Doctor Who: Will evil Time Lady the Rani return? The clue you missed

BBC series Doctor Who left fans reeling in shock after the season 12 premiere introduced a new incarnation of the Master (played by Sacha Dhawan). The character terrorised the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) but not before adding the Gallifrey mythology by mentioning the concept of the Timeless Child. While very little was revealed of the Timeless Child, it was clear Gallifrey would feature a lot in this series.

Will the Rani return to Doctor Who?

Fan speculation has been rife about the Timeless Child with the concept potentially having some big implications on the Doctor, particularly after she learnt the Master had razed their home planet to the ground in an act of vengeance.

However, with Gallifrey taking on a bigger role and the Master making a comeback, perhaps another member of the planet could be turning up in the form of the Rani.

The Rani was played by Kate O’Mara, who was first introduced in 1985 and appeared in only two serials The Mark of the Rani and Time and the Rani.

The character was supposed to be another rival time traveller to the Doctor and is around the same age.

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She was a particularly callous character, who was a scientist and would let nothing stop her from carrying out her experiments on unwitting test subjects.

The Rani even enslaved a planet and used its inhabitants as an endless supply of guinea pigs to be subjected to tests regardless of consent.

However, after Doctor Who was cancelled by the BBC, the Rani only appeared in a one-off Children In Need special in 1993 called Dimensions In Time.

Since Doctor Who was rebooted in 2005, the Rani hasn’t really made an appearance on the show.

But there have now been a total of three different incarnations of the Master, suggesting there is scope for the Rani to come back.

Original Rani actress O’Mara sadly passed away in 2014 at the age of 74 but perhaps a new actress could take on the mantle of the evil Time Lady.

Interestingly, former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies created a character called Rani Chandra (Anjli Mohindra) who featured in spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Davies, who is a life-long fan of Doctor Who and actively campaigned for its revival, would have known the connotations of calling a character Rani.

While this in itself isn’t a confirmation the Rani will be back, there’s scope here for the character and even more so after the BBC announced actress Mohindra would be coming back to the Whoniverse.

At the time Mohindra said: “As a huge fan of the last series, it’s a bit of a dream come true getting to work opposite Jodie, Mandip, Tosin and of course after all these years, to work with Bradley again!

“There’s something undeniably special about Jodie’s Doctor, and to be bringing some terror to the joint was rather fun indeed.”

In a statement, the BBC said: “Previously starring as Rani Chandra in the CBBC Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, Anjli is no stranger to the Whoniverse but as she takes on a new character, it’s safe to say she’ll be worlds away from her usual appearance…”

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The last line in itself may be a big clue about Mohindra’s character portraying a villain as well as the actress mentioning “bringing a little terror”.

If the Bodyguard actress did play the Rani, it would serve as a nice link to her character in the Sarah Jane Adventures and bring back this classic Doctor Who villain for a new generation.

The Master and the Rani may even team up together at some point in season 12 to terrorise the Doctor.

The Rani may also make a reference to The Sarah Jane Adventures’ villain the Pied Piper, whom actor Walsh played before landing the role of Graham O’Brien in Doctor Who.

Again, this would tie Doctor Who and its spin-offs together quite neatly.

Mohindra and Walsh’s multiple appearances in the Whoniverse are nothing new after Colin Baker, Lalla Ward, Peter Capaldi, Freema Agyeman and Karen Gillen all had small parts in Doctor Who before landing more major roles on the sci-fi classic.

Doctor Who airs on BBC One tonight at 7.10pm

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