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 "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.
 * 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 revealed 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, or even the 2009 version of Star Trek which depicts Spock's human mother as being a member of Vulcan's high council.
 * 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.