The 2023 Doctor Who Christmas special, “The Church on Ruby Road,” gave viewers an official introduction to Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor. However, it’s not the Doctor but one mysterious character named Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson) that has captured viewers’ attention.
“The Church on Ruby Road” follows Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), a young woman who was abandoned outside a church as a baby. As an adult, she helps her adoptive mother foster children while searching for her birth parents. However, after experiencing an unusual streak of bad luck, she encounters the Doctor, who sets out to help her save her family’s latest foster child from a band of baby-snatching goblins. Along the way, Ruby will learn more about her history and why she has fallen into such poor luck.
Doctor Who‘s latest Christmas special is festive, heartfelt, and filled with the sci-fi campiness that made Russell T. Davies’ original run successful. It is bound to get viewers excited for further adventures with the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby, especially because it leaves a few questions unanswered. Ruby’s origins are still a topic of interest. Even more intriguing is the question of who Mrs. Flood really is.
Who is Mrs. Flood?
Mrs. Flood appears sporadically throughout the Doctor Who Christmas special and is so innocuous that viewers might not have initially taken note of her. She’s an elderly neighbor of Ruby’s who seems to spend most of her days sitting outside the front of her home watching the activities of the neighborhood. It’s not surprising she enjoys this pastime, as she can be a bit nosy. For the most part, she seems to get along with her fellow neighbors, except for Abdul (Hemi Yeroham).
The first time we meet Mrs. Flood, she’s arguing with Abdul, accusing him of putting the TARDIS on the sidewalk right outside her home, blocking her path and her view of the neighborhood. However, she appears to be good friends with Ruby. For the remainder of the episode, she watches the comings and goings of the Doctor and Ruby, often waving and smiling at them happily. At the end of the episode, she gently nods at Ruby, encouraging her to go with the Doctor. Viewers will notice that she seems oddly unphased by the bizarre happenings around her. In a mid-credits scene, Abdul runs up to her in a frenzy over witnessing the TARDIS disappear before his eyes.
However, Mrs. Flood urges him to “stop making such a fuss.” With a wink at the camera, she asks, “Never seen a TARDIS before?” Wait a minute. No one told Mrs. Flood that the police box blocking her sidewalk was a TARDIS. How does she know its name and what it does? For now, Doctor Who is keeping her identity a mystery. There’s a chance she is simply Mrs. Flood—a nosy neighbor who picked up on a thing or two while watching the Doctor and Ruby. Her familiarity with the TARDIS and interesting name, though, has stirred some fan theories.
Doctor Who fan theories on Mrs. Flood
The most popular theory is that Mrs. Flood is River Song. This is primarily because “Flood” and “River” are similar names. Additionally, since River was conceived on board the TARDIS, she has similar traits to a Time Lord. Hence, this could be another incarnation of River. However, if her name isn’t significant, she could truly be any Time Lord introduced over the course of Doctor Who‘s history. The first that comes to mind is The Master. Sure, Mrs. Flood seems harmless, but looks are often deceiving on the show. She could be another iteration of The Master or the Time Lord known as The Rani.
Another theory is that she is Ruby’s mother, meaning the episode’s two biggest mysteries are connected. It would explain her warmth towards Ruby and why she seems so content with the Doctor caring for her. Perhaps something or someone is keeping her apart from her daughter, so the best she can do is remain secretly close by. She could also be a former companion or relative of a companion. It is possible all the specials’ mysteries are connected, and Mrs. Flood is also The Meep’s (Miriam Margoyles) boss and the mysterious woman who picked up the golden tooth in which The Master’s consciousness is trapped.
There are certainly a lot of theories about who Mrs. Flood is, and each is surprisingly plausible. With a history as extensive as Doctor Who‘s, there are nearly unlimited ways in which a character can connect to the Doctor’s past. Some theories are a little more far-fetched, such as The Master regenerating into a sweet old lady or Ruby’s long-lost mother living next door to her. Her name does seem to hint at River Song, but a former companion or friend of the Doctor would also have her knowledge of the TARDIS. She doesn’t have to be a Time Lord. For now, Mrs. Flood remains one of several exciting mysteries that the new season of Doctor Who will need to solve.
(featured image: BBC)
