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 2009. 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 "sainted physician". After saying that the physician may appear 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. She and a male Time Lord had been the only two to object to Rassilon's Final Solution. When the Doctor looked at her, she briefly uncovered her face and looked at him. They seemed to share a recognition of each other. She shed a single tear, and glanced toward the diamond being used as part of Rassilon's plan. This seemed to be the inspiration which the Doctor needed to shoot the diamond, sending her and the other Time Lords back into the Last Great Time War. She was last seen in her weeping position. When later asked by Wilfred who she was, the Doctor replied with only silence. (DW: The End of Time)

Behind the Scenes

 * In the final script, the identity of the Woman is not revealed. In REF: Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter, Russell T. Davies states that he created the character to be the Doctor's mother and this is what actress Claire Bloom was told when she was cast. However Davies acknowledged that the character could be interpreted as any trustworthy Time Lord, including Romana, a regenerated Susan or even a future regeneration of the half-Time Lord Donna Noble. The character is credited as "The Woman" which, in Italian, is "La Donna".
 * 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.
 * It's worth noting that in the novel EDA: The Shadows of Avalon, Romana regenerates into a third incarnation who the Eighth Doctor notes looks very much like his mother.
 * If The Woman were the Doctor's mother, the revelation could be said to clash with Doctor Who (1996), in which the Eighth Doctor stated he was half-human on his mother's side. However, it was suggested in IDW: The Forgotten that he was never truly "half-human", but instead confusing the Master by using suggestion and a half-broken Chameleon Arch. Also, the episode never indicates explicitly that the Woman is Gallifreyan. See WC: Death Comes to Time for an example of a non-Gallifreyan becoming a Time Lord.
 * Some Doctor Who novels, including EDA: The Gallifrey Chronicles, imply that the Doctor's mother is a human woman called Penelope Gate, so this is a possible name for the Woman.
 * 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, perhaps indicating that the Woman who talked to Wilf was from a future or alternate timeline.