Doctor Who: 10 Characters Who Should Return For The 60th Anniversary (And Beyond)
Which faces from the Doctor's past should make a well-deserved comeback?
On 23 November 2023, Doctor Who will celebrate its 60th birthday.
With David Tennant back as the Doctor, Catherine Tate back as Donna Noble, and Russell T Davies back as showrunner, it feels like the past is very much the present again, so let's lean into that and examine which other names from across time and space should show up for the big anniversary bash – and beyond!
With six decades to trawl through and enough memorable characters to complete several packs of Top Trumps, narrowing it down to ten wasn't easy, but there were certain criteria that needed to be met.
The character has to be important to the show's history, either directly or indirectly, and, ideally, they need to have been away from our screens for some time to maximise the surprise factor. Also, if they slot into some of the elements of the specials and Series 14 that have already been revealed, then that's a big bonus.
There are also whispers of spinoffs in the upcoming era too, and there are lots of characters who'd be a good fit to front a show of their own.
10. Osgood
One of the most meta things Doctor Who has ever done is introduce a character who's a massive fan of Doctor Who.
Petronella Osgood works for UNIT as a scientific adviser. She's nerdy, a bit wimpish, and definitely a self-insert for all the doting Whovians out there, as evidenced by her rather eye-catching dress sense – everything from Fourth Doctor-inspired scarves, to question marks on her collar.
Osgood was originally killed by Missy, but this actually turned out to be her double, which was due to the involvement of shape-shifting Zygons, and... look, there's quite a lot to recap here so we'll just cut to the chase and say that Osgood is currently alive and well, and presumably still working for UNIT.
With UNIT set to be a key part of the next era of Doctor Who, there's no reason why the Doctor's biggest fan can't show up too, while making lots of wink-wink, nudge-nudge comments about the past 60 years of Who.
Actress Ingrid Oliver clearly loves playing Osgood, and she's a fan-favourite character to boot. Her return almost makes too much sense.