A very believable leak has potentially given us a peek behind the scenes at what could have been, concerning the Doctor Who Series 15 finale, The Reality War.

It’s pretty well known that the special went through reshoots, and these likely involved the ending, which apparently saw Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor regenerate into Billie Piper. The latter isn’t credited as the Doctor, though this is probably so that showrunner, Russell T Davies, can keep his options open.

Now, an online leak, which might be taken with a pinch of salt but which seems true, has surfaced. It says:

“The original ending of [Doctor] Who S2 was the Doctor, Ruby [Sunday], Belinda [Chandra], etc. are all having a big party (think Amy [and] Rory’s wedding [in The Big Bang]) everyone’s dancing [and] The Vlinx is a DJ. Susan is seen watching them from afar, which would’ve been the cliffhanger leading into [Series 16].

“Susan would have appeared in a Five Doctors-esque look (grey trenchcoat) overlooking the party that the Doctor [and co.] are at. She [would] have been standing with Poppy [too]… Susan says, ‘Let’s go Mum,’ and then we cut to the credits.”

Yes, this is all just a rumour really, except it does ring true.

The above photo was used to publicise The Reality War, showing the Doctor partying with Belinda, but that never featured in the transmitted episode.

We’ve also seen Carole Ann Ford wearing that grey trenchcoat in behind-the-scenes clips, and it would’ve more neatly tied up some of the series’ threads, namely Susan’s cameo in The Interstellar Song Contest and Poppy, the youngster from Space Babies who became so important in Wish World and The Reality War. There was even speculation just before the finale airing that Poppy would end up being Susan’s mum! And given that the mysterious woman in The End of Time was supposed to be the Doctor’s mum, it’s clear that Davies is particularly interested in the Doctor’s family.

As is, we’re instead left with something many fans feel quite sad about.