Before being cast in Doctor Who, Millie Gibson had already made a name for herself in the UK by starring in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street. The long-running sci-fi series was her real big break, though, especially as the BBC had partnered with Disney+.
That meant the show had a bigger budget and a global audience on streaming, turning Gibson into a worldwide star overnight.
The first season received mixed reviews and so-so ratings, and the news broke in June 2023 that Gibson had been labelled a "diva" after supposedly struggling with Doctor Who's intense shooting schedule. Then, in January 2024, it was said that she'd been "dropped" as companion Ruby Sunday.
Adding weight to those reports was the fact that Andor star Varada Sethu was enlisted as the Time Lord's new companion in Season 2. Gibson still appeared in several episodes and has only now been able to break her silence on those claims about her.
Talking to The i News, Gibson said that she was put in a "tough" position and wasn't "able to speak up" and defend herself. "I couldn't be like, 'It's a lie!' [because] they'd be like, 'Well, that's spoilers.' It was quite hard to stand up for myself without ruining the show. I was like, 'Oh, this is horrific because it just looks like it's true.'"
Gibson, a teenager at the time, admitted that it was a challenge to read so many negative reports about herself. "Oh, it was awful. What was frustrating was the amount of people that were like, 'Oh, sorry, this has happened mate,' and I was like, 'Yeah, it's not [happened], but thank you.'"
Her Doctor Who co-star, Ncuti Gatwa, faced his fair share of negativity after being cast as the Doctor, and he was a big comfort to Gibson. "He's had his time with that, and it’s just about just being able to try and shut it out. It will happen again, about something else, probably. It's just about smiling and waving and not really letting it get to you."
Gibson's return as Ruby in Season 2 wasn't that much of a surprise, so it is a shame that she had to remain silent while the tabloids created such a negative image of her. Many fans were critical of the decision to drop the character as the Doctor's companion so early on, even with the response to Sethu's Belinda Chandra a largely positive one.
As we write this, Doctor Who's future is uncertain. Disney+ isn't expected to continue working with the BBC on the series, meaning the broadcaster will either have to find a new streaming partner or go back to making Doctor Who on its own (which will lead to significant budget cuts).
Gatwa has bid farewell to the Doctor, and it's doubtful that Gibson and Sethu will return unless it's for a cameo. As for showrunner Russell T Davies, he may return, but it seems unlikely given the largely negative reception to his Doctor Who return.