Actress Billie Piper recently reflected on her return to Doctor Who. Notably, Piper has previously portrayed Rose Tyler on the show. Toward the end of Series 15 Episode 8, “The Reality War,” Piper emerges out of the regeneration energy of the 15th Doctor, portrayed by Ncuti Gatwa. This has led to speculation on whether Piper has returned to the iconic show as Rose or the 16th Doctor, or someone else entirely.
Billie Piper on if she’s playing the sixteenth Doctor Who
Piper spoke about her return to Doctor Who during her appearance at the Florida Supercon 2025. When a fan asked what her reaction was when she learned how she would return to the series, Piper made it clear that she had to be careful about what she said, indicating that she didn’t want to spoil anything.
“This is such a minefield – I have to really engage with how I answer this,” the actress said. “All I can say is I was approached very last-minute, and I can’t talk about in what capacity, but I found it very emotional to film, and I think it’s a really great ending.”
Piper explained that she had to hide a lot about her involvement in the show in recent months. “As in, I just found it quite moving, and it was really fun to film because it had such a sort of cloak and dagger feeling about getting it made,” she stated about the ending, and added, “So, yeah, I have to lie a lot about anything to do with Doctor Who, it seems.”
The Kaos star played Rose in a few seasons of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who. She also reprised the role in the show’s 2010 special, The End of Time. Additionally, Piper essayed the role of The Moment in Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary special episode, The Day of the Doctor. At the time of this article’s composition, it remains unclear what role Piper played in her latest appearance.
