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Well, it’s official. Not only is Bernard Cribbins appearing in one of the final David Tennant stories, but on-set photos also show John Simm has returned to Doctor Who! The image at right (credit for the photo goes to alun.vega) shows Cribbins and Simm passing each other on-set.

Cribbins played Donna’s grandfather Wilf Mott in series 4, and of course John Simm appeared in series 3 as The Master. So far, this substantially confirms recent rumors that Tennant’s final stories would feature a return of Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Rose Tyler (again!), Wilf Mott, and the Master.

Personally, a lot of this seems a bit like a repeat of the series 4 finale, except with the Master instead of Davros, and I *really* don’t think we need to see Rose again. But if done well, I welcome another appearance by Wilf & Donna, who I thought were just amazing in series 4, not to mention another outing for Simm’s Master!

I’ve heard for some time that Martha would be returning to ease the transition from Tennant to Smith, which makes sense from a historical perspective — most of the times the Doctor has regenerated they have deliberately avoided recasting the companion at the same time to make it easier on the audience. And, in fact, back in the beginning of the ’80s, then-producer John Nathan-Turner asked Louise Jameson to return as Leela to ease the transition from Tom Baker to Peter Davison, but she declined the offer. So the idea is definitely not without precedent.

Now obviously since Rose returned, making a lie of the whole “trapped forever in another dimension with no way to return”, I’m sure something can be cooked up to explain Donna’s return despite how she supposedly could never regain her memories of her time with the Doctor without it killing her.

My guess? The bit of the Doctor that’s stuck in Donna’s head (as well as possibly the half-human “Doctor” who’s off with Rose in Pete’s World) may be needed for him to regenerate properly, much like how the Watcher aided the fourth Doctor’s regeneration in Logopolis. Once this happens, it’s no longer in Donna and she is safe to remember again.

One other  question that comes to mind is why is Simm’s hair been bleached blond? Maybe it has something to do with the color of  the hair of the woman who’s hand we see picking up the Master’s ring at the end of Last of the Timelords…?

Whatever happens, I’m excited to see the specials, starting with Planet of the Dead in a little over a week. It’ll be sad to see David Tennant’s time end as the Doctor, but getting a new Doctor is always exciting and something to look forward to.