Draft:Poppy (Doctor Who)
Submission declined on 5 June 2025 by Pokelego999 (talk).
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Comment: Content is primarily about the character's role in two episodes, and shows very little coverage or analysis separate from her role in those episodes. Theory articles are typically not considered SIGCOV since they are not analyzing or discussing the impact of the character, and are merely just posting for clicks. Every mysterious television character in an ongoing series will have people theorizing what the mystery is; that's how TV works. There's no WP:SUSTAINED presence shown beyond the confines of Doctor Who series 15. If the character continues receiving coverage in subsequent months that are about the character directly, and less so about her role as a plot device in her appearances, than I believe this has a good shot, but as it stands right now it's just WP:TOOSOON. Magneton Considerer: Pokelego999 (Talk) (Contribs) 03:47, 5 June 2025 (UTC)
 | This is a draft article. It is a work in progress open to editing by anyone. Please ensure core content policies are met before publishing it as a live Wikipedia article. Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL Last edited by Jessica3801 (talk | contribs) 17 days ago. (Update)
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| Poppy | |
|---|---|
| Doctor Who character | |
| First appearance | "Space Babies" (2024) |
| Last appearance | "The Reality War" (2025) |
| Created by | Russell T Davies |
| Portrayed by | Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps |
| Voiced by | Shola Olaitan-Ajiboye |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Poppy |
| Title | Captain (first) |
| Affiliation | Baby Station Beta (first) |
| Family |
|
| Origin | Baby Station Beta (first) |
| Nationality | British (second) |
Poppy is the name of two fictional characters in Doctor Who, created by Russell T Davies, played by Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps, and voiced by Shola Olaitan-Ajiboye. The first Poppy is one of the titular babies in the series 14 episode "Space Babies", the captain of Baby Station Beta. She later appears within a world created by a wish as the child of the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda Chandra, for whom the Doctor sacrifices himself.
Fictional character biography
[edit]First Poppy
[edit]The first character named "Poppy" appeared in the episode "Space Babies" as the captain of Baby Station Beta, where she met the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday,[1] briefly believing the pair to be the babies' parents.[2] The babies are described as refugees[3] who help the Doctor and Ruby fight. The babies then fly to a new planet to be taken in.[4]
In the series 15 episode "The Story & The Engine", Poppy appears to Belinda Chandra in Lagos[5] as what Radio Times described as "an apparition".[4] She giggles and waves to Belinda, but then disappears. Belinda later asks the Doctor about it, and the Doctor explains that the stories were leaking out and getting mixed out, suspecting that the child's appearance was due to that.[6] In the following episode, "The Interstellar Song Contest", a significant part of the story was a product called Poppy Honey, which The Guardian identified as a connection to Poppy that foreshadowed a significant role for her in the coming episodes.[7]
Second Poppy
[edit]Poppy then appeared again in the series 15 episode "Wish World" as the daughter of the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda Chandra within the fictional reality created by Conrad Clark using the God of Wishes, Desiderium. This version of Poppy notably does not speak,[1] but the Doctor insists that she is real[8] in a way that Nerdist determined would be important.[9] In the following episode, "The Reality War", the Doctor realizes that Poppy was created within the Wish World as the result of his memories and Belinda's combining into a person, which is why she looks the same as the other Poppy with the first Poppy apparently still at Baby Station Beta. This was also surprising due to the Doctor as the episode revealed that the Time Lords were sterilized by a genetic explosion,[1] and the Rani is offended by the insinuation that Poppy would be a Time Lord since she is part human.[10]
As the Doctor and The Rani attempt to alter reality, Poppy's existence is in danger, so Susan Triad creates a "zero room" to protect Poppy from the reality shift, and Belinda chooses to hide with her. The plan initially appears to succeed as the Doctor defeats the Rani and restores reality, with Poppy and Belinda appearing from inside the zero room, but Poppy soon disappears and Ruby Sunday is the only person who remembers her existence.[1] Ruby convinces the Doctor that Poppy was real, and the Doctor works with the Thirteenth Doctor to push enough regeneration energy into the TARDIS alter reality again and restore Poppy's existence.[10] However, in this new reality, Poppy has always been Belinda's daughter and is completely human, no longer the Doctor's daughter but instead the daughter of Belinda's ex-boyfriend, Ritchie Akingbola,[1] to whom Belinda had been attempting to return home their entire time together in the new version of reality.[10] In summarizing the ending, Inverse suggested that Poppy had truly been Belinda's daughter all along already and that the reveal was the reason she needed to get home the whole season.[11] The Fifteenth Doctor then wishes farewell to Belinda and Poppy before regenerating.[12]
Development
[edit]Poppy was developed as one of the main characters of her first appearance, "Space Babies". She was portrayed by a child actor, Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps, who according to Russell T Davies in Doctor Who Magazine, "isn't acting. It's a completely honest reaction to Ncuti as the Doctor, who plays it beautifully. Magic happens there."[13][14]
