March 08, 2026
Ahead of Jo Martin's return in Circuit Breaker, find out everything we know about this enigmatic incarnation of the Doctor…
On 26th January 2020, Doctor Who fans were stunned to meet a whole new Doctor – with no regeneration required – in Series 12’s Fugitive of the Judoon. Played by Jo Martin (Holby City, Dreaming Whilst Black, The Marlow Murder Club), the so-called ‘Fugitive Doctor’ came from an undetermined point in the Thirteenth Doctor’s past; and her legacy would come to define the Time Lord’s future.
From her first appearance to her adventures beyond the screen, here’s everything you need to know about Jo Martin’s Doctor so far...
The Discovery
Fugitive of the Judoon (Series 12)
While escaping a platoon of Judoon with the Doctor, Gloucester tour guide ‘Ruth Clayton’ was drawn towards a lighthouse concealing the mechanics of a Chameleon Arch, a device used for rewriting Time Lord biology and hiding their memories. Shocked to uncover a buried TARDIS outside, the Doctor was even more surprised when Ruth re-introduced herself as... the Doctor!
Despite having no memory of each other, the Fugitive Doctor was quite certain that she was from the Thirteenth Doctor’s past. A past, the Doctor would soon discover, that apparently contained many more lives she could not remember.
The Secret
The Timeless Children (Series 12)
Trapped in the Time Lord Matrix by the Master, the Doctor learned that their people’s ability to regenerate came from a single extra-dimensional entity – a child, found abandoned by a gateway between worlds. Adopted by a Gallifreyan scientist, this ‘Timeless Child’ became the genetic blueprint for the new elite Time Lord civilisation - at the cost of many of the child’s own lives in the research process. The Master revealed that this child was, in fact, the Doctor, long before the life she could remember. After he left her trapped in the Matrix, the Doctor was encouraged by a manifestation of the Fugitive Doctor to break out and find some answers about her past...
The Division
Once, Upon Time (Series 13: Flux)
The Doctor’s only clue to the mysteries of her past was the name ‘Division’ - belonging to a secret Time Lord organisation designed to contravene their own rules against interfering in time. Her search for answers was interrupted by the arrival of both the Flux, an antimatter storm ripping the universe apart, and the Ravagers, Swarm and Azure: sinister temporal beings that could manipulate space with a thought. The Ravagers sought revenge against the Doctor for imprisoning them – a confrontation she had no memory of. However, while caught in a time storm, she relives the experience from the point of view of the Fugitive Doctor, who trapped the Ravagers with the help of her fellow Division agents.
The Doctor would eventually discover that the Division, led by Tecteun – the Time Lord scientist who originally found her – were also behind the creation of the Flux, planning to destroy the universe and move on to the next. In Tecteun’s possession was another Chameleon Arch; a fob watch supposedly containing the Doctor’s lost memories. For now, that fob watch – and with it, many memories of the Fugitive Doctor and beyond – is currently residing somewhere in the belly of the TARDIS, after the Doctor reclaimed it and ultimately decided that some secrets are better off not known.
The Distraction
The Power of the Doctor (Centenary Special)
The Fugitive Doctor ‘returned’ some time later, to come to the aid of Yasmin Khan – albeit in the form of a hologram. After the Master forced a regeneration that allowed him to take over the Doctor’s body, Yaz hatched a plan to reverse the process; enlisting the help of Inston Vee-Vinder and the psychic holographic implant given to her by the Doctor. Disguising itself with the face of the Fugitive Doctor, the hologram was able to both distract the Master and trick an entire squad of CyberMasters to incapacitate each other – a very Doctor move!
The Legacy
Space Babies (Season 1)
The impact of the Fugitive Doctor’s debut and the history of the Timeless Child can still be felt in the Doctor’s character through the regenerations. Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor has proudly embraced his heritage as an orphan, openly and enthusiastically sharing the story of his adoption by the Time Lords with both Ruby Sunday and Captain Poppy. Maybe one day the Doctor will go looking for even more answers...?
The Story & the Engine (Season 2)
Although the Doctor still doesn’t have their full memories restored, sometimes things can slip through the cracks of time when the veil is thin enough. Such as in the Barber’s domain; which exists simultaneously as a barber shop in Lagos, Nigeria and the cockpit of a massive mechanical spider travelling across the Nexus, powered by stories.
It is here where the Doctor is confronted by Abena, the daughter of Anansi and a figure from his distant past. As she accuses him of leaving her behind, the Doctor slips back into the memory of his time as the Fugitive Doctor – with a very brief face change to boot!
The Future...?
Circuit Breaker (2026)
Jo Martin will be stepping back into the role of the Doctor in 2026 in Circuit Breaker – an exciting new series of adventures spanning across audio, novels, comics and more.
Spearheaded by bestselling author Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, Circuit Breaker will see UNIT call upon the Fugitive Doctor to help with a mysterious collection of alien artefacts that have appeared in the Black Archive. But how does UNIT know about her? And is she the Doctor they expect…?
Find out more about Circuit Breaker here.
Further Adventures
The Fugitive Doctor: Most Wanted (Big Finish)
If you’re looking for more stories featuring Jo Martin’s Doctor, then look no further than her audio adventures with Big Finish Productions. The Fugitive Doctor made her audio debut in the 60th Anniversary celebration series Doctor Who: Once and Future; setting her up for even more adventures in her own series The Fugitive Doctor: Most Wanted.
Picking up shortly after the Doctor’s departure from the Division – the event that originally branded her a fugitive – Most Wanted follows the Doctor as she evades capture, finds herself in strange worlds, and even seeks the Baba Yaga across three thrilling instalments.
Get The Fugitive Doctor: Most Wanted here.
