Theory:Timeline - Bill Potts

This page lists appearances of Bill Potts in the order in which she experienced them. This timeline is based upon observations of the Doctor Who universe and the events that occur during each of these stories. From these observations we have attempted to build a concise timeline. It is assumed that for each novel, comic, audio or television series, their published, broadcast or numbered order is the order they occur in.

Timeline

 * TV: The Pilot
 * In 2016, the Twelfth Doctor becomes a personal tutor to Bill Potts at St Luke's University. By 2017, the Doctor is forced to reveal the TARDIS to Bill to save her after her crush, Heather, is taken over by a sentient oil puddle. Despite initially wanting to wipe her mind, the Doctor instead invites Bill to join him aboard the TARDIS.


 * TV: Smile
 * Follows on from The Pilot, with Nardole advising against the Doctor traveling with Bill when he should be guarding the Vault. Escaping Nardole, the Doctor and Bill face Emojibots at Gliese 581d, and then end up on a frozen river, leading directly into Thin Ice.


 * TV: Thin Ice
 * Finding himself on the River Thames during a Frost fair, the Doctor and Bill free a trapped sea serpent. Bill learns the basics of time travel, and that the Doctor has killed in the past. Upon returning to St Luke's University, the Doctor tricks Nardole into letting him and Bill travel together.


 * PROSE: Diamond Dogs
 * The Doctor and Bill sneak out without Nardole noticing, setting this before Oxygen. Bill mentions the recent events of Smile and Thin Ice.


 * COMIC: The Last Action Figure


 * PROSE: Bill and the Three Jackets
 * Bill has a TARDIS key.


 * PROSE: The Shining Man
 * Bill mentions the events of Diamond Dogs.


 * TV: Knock Knock
 * The Doctor helps Bill move into a new house, but the house is destroyed by Dryads. Bill does not yet know about regeneration.


 * COMIC: The Soul Garden
 * The Doctor and Bill visit Saturn's moon, Titan, in outer space. After banishing Sythorr back to the Dreamspace, the Doctor is warned that "the unknown soldier is stirring."


 * PROSE: I Am the Doctor
 * The Doctor and Bill return to St. Luke's University from a space related adventure. Harry's involvement with Nardole places this after Knock Knock


 * COMIC: The Parliament of Fear
 * After an adventure at the Indian Territory of 1880, the Doctor finds that the TARDIS has been vandalised and goes looking for answers, leading directly into Matildus.


 * COMIC: Matildus
 * Failing to get the answers he was looking for in the Renath Archive, the Doctor decides to consult Alan Turing, leading directly into The Phantom Piper.


 * COMIC: The Phantom Piper
 * Visiting Athenia to get advice from Alan Turing's Galatean duplicate, the Doctor and Bill find out about the hostilities between the humans and Galateans that Chiyoko is dealing with. When Turing decodes the vandalism with Block Transfer Computation, the Phantom Piper is able to escape the Dreamspace. After defeating the Piper, the Doctor is confronted by Fey Truscott-Sade, who warns him to "gather his forces" for "the Absence".


 * COMIC: The Clockwise War
 * Follows on from The Phantom Piper, with the Doctor and Bill following Fey's trail. The Doctor claims Bill "doesn't know him well", implying this is still set early in their travels.


 * COMIC: The Lost Dimension
 * Bill is properly informed about regeneration, setting this between Knock Knock and The Lie of the Land.


 * COMIC: Where's the Doctor?
 * The Doctor and Bill attend the coronation of Elizabeth II.


 * COMIC: The Promise
 * The Doctor talks to Bill about regeneration, setting this after The Lost Dimension.


 * COMIC: Loose in the Lane
 * Nardole refuses to let the Doctor and Bill leave in the TARDIS, setting this before Oxygen.


 * TV: Oxygen
 * The Doctor decides to answer a distress call from a space station, Chasm Forge, with Bill and Nardole. The Doctor is rendered blind when Bill's spacesuit malfunctions in the vacuum and he gives her his helmet, but he claims to have healed once returning to Earth.


 * TV:  The Pyramid at the End of the World
 * After he thwarts the Monks attempt to enslave the world by saving it from a virus, the Doctor finds himself trapped with the virus, and only escapes when Bill negotiates with the Monks to restore his sight, saving the Doctor at the cost of the Earth, leading directly into The Lie of the Land.


 * TV: The Lie of the Land
 * The Doctor, Nardole and Bill lead a resistance against the Monks, and Bill is able to force them off the planet. During the resisting, Bill is introduced to inside the Vault and it is implied she knows about regeneration, as she does not question it when she sees the Doctor fake a regeneration.


 * PROSE: Plague City
 * Nardole is joining the Doctor and Bill on an adventure and the Doctor has his eyesight, setting this after The Lie of the Land.


 * PROSE: Inflicting Christmas
 * Bill recalls the events of Pyramid at the End of the World.


 * TV: Empress of Mars
 * Taking Bill and Nardole on a daytrip to NASA, the Doctor finds the words "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN" written on the surface of Mars, and heads to 1881 Mars to find out why. After the TARDIS leaves with Nardole, the Doctor introduces Bill to the Ice Warriors, and sets up their relationship with Alpha Centauri. When Nardole returns, he reveals it was Missy who flew the TARDIS for him.


 * COMIC: The Wolves of Winter
 * Bill recognises the Ice Warriors from the events of Empress of Mars.


 * COMIC: The Great Shopping Bill
 * The Doctor has not yet allowed Missy back into the TARDIS, setting this before The Eaters of Light.


 * COMIC: A Confusion of Angels
 * Follows on from The Great Shopping Bill.


 * COMIC: Tulpa
 * Set after A Confusion of Angels, though Nardole continues to disapprove of the Doctor and Bill leaving the Vault unguarded. The Doctor briefly uses a blue variation of the Eleventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver.


 * TV: The Eaters of Light
 * After finding out the cause of the Ninth Legion's disappearance, the Doctor reveals to Bill and Nardole that he has allowed Missy certain freedoms in the TARDIS since Empress of Mars to further her rehabilitation. Bill realises that the TARDIS has been translating different languages for her.


 * COMIC: Harvest of the Daleks
 * Set shortly before World Enough and Time.


 * TV: World Enough and Time
 * Deciding to give Missy a test to see her progress, the Doctor, Bill and Nardole take Missy to a colony ship escaping a black hole, where Bill is shot and taken by the Mondasians to be converted into one of the first Cybermen by, who seduces Missy into joining him, leading directly into The Doctor Falls.


 * TV: The Doctor Falls
 * While escaping the Cybermen with the Master and Missy, the Doctor is saved by Bill, who has managed to retain her humanity. Two weeks after Nardole is able to rescue them, the Doctor has Nardole lead the colonists on the ship to a safer area while he and Bill stay behind to face the Cybermen when Missy and the Master flee. Salvaged by Heather, Bill becomes sentient oil and, after seeing that the Doctor recovers securely in the TARDIS, leaves with Heather to explore.

After the TARDIS

 * WC: The Best of Days
 * Bill is living on earth and attending St Luke's University again. She appears to be human and is on a break from her relationship with Heather. She maintains regular contact with Nardole.


 * PROSE: Twice Upon a Time
 * Bill is revealed to have ultimately died of old age, having eventually renounced her immortality while remaining with Heather.


 * TV: Twice Upon a Time
 * Bill's memory is preserved by the Testimony, whom recreate her as a glass avatar who reunites with the Doctor and Nardole.

Currently unplaced

 * Bill meets a version of the Twelfth Doctor from the recent past. (PROSE: Dear Readers)