The Doctor: Ncuti Gatwa
Companions: Varada Sethu – Belinda Chandra, Millie Gibson – Ruby Sunday
Others
Jonah Hauer-King – Conrad Clark
Jemma Redgrave – Kate Lethbridge-Stewart
Ruth Madeley – Shirley Bingham
Michelle Greenidge – Carla Sunday
Angela Wynter – Cherry Sunday
Faye McKeever – Louise Miller
Benjamin Chivers – Young Conrad
Kirsty Hoiles – Moira Clark
Gethin Alderman – The Shreek
Kareem Alexander – Jordan Lang
Madison Stock – Elsa
Paddy Stafford – Sparky
Blake Anderson – Jack
Aoife Gaston – Michelle
Paul Jerricho – Alfie
Michael Woodford – Derek
Alexander Devrient – Colonel Christofer Ibrahim
Tina Gray – Audrey
Reeta Chakrabarti – Herself
Joel Dommett – Himself
Alex Jones – Herself
Selorm Adonu – Influencer 1
Calypso Cragg – Influencer 2
James Craven – Influencer 3
Aidan Cook – The Vlinx
Nicholas Briggs – Voice of the Vlinx
Anita Dobson – Mrs Flood
Directed by Peter Hoar
Written by Pete McTighe
Script editor: David Cheung
Produced by Vicki Delow
Executive producer(s): Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner. Jane Tranter. Joel Collins, Phil Collinson
Music by Murray Gold
Series 15
Running time: 46 minutes
First broadcast 3 May 2025
On New Year's Day, 2007, seven-year old Conrad Clark witnesses the TARDIS arrive with the Doctor and Belinda Chandra, but his mother slaps and rebukes him for yet again making up stories when he tells her. In 2025, an adult Conrad hosts a podcast interview with Ruby Sunday, the Doctor's previous companion. A year prior, Conrad discovered the TARDIS outside a department store, in which the Doctor and Ruby were dealing with a creature called the Shreek, which induces fear in the prey it marks with its pheromones. Unaware he was marked by these pheromones, Conrad sought information on Ruby on social media after the pair departed.
Ruby falls in love with him during their time together, but when meeting his friends at a village pub, she is shocked when a pair of Shreeks turn up outside. Calling Kate Lethbridge-Stewart for help, UNIT is dispatched to capture them, having caught the Shreek that the Doctor and Ruby encountered. To their shock, the Shreeks turn out to be fakes, with Conrad revealing he was behind the stunt, having deceived Ruby in order to expose UNIT's work which he and his followers regard as fake. Although arrested, his lies spread across media and social networks, leading to him being viewed as a martyr in the eyes of the public. Conrad is subsequently released while the public and government turn on UNIT as a result.
Investigating his motive, Ruby notices Conrad is publishing full details on UNIT employees, leading Kate to discover an analyst, Jordan Lang, is working with him. As protestors surround the building, Jordan sneaks Conrad into the building during the confusion, but is incapacitated by Conrad when he takes a gun from an unconscious guard against Jordan’s wishes. Alerted to his intrusion, Kate lets him reach the command floor, where he gleefully gloats how he is livestreaming his intrusion as he continues to insult UNIT's legacy, including that of Kate's father, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
Disgusted with his lies and actions, Kate releases the Shreek in UNIT's captivity, which begins hunting him. Frightened, Conrad admits on his livestream to lying about UNIT. A bitter Ruby stuns the Shreek, leading to Conrad mocking her until it recovers and bites his arm, before he is arrested. The public and government regain their faith in UNIT. As Kate and Ruby reflect on recent events, the Doctor brings Conrad from prison to the TARDIS to berate him for harming Ruby and his friends. Conrad smugly asks him about Belinda, whom he has yet to meet at that time, and is sent back to his cell after cruelly rejecting the Doctor's "reality". Questioning if what he experienced was real, the prison governor, Mrs. Flood, confirms it was, before claiming it's his "lucky day".
Lucky Day