Series 12 of Doctor Who has begun with an almighty bang! Opening with the epic two-part story Spyfall, the new series has already provided us with some almighty twists and surprises, not least the return of one of the Doctor’s oldest adversaries…

After showrunner Chris Chibnall behind-the-scenes decided not to bring back any returning monsters or characters for Series 11, he seems to have taken a different approach with his and Jodie Whittaker’s second series. The Master is back! He is menacing and taunting his old frenemy, the Doctor once again. After the spy-thriller, time-jumping events of the first two episodes, the Master reveals to the Doctor that he has destroyed Gallifrey and the ancient civilisation of the Time Lords. The Master said that this was his retribution for the Time Lords’ concealing of their true origins, something that he attributes to “the Timeless Child” – a being that was first referred to in The Ghost Monument.

Historically, the Doctor has had a fraught relationship with her own people. Although accounts vary as to the exact reason for his departure,[1] the First Doctor originally fled Gallifrey in a stolen TARDIS[2] with his granddaughter Susan (The Name of the Doctor). The Doctor has been put on trial twice by the Time Lords, during the events of The War Games and The Trial of a Time Lord. He has even been ordered by his people to prevent the Daleks from ever being created,[3] thereby laying the foundations of the greatest cosmic conflict of all: the devastating Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords.[4]

The Master has been driven to this despicable act of genocide because he learned the identity of the Timeless Child and therefore a dark secret concerning the true origins of the Time Lords. But just who is the Timeless Child?

Although we only see a brief glimpse of what is presumably the Timeless Child in the series opener, it is a safe bet to assume that this being is a Time Lord too. Or maybe it is human? Perhaps the Time Lords concealed the fact that they actually originate from Earth, a planet that the Master holds in contempt. Or maybe it is another “lesser” species that the Time Lords originated from? It could also be that the Time Lords were genetically created by another, older species.

It is also possible that the Timeless Child may be a returning character from the series’ long history. The ominous title seems to imply Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter. However, it is ambiguous enough to equally mean either the Doctor’s companions Ace or Rose Tyler. In a series that already seems to be full of flan-pleasing references and returns, the revelation that the Timeless Child is a former companion to the Doctor is a credible theory.

The Master cryptically says to the Doctor in Spyfall that “everything [that she think she knows] is a lie”. Could the mystery of the Timeless Child and the Time Lords origins have something to do with the Doctor’s own identity. Rumours are abound that Series 12 will reveal that there were in fact 13 hitherto unknown female incarnations of the Doctor that retroactively precede the First Doctor (William Hartnell), as we have always referred to him. This would canonise a theory first proposed in The Brain of Morbius that the First Doctor was not in fact the first Doctor and that there were in fact many incarnations before him.

Whilst this may be a narratively controversial decision for Chris Chibnall to take (and certainly more in line with the approach he took in Series 11), it is still a possibility. It would also be one of the biggest changes to the canon since John Hurt’s War Doctor was retroactively inserted into it by then showrunner Steven Moffat for Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary. Could the Timeless Child be one of these unknown previous incarnations of the Doctor? Or could the Timeless Child be some morbid factor that allowed the Time Lords to gain the ability to regenerate in the first place? Update 2025: The Timeless Child storyline was very divisive but it did help to pave the way for a black full-time Doctor in the main role (Ncuti Gatwa, The Church on Ruby Road).

It seems likely that the plot thread series arc concerning the Timeless Child will be resolved in the Series 12 finale. However, it could well be a storyline that continues beyond into further series with Jodie Whittaker as the 13^th Doctor. I, for one, am most certainly excited to see where this arc goes! Series 12 has so far been a huge improvement on the previous season and possibly the best series since Series 9. Keep up the good work, Chibnall!

[1] Some sources suggest that the Doctor merely left Gallifrey in the first place because he was “bored” with living in Time Lord society and wanted to see the wonders of the universe (The War Games). Others claim that he instead fled in fear of a childhood nightmare known as the Hybrid (The Witch’s Familiar, Heaven Sent, Hell Bent).

[2] Although it has also been claimed that the TARDIS actually stole him (The Doctor’s Wife)!

[3] Genesis of the Daleks

[4] Rose et al.