Mavanga-Phipps was particularly remembered by Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson as friendly during filming "Space Babies". In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gatwa joked about Mavanga-Phipps' acting[3] in her first role,[4] saying that she could go far, and Gibson talked about the possibility of her returning.[3] Gatwa enjoyed his time working with Mavanga-Phipps so much that Poppy received a specific mention in an Instagram post at the end of his time as the Fifteenth Doctor, referring to her as "the CAPTAIN of all 15’s companions."[15]
Mavanga-Phipps' TikTok account, which is run by her mother, reposted comments by notable leaker Daniel Richtman that the story of "The Reality War" initially ended differently, with Mavanga-Phipps' mother adding that Poppy was initially meant to be Susan Foreman's mother. The account said it was unable to share pictures from changed ending due to a non-disclosure agreement. The ending was then changed during reshoots for rescuing Poppy to be the reason for the Fifteenth Doctor's regeneration.[16]
Reception
[edit]The reveal that the second Poppy was the daughter of the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda Chandra sparked confusion among fans as reported by The Direct. They noted that the reason for Poppy's disappearance was not outright stated at any point, leaving fans with only the ability to speculate about the cause. They also noted the apparent added mystery of how the Doctor goes on to have a granddaughter, original companion Susan Foreman, if he is not able to have children.[1]
Hannah Sole of Pajiba analyzed The Rani's disgust as an analogue to people focused on racial purity, noting that the Rani is a villain and that such a view is part of her characterization as such. She also agreed that Poppy's nature is confusing and contradictory, saying "Poppy is real and not real, a memory of a Space Baby, and a wish, and the Doctor’s baby and not the Doctor’s baby. Undoing Wish World might or might not undo Poppy." In reference to her no longer being the Doctor's daughter, Sole said it was "a sad twist," but also voiced moments of confusion with it, for example asking why Belinda and her ex-boyfriend's daughter would be identical to the first Poppy.[10]
Aside from confusion, the reveal was also met with significant criticism from fans. Gizmodo noted that when Poppy was first introduced as Belinda and the Doctor's daughter, the audience was seemingly intended to want reality to revert to normal as the episode explicitly condemned the imposition of motherhood on Belinda by the wish-built world they were in. Their criticism then states that the series finale "decides that reducing Belinda to this singular trait—altered reality or otherwise—is Good, Actually." They criticize the episode for what Poppy comes to represent for Belinda as "her sole dramatic trait is reminding us that she is Poppy’s mother and that that is all that she cares about" and for having Belinda be removed from the climax of the episode so she can protect Poppy. They referred to the result as "insulting" and further criticized the Doctor's character by noting that the Doctor scans Poppy's biology without permission despite having been criticized for doing so in "The Robot Revolution" by Belinda.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Hargrave, Sam. "Doctor Who's Poppy Twist & Daughter Theories Explained". The Direct. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Poisuo, Pauli. "Doctor Who Season 2 Makes The Doctor's Family Tree More Confusing Than Ever". SlashFilm. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ a b c Mcewan, Cameron K (10 May 2024). "'Doctor Who' Stars Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson Talk Naughty Babies, Former Doctors and Companions". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ a b c Hibbs, James. "Doctor Who: The Reality War cast". Radio Times. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Belam, Martin (10 May 2025). "Doctor Who: The Story and the Engine – season two episode five recap". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Jeffery, Morgan. "Doctor Who sets up new mystery in The Story and the Engine – but who is the child?". Who is the child in Doctor Who: The Story and the Engine?. Radio Times. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Belam, Martin (17 May 2025). "Doctor Who: The Interstellar Song Contest – season two episode six recap". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Britt, Ryan. "Doctor Who Is About To Drop A Shocking Finale". 'Doctor Who' Season 2 Episode 8 Is About To Reach A Shocking Finale. Inverse. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Gooden, Tai. "All the Easter Eggs and DOCTOR WHO Callbacks in 'Wish World'". Nerdist. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d Sole, Hannah. "'Doctor Who' Finale Recap: Doctor Whaaaaat?!". Pajiba. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Bui, Hoai-Tran. "Did The Doctor Really Just Regenerate Into Billie Piper?". Billie Piper? 'Doctor Who' Season 2's Regeneration Twist, Explained. Inverse. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb. "Ncuti Gatwa Bids Doctor Who Farewell as Finale Ends With a Most Surprising Twist — Grade It!". 'Doctor Who' Ncuti Gatwa Exits, Billie Piper Returns Season 15 Finale. TVLine. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "Poppy | Explore the Whoniverse". BBC. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Laford, Andrea (May 2024). "Doctor Who 'Space Babies' cast list". CultBox. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb. "Exiting Doctor Who Star Ncuti Gatwa Cheers His Companions, 'Captain Poppy' and Two 'Legends' From Finale". 'Doctor Who': Ncuti Gatwa Reacts to Exit From Series, Praises Co-Stars. TVLine. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Phillips, Tom. "Doctor Who Actor Seemingly Confirms Finale's Original Ending Plans — Before Those Reshoots Due to Ncuti Gatwa's Departure". IGN. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ Whitbrook, James. "'Doctor Who' Utterly Wasted Belinda Chandra". Gizmodo. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
External Links
[edit]- Poppy on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki
- Poppy Chandra on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki
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