Bill Potts

Bill Potts was a companion of the Twelfth Doctor.

When she first encountered the Doctor, Bill was working as a canteen assistant at St Luke's University, seemingly destined for an unprivileged life. When free from work, she attended some of the Doctor's lectures at the university. The Doctor saw her unfulfilled potential and invited her for a series of personal tutoring sessions.

Following an encounter with a sinister puddle, Bill discovered who the Doctor really was — an alien time-traveller, guarding a secret vault beneath the university campus. The Doctor invited her to join both himself and Nardole on a journey through space and time.

Before the Doctor
Bill's mother died when she was young, so she was brought up by a foster mother called Moira. (TV: The Pilot)

At St Luke's University
Later in life, Bill served chips at St Luke's University in Bristol, and — despite not being a student — attended some of the Doctor's lectures. Noticing her potential, he became her personal tutor.

During Christmas, Bill mentioned to the Doctor that she was "supposed to look" like her mother, but, as her mum rarely had any picture taken, Bill didn't really knew if she looked like her. When she went to the flat where she lived with her mother, Moira told her she had found a box with pictures of Bill's mum. On one of the photos, Bill could see the Doctor's reflection.

Over the course of her tutoring, Bill developed a crush on another student, Heather, who showed her a puddle that cast a reversed reflection. Bill asked Heather not to leave without her. As a result, when Heather was taken over by the puddle, she followed Bill home, so as not to leave without her.

Bill went to the Doctor's office, and then he brought her into the TARDIS. He tried to outrun the water creature, and finally travelled to a war zone in the Dalek-Movellan War. Bill realised she was being pursued as Heather had promised not to leave without her. On the Doctor's advice, she released Heather from her promise.

The Doctor took her back to the university, where Bill expressed regret at having turned down Heather's offer, with the Doctor telling her it was unlikely they would ever see each other again. When Bill knowingly looked at the TARDIS, the Doctor realized what she was suggesting and made her stand close to him, intending to wipe her memory of these events, but she convinced him not to. He then agreed to take Bill with him on his travels, acknowledging that they might run into Heather one day. (TV: The Pilot)

Personality
Bill is very smart and very inquisitive. She has a thought process that seems different than most people that the Doctor deals with, regularly. She asks questions that most people don’t ask and comes to conclusions in a different way that other people normally do. She loves science fiction and is open to the idea that concepts of science fiction are real and affect the lives of those around her. When Heather introduces her to a strange puddle, she is open to the idea of alien lizard possession, no matter how preposterous the Doctor finds it.

Bill is a lesbian. She describes a crush on a girl in the Doctor’s lectures, and develops an interest in another young woman, Heather. (TV: The Pilot)

Skills
to be added

Appearance
to be added

Bill Potts