Doctor Who is Ruth Clayton?

The latest episode of "Doctor Who" has potentially altered the 56 year history of the show. The episode not only revealed that Ruth Clayton was the titular "Fugitive of the Judoon", but also that she was actually a previously unknown incarnation of The Doctor. Where does Doctor Ruth fit in, and does her reveal retcon established Doctor Who canon?


A Time Lord's regeneration cycle includes twelve regenerations. For The Doctor, their first regeneration cycle included eleven incarnations who called themselves The Doctor, The War Doctor, and the Tenth Doctor's wasted regeneration that he used to heal himself after being shot by a Dalek, and then funneling the rest of the energy into his amputated hand that then grew into a human clone after coming into contact with Donna Noble's DNA. The Eleventh Doctor was then granted a new regeneration cycle, and the current Thirteenth Doctor is the second regeneration into this new cycle of twelve. So if the first regeneration cycle is completely accounted for, where does Doctor Ruth fit?

Before The First Doctor?
It is possible that The Doctor had an entire regeneration cycle before the First Doctor. This possibility was hinted at in the 1976 story arc "The Brain of Morbius", which showed a possible eight incarnations before who we know as the First Doctor. Doctor Ruth could be from this previous cycle.

Why this doesn't work:
Doctor Ruth has a TARDIS that is in the form of the blue police box. The Doctor never had that TARDIS until the First Doctor and his granddaughter Susan stole it and landed on Earth in 1963. Also, did potential previous incarnations refer to themselves as The Doctor? If so, why is the the First Doctor considered the First Doctor? Was his memory altered between regeneration cycles?

Between The Second and Third Doctors?
A case could be made that the Second Doctor never regenerated. The Second Doctor changing was never seen onscreen. Also, his change was forced by the Time Lords as a punishment, instead of to save his life. So there could theoretically be an incarnation of The Doctor between Two and Three that doesn't break canon.

Why this doesn't work:
The Second Doctor's regeneration wasn't the only part of his punishment. He was also stranded on Earth without his TARDIS, which is where the Third Doctor is at the beginning of his adventures. Why would the Time Lords allow Doctor Ruth to have a TARDIS while she is supposed to be punished?

The Fourteenth Doctor?
In 2018, a novelization of the first modern episode, "Rose", written by Russell T Davies, was published. Davies was able to expand on what was shown in the episode that aired. In the scene where Rose meets Clive to learn more about The Doctor, she is shown photographs of fifteen incarnations of The Doctor. The incarnation shown after the photo of the Thirteenth Doctor (presumably the Fourteenth Doctor) is described as "a tall, bald black woman wielding a flaming sword".

Why this doesn't work:
Russell T Davies is no longer the showrunner, so he has no input in who will be cast as The Doctor. Just because he wrote in a novelization of one of his episodes that the Fourteenth Doctor will be a black woman doesn't mean that one will be cast in the role. It is possible that Chris Chibnall read the book and considers casting a black actress, but he's not obligated to.

Doctor Ruth could be a future incarnation of The Doctor, but we know that she was disguised as a human and lived in Gloucester for 20 years. How would that work onscreen? One season before her Ruth Clayton persona, and then two seasons after she got her identity back (for one example)?

The Doctor From An Alternate Reality?
At the beginning of this season when O revealed himself to be The Master, fans hoped that he was potentially from a different reality, so that Missy's character arc wasn't for nothing. Fans are now thinking that Doctor Ruth could also be from another reality. Doctor Ruth believes that Gallifrey still exists, while Master O knew Gallifrey was in a pocket dimension, so if they are from alternate realities, they would be from different realities.

Why this doesn't work:
Chris Chibnall already debunked this theory. "'The important thing to say is – she is definitively the Doctor,' he explained. 'There's not a sort of parallel universe going on, there's no tricks.'"


Hopefully the mystery of Doctor Ruth has a logical explanation when the answer is revealed. The only thing I know about the character is this: If you rearrange the letter of RUTH CLAYTON, you get the phrase "UNHOLY TRACTS", which is obviously a reference to how she stood outside a cathedral and handed out flyers promoting her business instead of pamphlets with a Christian message. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.