A major player from the Whoniverse, the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan Foreman has returned in today’s episode of Doctor Who Season 2, titled The Interstellar Song Contest. For longtime fans, it’s a momentous occasion — one that reaches back to the very beginnings of the show and deepens the emotional threads woven throughout this current series. This surprise appearance is bound to ignite excitement, speculation, and a fair bit of emotion.
Major Spoiler Warning for Doctor Who Season 2, Episode 6 titled “The Interstellar Song Contest”
Who Appears In The Doctor’s Visions?
Phase 2 of Kit and Wynn’s evil plan sees the audience at the Interstellar Song Contest flown into space, though protected by the Mavity Shield, they are all frozen, left floating in space. Outside, alone and with no one coming to save him The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) begins to have visions of his granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford) calling out to him. “Go back. Go back. Grandfather, go back,” she says. She later appears during the climactic scene as The Doctor shocks Kit using the holograms he projects, telling him to stop his attack.
Susan can be seen in the TARDIS console room in a white outfit throughout her various vision appearances throughout The Interstellar Song Contest, though it is currently unclear how she will fit into the upcoming two-part finale. The first vision ends with Susan telling The Doctor to find her, potentially hinting that she is currently trapped somewhere or could be being held hostage by an imminently arriving threat. This marks Susan’s first Whoniverse appearance since The Five Doctors, a special which celebrated 20 years of the original show. During the special, Susan was reunited with the First Doctor, portrayed by Richard Hurndall, following William Hartnell’s passing, as they were transported to the Death Zone on Gallifrey. There, they navigated perilous challenges, including encounters with a Dalek and a Raston Warrior Robot, ultimately reaching the Tower of Rassilon. This reunion marked Susan’s first on-screen appearance since her departure in The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), where she chose to remain on 22nd-century Earth with resistance fighter David Campbell (Peter Fraser).
Who is Susan Foreman?
Susan Foreman is The Doctor’s granddaughter and the very first companion introduced in Doctor Who. She made her debut alongside the First Doctor in the show’s opening episode, An Unearthly Child, in 1963. A mysterious and intelligent teenager, Susan was enrolled at Coal Hill School in London, where her advanced knowledge of science and history drew the attention of her teachers, Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill). Their curiosity led them to a junkyard where they discovered the Doctor’s ship, the TARDIS, and became accidental time travellers, marking the beginning of The Doctor’s on-screen adventures.
Though much of Susan Foreman’s background remains shrouded in mystery, she is confirmed to be Gallifreyan and shares the Doctor’s heritage and understanding of time travel. Her relationship with the Doctor adds a rare familial bond to the long-running series, and her emotional departure in The Dalek Invasion of Earth remains a landmark moment in the show’s early years. Susan stayed behind on Earth to begin a new life with resistance fighter David Campbell, but her legacy has lived on through spin-off media, with Carole Ann Ford lending her voice to Big Finish audio dramas, and even getting brief on-screen references—cementing her as a foundational figure in Doctor Who lore.
Will Susan Appear in the ‘Doctor Who’ Season 2 Finale?
While nothing has been officially confirmed by the BBC or showrunner Russell T. Davies, the groundwork has clearly been laid for Carole Ann Ford’s Susan to return in a more tangible way. Her repeated visions throughout The Interstellar Song Contest, especially her plea for the Doctor to “find her,” suggest a deeper mystery yet to unfold. Combined with ominous teases about the Vindicator, and the destruction of Earth on May 24, 2025 — coincidentally the airdate of the finale — there’s every indication that Susan’s reappearance is more than just nostalgic fan service.
With the Cloister Bell sounding and the Doctor rushing back to Earth in panic, it’s possible that Susan is tied directly to whatever endgame is approaching — be it temporal collapse, multiversal war, or even the return of another major Time Lord threat (all eyes on The Rani). Whether Susan is being held prisoner, lost in time, or operating from the shadows, it now feels more likely than ever that her story isn’t over. And if her warning is anything to go by, the Doctor may be running out of time to save her… or himself.
Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 7, “Wish World”, premieres on Disney+ worldwide and on BBC iPlayer in the UK on May 24 at 12am PT / 3am ET / 8am GMT.
