Kate Stewart Set to Return to 'Doctor Who' in a "Feature Length" Premiere on New Year's Day

Doctor Who has been off our screens for quite some time now and its return is highly anticipated. Series 11 featuring the first ever female Doctor—Jodie Whittaker—saw some of the highest ever ratings for the show since it was revived back in 2005. Its move from a Saturday to a Sunday proved to be a success.

The latest episode of the hit BBC sci-fi show aired on New Year’s Day 2019, which saw the return of the Daleks. Since then, Doctor Who has been off air as they filmed the upcoming series [12] from January to November.

There’s been little talk about the new series until recently when it was announced that three writers from Series 11 will be returning, as well as new writers and directors joining the world of Doctor Who.

Not only are previous writers returning, it is now rumoured that popular character, Kate Stewart, will be making a comeback in the Series 12 premiere.

Kate, played by Jemma Redgrave, is the daughter of the late Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, first appeared in Doctor Who in the Series 7a episode “The Power of Three” in 2012. Ever since then, she has been a recurring character, mainly during Peter Capaldi’s era as the Twelfth Doctor.

Redgrave last reprised her role onscreen in 2015 in the Zygon two-part story. Following that, she hasn’t returned onscreen, but has featured in many Big Finish audio stories.

A Twitter user, who has an accurate source, has revealed Kate will be returning during the premiere episode of Series 12. They said:

“And now for one that very much seems to be a open secret, Kate Stewart will return in the premiere - the first character from before Jodie's era to make an appearance.”

Following from that, it is also said that the premiere episode of Series 12 will be on New Year’s Day 2020 and is reportedly a two-part story, which is a first for Jodie Whittaker’s era as the Doctor.

The official Doctor Who social media pages have been teasing fans all month with posters and short videos saying, ‘Watch This Space’, hinting at something is coming. It was later revealed that on 23rd November that something big is coming.

The first trailer for Series 12 is expected to land on 23rd November, which Doctor Who fans will notice is ‘Doctor Who Day.’ It has been teased that the trailer is going to be epic and featuring music from current composer, Segun Akinola, who has written this piece of music especially for the trailer.

The source said:

“Grain of salt but I was told the music for the trailer has been specially composed for it by Segun Akinola with footage of some awesome monsters, some new background characters as well as the new outfits for the Doctor (the tuxedo!) and apparently the Timeless Child is mentioned.”

It is not yet confirmed whether this is true, but if it is, then this is exciting. Akinola took over from Murray Gold in 2018 and has already created some masterpiece tracks. The music in Series 11 took a different tone and has gone down well, plus the Series 11 soundtrack is already out, even though fans are still waiting for the Series 10 soundtrack.

Like always, rumours are to be taken with a pinch of salt as there are a lot flying around. However, it is understood this source has been very accurate in the past.

The Series 12 opener is already lining up to be incredible as it has been announced Stephen Fry and Sir Lenny Henry CBE will be feature in the first instalment of the twelfth series.

The Judoon and Cybermen will also be making a comeback this series, as well as more new monsters. So, sit tight fans, something big is coming on Saturday.