Why Doctor Who's Tosin Cole might be leaving the show for good

Note: Wibbly-wobbly spoiler warning for Doctor Who season 12, episode seven.

Between the Timeless Child mystery and that Lone Cyberman warning, there's a lot going on in Doctor Who's twelfth season. It seems that the Doctor's going to need all the help she can get by the time that "epic" finale rolls round, but unfortunately, we suspect some of her friends might not make it to the end.

When they weren't fending off Zellin and his creepy fingers, the Doctor's three companions found themselves reflecting on what had led them up to this point. Ryan in particular seems to have grown dissatisfied with the life of a time traveller, worrying more about his friends back home than future adventures with the Doctor:

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"How long is this gonna last, Yaz? Hanging out with the Doctor? Is this our lives? Going from one place to the next, ignoring home. We're getting older but without them. Missing out bits of their lives."

doctor who series 11 trailer tosin cole as ryan sinclair

BBC

Fair point, but as Yaz points out: "When we're done, the Doctor can drop you off at whatever point you want, though."

Also, time travel is pretty awesome. Like fish fingers and custard awesome.

Still, that's not enough for Ryan, who says: "Yeah, but we'll have changed. They wouldn't have. It's like we're living at different rates."

The idea of drifting away from his loved ones is clearly bothering Ryan, but that doesn't mean he's going to give up TARDIS life completely... does it?

Well, it's certainly possible, especially since actor Tosin Cole just landed a major new TV role in the States. He'll be playing the lead role in 61st Street, a courtroom drama which has already been confirmed to run for two seasons minimum.

Without a TARDIS of his own, it's hard to imagine how Tosin could split his time between a British-based production like Doctor Who and an important role Stateside too. If that's the case, then it makes sense that the writers would start foreshadowing Ryan's departure leading up to this season's final episodes.

Doctor Who - Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair

Ray Burmiston//BBC

Up to this point, Ryan has been part of a unit alongside Yaz and Graham, which suggests one or both of them could end up jumping ship too. However, there's no guarantee this will happen and if Tosin does end up leaving without Mandip Gill or Bradley Walsh, this will give the writers more time to focus on their characters instead.

After all, a long-running criticism of the Thirteenth Doctor's era is that the TARDIS is too full these days, so Ryan's departure could be exactly what this show needs moving forward.

Either way, it's worth bearing in mind that Jodie Whittaker is the only cast member who's been confirmed for future seasons thus far.

Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine recently (via Radio Times), show runner Chris Chibnall hinted Doctor Who will be a very different show by the end of season twelve:

"In 'Spyfall Part One', [the Doctor and the team] are buoyant and they're having fun. Where we leave them at the end of episode 10 is an entirely different place."

It's entirely possible that this "different place" might be located back home, leaving the Doctor all alone in the aftermath of this "epic" finale.

Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US.

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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.

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