Anita Dobson opens up about the debut of the mysterious Mrs. Flood, teasing that there is more to her than it appears and that future episodes of Doctor Who will explore. Dobson made her first appearance in "The Church on Ruby Road" as the neighbor of Millie Gibson's new companion Ruby Sunday. Dobson is confirmed to return in Doctor Who season 14, confirming that Mrs. Flood will be a mainstay of Ncuti Gatwa's upcoming adventures in the long-running sci-fi show.

With viewers being taken aback by the mystery of Mrs. Flood after she hints at having knowledge of the TARDIS in the final moments of "The Church on Ruby Road", Dobson opened up during the behind-the-scenes show Doctor Who: Unleashed about what her future holds. While the actor avoided revealing too much about her character, Dobson hinted that viewers would see sides of her that are a far cry from her initial friendly neighbor persona that was seen in the 2023 seasonal episode. Check out Dobson's explanation below:

Well, we’re sort of finding out about her as we go along. So, today, what you’ve seen is a friendly neighbour. What the future may be, no-one knows. Russell is writing as we speak.

Is Mrs. Flood A Friend Or Threat To The Doctor?

With Dobson being confirmed as part of Doctor Who season 14's cast already, it won't be long for audiences to see more of the mysterious new character. With her awareness of what a TARDIS is, many viewers speculate that Flood isn't a human, and could be a fellow Time Lord in hiding on Earth. This speculation could also play into Dobson's comment on viewers seeing a different side to the character than her friendly side, hinting that Flood could be an enemy to the Doctor in disguise, playing a long game to trick the Time Lord.

Related

Doctor Who Theory: Mrs. Flood Is Ruby Sunday From The Future

The mysterious Mrs. Flood made her debut in the 2023 Doctor Who Christmas special, but one theory suggests she’s a future version of Ruby Sunday.

However, Flood may just be a regular human who has had a past experience with the Doctor, one that neither he or Ruby have taken part in yet. An adventure in the 1960s is already confirmed for Gatwa's first season of Doctor Who, so it is possible that the duo could encounter a younger Flood and leave an impact on the woman that Ruby would one day befriend, which could explain why she was so encouraging of Ruby joining the Doctor. Another theory could suggest Flood played a part in Ruby's origin, as showrunner Russell T Davies has teased that other characters were present during Ruby's abandonment in 2004, meaning Flood could have had some awareness of what went down on that cold Christmas Eve.

Mrs. Flood is one of many ongoing mysteries that Gatwa's Doctor Who era will have to tackle. While her fourth-wall break is rare, but not too unprecedented, it is clear that her knowledge of the TARDIS hints that there is more to her than there seems. Furthermore, with Dobson revealing that Davies was still writing for Flood as the showrunner works on seasons beyond 2024's episodes, it is clear the character will play a key part for many years to come.

Source: Doctor Who: Unleashed

Doctor Who

Originally premiered in 1963, Doctor Who is a sci-fi series that follows a powerful being known as a Time Lord, referred to as the Doctor. Using an interdimensional time-traveling ship known as the TARDIS, the Doctor travels time and space with various companions as they solve multiple problems and help avert catastrophe as much as they almost cause it. Though the Doctor is always the same character, they experience regenerations, allowing them to be recast every few seasons as a unique immortal being with new personality traits.