So-called "Forgotten Doctor" Jo Martin is interested in reprising her role in Doctor Who - or, even better, in starring in a spinoff. Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall promised he would redefine the franchise, and season 12 fulfilled this promise with a series of revelations about the Doctor's identity. The most shocking was the revelation she is not a Time Lord at all, but rather is the so-called "Timeless Child," a being who predates Time Lord society and potentially the universe itself.
The Timeless Child retcon has proved divisive among the fandom, but a better-appreciated change to the lore was the introduction of Jo Martin as a mystery Doctor. "Fugitive of the Judoon" introduced viewers to a woman named Ruth Clayton who lived in Gloucester, and who was ultimately revealed to be a never-before-seen incarnation of the Doctor who had used a Chameleon Arch to conceal herself from her Time Lord pursuers. Opinion is divided over whether she is a past or future Doctor, but in interviews with Doctor Who Magazine, the cast and crew have taken to calling Martin the "Forgotten Doctor," suggesting she is a previous incarnation - potentially, given the Timeless Child retcon, pre-Hartnell.
Speaking to Radio Times in celebration of International Women's Day, Jo Martin confirmed she'd be happy to reprise the role in a future episode - or even as star of a spinoff. She said:
"I would absolutely love it. I think there’s so much more story. What they set up opens up a world that we’ve not fully explored with Doctor Who yet. And you don’t want to waste that costume. You know what I mean? That costume – it’s a real waste of a costume because it’s so swaggy, as they say. So I think that costume needs to get worn again by me."
Jo Martin is absolutely right; the introduction of the Forgotten Doctor literally opens up a whole new era of Doctor Who history, one that has never been explored before. If she is indeed a pre-Hartnell incarnation, then it is worth remembering William Hartnell's Doctor mellowed over time due to interaction with human beings; he was originally a quasi-antagonistic figure, quite self-interested, with "An Unearthly Child" even hinting he was considering murdering a caveman in order to preserve his own life. So Jo Martin's Doctor would be very different from any we have seen before, with a more questionable sense of morality, making her something of an unknown quantity. Alternatively, another theory is that she is a forgotten Doctor who worked for the Time Lords between the Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee eras, which would set up another interesting dynamic.
Doctor Who is one of the BBC's most important science-fiction TV shows, loved all over the world. A plot element like a mystery new incarnation of the Doctor cannot simply be introduced and then forgotten; whether as a guest star or as the star of her own show, Jo Martin is sure to return to Doctor Who. She has a tremendously commanding presence on the small screen, though, so hopefully it is the latter - just so Doctor Who fans get to enjoy her time in the TARDIS to the full.
Source: Radio Times