Doctor Who Season 14: Who is Susan Twist? All appearances and theories explained

Ncuti Gatwa’s new iteration of the Time Lord might be the star of the show in the latest season of Doctor Who, but one recurring figure named Susan Twist has caught everyone’s attention.

Eagle-eyed viewers of Doctor Who Season 14 will have caught the frequent appearances of Susan Twist. The actress can be found over a handful of consecutive Doctor Who episodes, leading fans to believe that she’s set to serve a larger purpose.

So, is she a fellow time traveler? Or perhaps a major Doctor Who villain in the making?

Here’s everything you need to know about Susan Twist, including every single one of her appearances and the key theories surrounding her.

Who is Susan Twist?

Susan Twist is an actress who’s appeared in almost every episode of Doctor Who from ‘Wild Blue Yonder’ onwards.

Since then, she’s popped up in every Doctor Who episode that’s aired, excluding ‘The Giggle’. At this rate, we expect that she’ll appear throughout the rest of Doctor Who Season 14.

Twist has been acting since 1980, with her first credit being in the TV series The Squad. In the years since, she’s appeared in multiple other shows including The Bill, The Royal, Doctors, Coronation Street and more.

It’s not unusual for Doctor Who to recycle actors as the years have gone by, but having the same actress crop up in several consecutive episodes in different roles is a move that’s not gone unnoticed among viewers. In fact, it’s leading many to believe that Twist has a much larger role in the grand scheme of things.

Every Susan Twist appearance in Doctor Who

So far, Susan Twist has appeared in four consecutive episodes of Doctor Who, starting with the second of the 60th anniversary specials, ‘Wild Blue Yonder’.

Here’s a full breakdown of every Susan Twist appearance:

‘Wild Blue Yonder’ — Mrs Merridew

In ‘Wild Blue Yonder’, Twist plays Mrs Merridew, a maid who worked at Woolsthorpe Manor in 1666. She’s introduced when sweeping the steps of the manor house and is greeted by Isaac Newton. He’s in the process of contemplating “the mysteries of God’s universe”, and she tells him not to return until he has a good idea.

‘The Church on Ruby Road’ — Audience member

BBC/Disney+

In the 2023 Christmas Special, Twist appears again as an unnamed audience member in the bar where Ruby Sunday is playing piano for a band. When goblins cause a technical issue, she yells: “Can you do Gaudete?” (Translated, this is ‘Rejoice Ye’ in Latin, a 16th century Christmas carol.)

This is the first hint that Twist is intended to be a recurring character, as the script for this episode describes her as: “a woman we’ve seen as Mrs Merridew in Special 2, a woman we’ll see a lot more of”.

‘Space Babies’ — Comms Officer Gina

BBC/Disney+

Twists’ third appearance comes over a video message. When the Doctor and Ruby land on a space station in ‘Space Babies’, they find out that it’s actually a baby farm which the government abandoned for budgetary reasons.

They find a video wherein three ex-employees criticize the decision before they sign off for one last time and leave the ship, including Twist as Comms Officer Gina.

‘The Devil’s Chord’ — Tea Lady

BBC/Disney+

‘The Devil’s Chord’ sees Twist step back in time to 1965, where the Doctor and Ruby are battling the colorful, music-stealing Maestro. In her scene, Twist plays a character known only as Tea Lady, who charges the doctor half a grand for two cups of tea. (Clearly, Maestro has altered the economy as well as the world’s music.)

After the Doctor and Ruby express shock at the extortionate prices, Tea Lady says: “That’s me, Margaret Lockwood, the wicked lady. Now there was a woman – statuesque.”

At the end of the episode, the Doctor kickstarts a grand musical number by saying: “There’s always a twist at the end,” which also happens to be the lyrics to the song. Coincidence? Not in Doctor Who, it won’t be. This is just another clue that Susan Twist could have a much more significant purpose in this season, and will likely be revealed in the final episodes. Either way, they’re letting fans know that Twist’s regularity isn’t just a fluke.

