Carole Ann Ford has stated a desire to return to Doctor Who as the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan making it harder to avoid her return. Since as far back as David Tennant's final story "The End of Time", Doctor Who fans have speculated that Susan is primed to make a surprise comeback. Many fans believed that The Woman (Claire Bloom), who appeared to Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins) in the church at the start of "The End of Time" would be revealed as a regenerated Susan by the end of the episode. Russell T Davies later stated in his book The Writer's Tale that this was never the intention, and that The Woman was the Doctor's mother.
When Peter Capaldi was the Doctor, he spoke of his desire to revisit Susan in Doctor Who, leading to speculation that Carole Ann Ford would join David Bradley's First Doctor in the 2017 Christmas special "Twice Upon A Time". Again, this didn't happen, and the Doctor was instead joined by a resurrected Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie). A recent Radio Times poll to determine the companion fans most want to see return to Doctor Who placed Susan in the number 1 slot, with an impressive 43% of the votes. The poll results, combined with Doctor Who's 60th anniversary on the horizon mean that Carole Ann Ford's return as Susan is surely inevitable.
Carole Ann Ford Wants To Return As Doctor Who's Susan
Carole Ann Ford responded to calls for Susan's Doctor Who return in the Radio Times by saying "I'd love to experience all the money they spend on it now – it's done like a film! I would adore to be in it now." Ford's desire to reprise the role removes one of the final barriers to the return of Susan in Doctor Who. There would still need to be a solid story reason for Susan's return, but there's a lot of potential, given the way her story ended. The Doctor left Susan behind to set up a new life with David Campbell (Sean Biggerstaff) at the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, leaving her on Earth as humanity rebuilt society following Dalek occupation.
While it's been explored in spinoff novels and audio plays (with Ford reprising the role of Susan), what happened to Susan has never been explored on-screen. After William Russell's Guiness World Record breaking Doctor Who cameo as Ian Chesterton in "The Power of the Doctor", Carole Ann Ford is the only surviving member of the original TARDIS team not to appear in the modern series. As Doctor Who celebrates its 60th anniversary, the time is surely right for Susan's return.
Why Susan Is Perfect For Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary (Or Beyond)
The 82-year-old Carole Ann Ford calling 51-year-old David Tennant, or better yet, 30-year-old Ncuti Gatwa "grandfather" is too strong a visual to ignore. It would perfectly reflect the timelessness of Doctor Who as a TV show and the Doctor as a character, uniquely honoring the show's 60th anniversary. There would still need to be a strong story reason for Susan's return, but perhaps Davies is revisiting his previous work for inspiration.
The involvement of Catherine Tate in Doctor Who's 60th anniversary implies that RTD has finally worked out a way to restore Donna Noble's memories, so he may have also figured out how to include Susan. Perhaps David Tennant will again be comforted by a female relative as he faces down death, but this time it's his granddaughter, rather than his mother. As Doctor Who looks to the future, it would make sense for the Doctor's next generation - his granddaughter - to lead him into a bold new era as the show enters its sixth decade.