** WARNING: contains spoilers for The Power of the Doctor **
Doctor Who fans' jaws were on the floor as Jodie Whittaker's version of The Doctor regenerated in emotional scenes, but the face that emerged was not who everyone was expecting.
For months, we've known that Jodie Whittaker's time as the Doctor has come to an end and that Sex Education's Ncuti Gatwa would be stepping into the Time Lord's shoes, but he didn't actually appear at the end of The Power of the Doctor.
Instead, a very familiar David Tennant appeared out of the regeneration energy and The 14th Doctor was just as confused as all of us as he reacted to his new form, repeatedly asking "what?". Yep, us too!
With Doctor Who confirming that both David Tennant and Catherine Tate were set to return, fans knew that he'd be appearing in some capacity, but we weren't ready for this big twist.
SPOILERS 🚨 Watch the regeneration of the Thirteenth Doctor... 🔥 #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/7m4WzWow0qOctober 23, 2022
Following the huge reveal, actor David Tennant spoke to the BBC about his twist appearance, calling the experience "a treat".
He said: "What a lovely, lovely thing to get to revisit. It was such a wonderful, happy, significant time in my life... to be able to revisit that and get another shot, it was a total joy from start to finish!"
When asked if he'd had any worries about the response from fans, David added: "It didn't really feel like a risk, I knew that Russell T. Davies was in charge and I love working with him, and I love receiving a script with his name on the front. So that was a bit of a no-brainer really."
David Tennant will return as The Doctor in 2023, when Russell T. Davies officially returns as showrunner, and a teaser trailer has given us our first look at the new villain played by Neil Patrick Harris, as well as Ncuti Gatwa's first appearance in Doctor Who.
However, the trailer still leaves a lot of mystery and speculation so we'll have to wait patiently to see what's in store. If you haven't seen it yet, you can take a look below!
Doctor Who returns next year. Previous episodes of the series are available on demand via BBC iPlayer.
