Physician Who: the curious timeline of Mrs Flood

A brand new and mysterious character performed by Anita Dobson was launched within the Physician Who 2023 Christmas particular The Church on Ruby Highway. Mrs Flood is Ruby Sunday’s ever-watchful, typically nice, typically querulous Minto Highway neighbour within the Notting Hill part of London.

Once we first see Mrs Flood, she’s complaining to her neighbour Abdul (Hemi Yeroham) concerning the Physician’s TARDIS taking over house on the pavement close to the entrance of her home. We’re directly knowledgeable that she is bodily match but aggravated to should stroll round an vintage police field and accuses Abdul of putting it there.

“Hear, sweetheart, I’m not what you’d name decrepit. I do my callisthenics, I preserve myself match and in a position, thanks very a lot. I did a enjoyable run final Easter in 25 minutes flat. Blisters the scale of apples, and I stored going. However all the identical, how am I speculated to get spherical that nice large factor of a morning?”

“I haven’t seen one (a police field) on the streets of London for 50 years, and don’t need to see one now!”

Are we meant to suppose she’s disagreeable or sketchy? It does appear paranoid for her to accuse Abdul of putting the TARDIS there. When Abdul asks why she’s suspicious of him, Mrs Flood pulls essentially the most sinister face we ever see her make and says, “Since you’ve by no means favored me. I’ve seen you… trying.”

Mrs Flood seems to be within the behavior of sitting outdoors in entrance of her residence and watching every thing that goes on within the neighbourhood. Most individuals favor their neighbours to thoughts their very own enterprise and never be judgemental so if Abdul favours her with a couple of nervous glances as he walks by, it’s comprehensible.

Later within the episode when the Physician decides to journey again in time to rescue child Ruby from the goblins, Mrs Flood drops her procuring baggage in astonishment because the TARDIS dematerialises in entrance of her. After this scene, Mrs Flood undergoes a exceptional change in perspective and humour.

After the Physician rescues child Ruby, the TARDIS materialises throughout from the place Mrs Flood is sitting outdoors her home. She waves and smiles because the Physician goes to verify on grownup Ruby and her household. When the Physician decides to then take his TARDIS again in time to rescue Davina McCall, Mrs Flood takes this all in from her perch.

When the Physician Returns from his rescue, Mrs Flood whistles to get his consideration.

“Busy man, sweetheart. You and your field of tips. You appear like you’ve misplaced a pound and located a sixpence. What’s mistaken?”

The Physician wonders aloud to Mrs Flood if he’s the dangerous luck and she or he asks him who he’s, to which he solutions, “Nobody. Simply passing by.”

“Properly, you are taking care,” solutions Mrs Flood.

In some unspecified time in the future after this change, Mrs. Flood immediately is aware of all concerning the TARDIS if not the Physician. Can it’s that the Physician recruited her for a mission — or did she know all alongside and faux to not? In a programme about time journey, the Physician can come again to Minto Highway at any time and enlist the assistance of somebody who appears pleasant, ever-present and watchful of every thing that goes on within the neighbourhood.

There may be presumably a touch of this within the Physician Who: Video Commentaries for The Church on Ruby Highway. Showrunner Russell T Davies confirmed Ruby’s mysterious origin story will play a key function within the 2024 collection and that there have been folks on the Church the place Ruby was discovered as an deserted child whom we haven’t seen but.

“The story that we’re kicking off right here concerning the adoption and having been fostered after which adopted and being a foundling truly runs by means of all the collection. This one’s fairly a fable – the foundling on the church doorstep within the snow. That story then continues into the collection – we come again to that church. There’s all kinds of issues… there have been folks in these scenes you don’t know had been there. There’s much more to return.”

Within the subsequent scene we see Mrs Flood, she discreetly encourages Ruby towards the TARDIS and needs her good luck as she enters.

The TARDIS dematerialises and this time Abdul witnesses it and remarks about it to Mrs Flood, who now has far more pleasant and charitable emotions towards her neighbour as she gently chides him. It’s as if, like Ebenezer Scrooge, she’s skilled a Christmas epiphany.

“Oh, Merry Christmas, Abdul. Cease making such a fuss.”

It’s then we hear essentially the most shocking line from Mrs Flood because the breaks the fourth wall and talks on to the viewers with a wink.

“By no means seen a TARDIS earlier than?”

We are going to see extra of Mrs Flood since Anita Dobson filmed scenes for Episode 4 of the 2024 Physician Who collection.

A brand new 8-episode Physician Who collection starring Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson will debut in Could 2024.