20 Worst Moments In Modern Doctor Who

7. Wish Upon A Lamppost (Empire of Death)

Doctor Who Empire of Death Ruby's mother pointing
BBC Studios

When we first meet Ruby Sunday in The Church on Ruby Road, we're told that she was named after the road on which she was abandoned as a baby.

And at the end of Empire of Death, it's revealed that Ruby's mother chose the name by pointing at a street sign that magically appears before our very eyes at the end of the episode.

Literally. It literally just appears out of nothing.

Confusingly, Ruby's mother doesn't point at anything in The Church on Ruby Road, she just walks off into the night. The pointing only starts in Space Babies, where it's framed as a portent of something sinister. Which it isn't.

Factor in that both the sign and the pole it's attached to don't even exist in The Church on Ruby Road, and it's a plot development of head-scratchingly baffling proportions.

Doctor Who The Church on Ruby Road ending Ruby Road
BBC Studios

It gets even worse with Russell T Davies’ recent reveal that Louise “wished the lamppost into existence”, which reeks of a guy just making nonsense up after the fact and claiming it was the plan all along.

All we can say is it's a good job she didn't leave Ruby on Butthole Lane. Which, before you ask, is a real street in England, look there it is on Google Maps!

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Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.