‘Boom’ — Ambulance

BBC/Disney+

In ‘Boom’, Susan Twist isn’t so much a person as an algorithm. She’s the human-appearing interface of the Villengard ambulance units. In the war-torn battlefield of Kastarion 3, the ambulances roll around, looking for conflict and seeking causalities. However, their overly-pragmatic algorithm means they’re willing to kill any patients they deem too far gone.

The Doctor later reveals that there is no war, and that Villengard has instigated it all in order to maintain a profit as the Anglican soldiers fight smoke and shadows. Susan Twist appears on the screens of the ambulance units, with her voice also being the voice of the system itself. Later, she appears as a full body hologram.

By this point, her recurring appearance still hasn’t been acknowledged by the Doctor or Ruby.

Susan Twist theories explained

Susan Twist’s frequent appearances suggest that she’s actually playing a much larger role, with the most plausible theory being that she is either The One Who Waits, or Susan Foreman, the Doctor’s granddaughter.

The One Who Waits is an enigma, mentioned by both the Toymaker in ‘The Giggle’ and Maestro in ‘The Devil’s Chord’. The Toymaker told the Fourteenth Doctor that he encountered The One Who Waits while hiding and decided to flee. The Doctor had no idea who they were, which entertained the Toymaker greatly.

The Toymaker’s exact description was: “There’s only one player I didn’t dare face: The One Who Waits. I saw it hiding, and I ran. That’s someone else’s game.”

Maestro on the other hand, mentioned The One Who Waits in their last words, saying: “The One Who Waits is almost here.”

There’s been no indication as to who The One Who Waits actually is, but they’ll likely have something to do with Ruby’s puzzling past and her long-lost mother, since Maestro made mention of it after Ruby’s strange musical trance. It’s also possible that The One Who Waits is the top of the food chain in the Pantheon of Discord, a group of god-like beings that includes the Toymaker and Maestro.

Susan Twist could be The One Who Waits, considering how she’s been seemingly following the Doctor and Ruby through time.

On the other hand, she could be another Susan entirely: Susan Foreman. Susan Foreman was the Doctor’s granddaughter and his first-ever companion. She traveled with him during the show’s first season in 1963, and ended up settling down to live a more conventionally human life, marrying a man named David Campbell.

The Fifteenth Doctor actually made unexpected mention of his granddaughter during ‘The Devil’s Chord’, when he revealed to Ruby that he used to live with her on Totter’s Lane in the ‘60s. Susan F is a Gallifreyan, meaning that while she hasn’t traveled with the Doctor in decades (depending on where she is in the timeline), it’s not impossible to think that she might have found a way to travel through time.

Russell T Davies’ comments on Susan Twist

Showrunner Russell T Davies has tried to tell fans that nothing is going on with Susan Twist, and that her inclusion is simply the result of an Equity problem.

He spoke about the matter on the ‘Boom’ commentary track, saying that there’s no grand reason as to why the actress keeps showing up.

“Strange. We ran out of actors actually, genuinely, there was a shortage at Equity,” he said, referring to the UK’s trade union for the performing arts and entertainment industry. “So we keep using Susan Twist for a lot of things, just because we like her. And that’s the simple reason why,” he said.

“There’s nothing behind it. No mystery, no nothing. She’s just there. I said, ‘Come on, Sue, come on, have a laugh.’ Yes, she keeps cropping up, faithful viewer. Yes, we’ve noticed. Yes, you’ve noticed.”

But there’s a problem: the fans don’t believe Davies when he says this. This is Doctor Who, and with Davies (who loves to sow the seeds of a big reveal) at the helm, connections could be hiding anywhere.

As the next few episodes unwrap, expect more appearances from Susan Twist — we’ll be sure to keep tabs on her for you.

For more Who, check out our guide to the Doctor Who Season 14 release schedule. Or find out how to watch Doctor Who Season 14, and take a look at all the Doctor Who Christmas specials ranked.