The Woman (The End of Time)

"I was lost... so very long ago."

- The Woman

The Woman was first seen in a church on December 23 2010. She told Wilfred Mott of the church's past: it was once a convent that had been attacked by a demon from the skies in the 1300s, and was saved by a "saintly physician". After saying that the physician may be needed again, she vanished.

She next appeared to Wilf on Christmas Day, her image appearing on television, which only Wilf could see. She told Wilf that he needed to take up arms, and that the Doctor's life could still be saved. Before vanishing again, she warned Wilf not to tell the Doctor of anything she had said to him.

She once more appeared to Wilf on the Vinvocci's spaceship when Wilf claimed to be lost, claiming that he was found, and telling him that it was the Doctor's final battle, and that he had to take up arms. He asked her who she was, but she remained silent and told him that she was lost so long ago, before disappearing once more.

She was revealed to be a mysterious Time Lady, and could be seen in a weeping position standing by The Narrator, who was revealed to be Rassilon. When the Doctor looked at her, she briefly uncovered her face and looked at him and shed a single tear; before she covered her face again, the Doctor looked on at her in shock. She was last seen in her weeping position as she was sent back into the Last Great Time War, much to what appears to be the Doctor's regret. When asked by Wilfred who she was, he replied with only silence. (DW: The End of Time)

Behind the Scenes

 * During filming, newspapers The Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph announced that Claire Bloom would be portraying the Doctor's mother. However, the character was never explicitly identified as such during the special.
 * In commentary for the second half of The End of Time, Julie Gardner was of the strong opinion that The Woman was the Doctor's mother, but admitted there was enough ambiguity to allow other interpretations.   Russell T. Davies, for his part, generally refused to be drawn by Gardner's comparative certainty about The Woman's identity.
 * In the final version of The Writer's Tale, Russel T. Davies states that the Woman's identity was deliberately left ambiguous, but the intention is that she's the Doctor's mother..
 * If The Woman were the Doctor's mother, the revelation could be said to clash with Doctor Who (1996). There, the Eighth Doctor claimed that he was half human on his Mother's side. However, it's possible to interpret this line as a deliberate joke on the Doctor's part.  And IDW: The Forgotten suggests that the Doctor was never truly "half-human", but instead confusing the Master using suggestion and a half-broken Chameleon Arch.
 * The Woman was seen standing opposite another, weeping Time Lord. Russell T. Davies pointed out the nature of this in commentary and wondered if anyone would question who he was, and what their connection was.
 * Whenever the Woman appears to Wilf, she appears somewhat older, and has slightly more grey.