Doctor Who character to return 11 years since last story

The hit BBC show’s newest adventure, Circuit Breaker, releases in just a few weeks.

Circuit Breaker is a major, interconnected multimedia storytelling event centring around the Fugitive Doctor, played by Jo Martin.

It will span audio dramas by Big Finish Productions, as well as novels, comics from Titan Comics, mobile games, and digital platforms to unfold a single escalating crisis.

Doctor Who teases return of Osgood 11 years since character was last seen

Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor was first introduced in 2020 alongside Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor, in the episode titled Fugitive of the Judoon.

Martin has since appeared in several Big Finish Productions audio dramas depicting stories starring the Fugitive Doctor.

However, she is not the only returning Doctor Who character for the Circuit Breaker storyline.

Ingrid Oliver will also be reprising her role as Petronella Osgood, having previously played the character opposite the 10th, 11th and 12th Doctors, played by David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi.

Osgood was a scientist who worked for UNIT, working as an assistant to Kate Stewart, and notably first appeared in the show’s 50th anniversary, The Day of the Doctor, in 2013.

She was last seen in season 9’s The Zygon Inversion, back in 2015.

Now, a new image teasing Osgood’s return was posted to the show’s social media, with the caption: “Osgood is awaiting YOU in the Black Archive! Sign up to UNIT HQ on the #DoctorWho website for exclusive access to the first instalment of CIRCUIT BREAKER, coming 25th June!”

Osgood is awaiting YOU in the Black Archive! 🫵🌐

Sign up to UNIT HQ on the #DoctorWho website for exclusive access to the first instalment of CIRCUIT BREAKER, coming 25th June! pic.twitter.com/iOLmeKOY6o

— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) May 26, 2026

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What is Doctor Who’s Circuit Breaker?

Circuit Breaker was originally revealed by BBC Studios last year.

It is an “epic, multi-platform adventure unfolding this summer across audio, publishing, gaming and digital, bringing fans together for one connected, must-follow Whoniverse event”, the Doctor Who website says.

It explains: “The story event will see a single, escalating crisis play out across multiple formats, with each chapter unlocking new clues, new dangers… and a new side to the Time Lord.

“Circuit Breaker brings together a range of longstanding Doctor Who partners, including Titan Comics, Doctor Who Magazine, BBC Audiobooks, East Side Games, Puffin, BBC Books and Big Finish, each delivering a unique chapter of the story across the summer.”

The first chapter of the story launches on the in-universe UNIT website on June 25.

A synopsis for the story reads: “In the depths of UNIT’s most secure facility, the Black Archive, familiar objects have been pulled through time and space surrounded with a dangerous energy signature threatening to tear reality apart.

“With time running out, newly appointed Head of the Black Archive, Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) and her assistant Andrew (Omari Douglas) turn to the only person who can help… the Doctor (Jo Martin).

“This is no ordinary crisis, and not the Time Lord they are familiar with.

Recommended reading:

“As the Doctor confronts her most infamous enemies such as the Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans and a rogue Weeping Angel, she is forced to complete a mission with an insidious presence lurking in the shadows.

“Secrets begin to surface, and trust between UNIT and the Doctor begins to erode as those who idolise her start to question if she really is the Time Lord they thought they knew…”

Will you be following along with Doctor Who’s Circuit Breaker storyline this summer? Let us know in the comments.