Who is Ruby Sunday’s mother in Doctor Who? We finally have an answer

Who is Ruby Sunday’s mother? It’s a question that has plagued Doctor Who fans ever since Millie Gibson’s companion arrived on that snowy Christmas Eve during last year’s festive special.

Now, we have an answer – and it’s not one that many would have anticipated.

Spoilers for the Doctor Who season 1 finale ‘Empire of Death’ follow. You have been warned!

Who is Ruby’s mother?

(Image credit: BBC)

Surprise! Ruby’s mother is… Louise Miller. Not River Song, Mrs. Flood, Susan, or anyone else that’s been theorized over the past few weeks.

Never heard of her? That’s the point, as the 35-year-old is meant to be the sort of anonymous, everyday person that you would walk past in the street. She was made to seem important by the Doctor and by Sutekh but, in reality, she was just a scared mother who wanted a better life (and better home) for her daughter.

Thankfully, Ruby reunites with her mother in the closing minutes of ‘Empire of Death’ in a coffee shop, with Louise revealing that she has long pondered going to see her every Christmas. The pair then head back to the Sundays for a long overdue trip down memory lane – and over 500 photos of Ruby.

UNIT, thanks to the compulsory DNA testing of 2046 (it’s a long story), even knows the identity of the father: William Garnett. Ruby and her mother are even planning to visit him by the season’s end. A happy ending, all in all, for Ruby’s family.

Doctor Who has now wrapped up on Disney Plus and BBC iPlayer. A second season has just completed filming, with Ruby Sunday once again joining the Doctor as his companion alongside semi-newcomer Varada Sethu, who previously appeared in this season’s ‘Boom’ as Mundy Flynn.