan Foreman does. Played by Carole Ann Ford, Susan is both the original companion and the Doctor’s granddaughter. In fact, Susan’s eccentricities were in many ways the catalyst for the series as we know it, leading two of her teachers to follow her home where they met the Doctor and, well, the rest is history.
Now, Ford herself has voiced a desire to return to ‘Doctor Who’, thanks to the arrival of new star Jodie Whittaker. As Ford put it to the Radio Times:
“I really would like to meet her. Wouldn’t it be fun? What would I say to her? “Hello Grandma!” Jodie’s got a very strong presence. I saw the moment she arrived and I’ve been thinking about it quite a lot.”
Ford, now seventy-eight, has like many ‘Who’ alumni maintained a relationship with the series since her departure in 1964. In addition to reprising the role on screen for the show’s twentieth and thirtieth anniversaries in 1983’s ‘The Five Doctors’ and 1993’s ‘Dimensions in Time’, she had a cameo in the 2013 docudrama ‘An Adventure in Space and Time’ and appeared briefly as a fictionalized version of herself that year in Peter Davison’s ‘The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot’. She has also reprised the role of Susan on several occasions for Big Finish.
But will Ford have the chance to return to the TARDIS at last? The ball, it would seem, is in Chris Chibnall’s court now.
Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on the upcoming season of ‘Doctor Who’ as it becomes available!
‘Doctor Who’ will return later this year for its eleventh season. This season will see the arrival of new showrunner Chris Chibnall and the Thirteenth Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker. In addition to Whittaker, the new season will star Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, and Mandip Gil.
