Billie Piper let slip a huge hint about her Doctor Who return weeks before it hit screens as she spoke in the Doctor Who: Unleashed special this weekend.

On Saturday BBC Three aired a Doctor Who documentary celebrating 20 years since it was revived, with ex-cast members including David Tennant and Billie reminiscing on the series.

The special was recorded before it was revealed that she will make a surprise return to the show after Ncuti Gatwa’s shock exit.

The 42-year-old actress will be replacing the high-profile actor after he bowed out of the BBC drama in last week’s finale.

The announcement put an end to speculation that he would not return as the Doctor.

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Billie Piper let slip a huge hint about her Doctor Who return weeks before it hit screens as she spoke in the Doctor Who: Unleashed special this weekend

On Saturday, BBC Three aired a Doctor Who documentary celebrating 20 years since it was revived, with ex-cast members including David Tennant and Billie reminiscing on the series

Billie let slip what was to come in the special when she was asked whether she would ever return to the series.

She said during an interview: ‘Yeah I would… I would come back. What’s funny is that I never feel like I’ve left Doctor Who, because there is this huge Doctor Who afterlife, which is, you know…

‘Obviously people still really want to talk about it, it’s a mᴀssive fandom, so we do conventions and we meet lots of the fans, and there’s always features.

‘And it’s always on the TV on some channel, and a new generation pick it up, so it never feels like it’s over, like it does with all the other jobs I’ve done.’

She then accidentally added: ‘So coming back is really good fun, but I also… And so I would do it, but I still feel like I’m in it. Just a lot older.’

It comes amid claims Billie could be poised to reunite with her co-star David Tennant after her surprise return to the show.

Billie first starred as the companion to the ninth Doctor in 2005, playing Rose Tyler alongside Christopher Eccleston’s Time Lord.

She will now be the second woman to take on the role as the Time Lord after Jodie Whittaker portrayed the 13th doctor.

The special was recorded before it was revealed that she will make a surprise return to the show after Ncuti Gatwa’s shock exit

Billie let slip what was to come in the special when she was asked whether she would ever return to the series

She accidentally said: ‘So coming back is really good fun, but I also… And so I would do it, but I still feel like I’m in it. Just a lot older’

Billie stunned fans last week, when it was revealed she would be taking over the role of the тιтular time traveller in Doctor Who 

It comes amid claims Billie is set to reunite with her co-star David Tennant as she makes a surprise return to the show

It was confirmed last Saturday when he surprisingly regenerated into Billie at the end of the series finale.

And a source has since told The Sun of her potential reunion with David: ‘David and Billie were a hugely popular partnership and he brought in the golden age of Doctor Who.

‘With the anniversary of the reboot this year there have been some ideas floated about with the idea of maybe bringing David and Billie back together for one last hurrah.’

Ncuti appeared to blame the physical and mental demands of the show for his exit in a new video following fan speculation he was axed from the show.

Ncuti explained: ‘It’s a role that demands a lot of you physically and emotionally and mentally. The actors playing the Doctor are only actors playing the Doctor. Unfortunately, we are mere mortals. 

‘This journey has been one that I will never forget, and a role that will be part of me forever. There are no words to describe what it feels like to be cast as the Doctor, nor are there words to explain what it feels like to be accepted into this iconic role that has existed for over 60 years and is truly loved by so many across the globe.’

The BBC previously denied claims that Ncuti had been axed from his role just days ahead of the finale.

Billie first starred as the companion to the ninth Doctor in 2005, playing Rose Tyler alongside Christopher Eccleston’s Time Lord

Ncuti appeared to blame the physical and mental demands of the show for his exit in a new video following fan speculation he was axed from the show 

‘Whilst we never comment on the future of the Doctor, any suggestion that Ncuti Gatwa has been ‘axed’ is pure fiction,’ a spokesperson for the BBC said.

The finale also saw Jodie Whittaker, the 13th doctor, make a guest appearance as Ncuti’s Doctor appeared to be travelling through alternate universes.

Doctor Who was watched by around 2.5million last Saturday – around 2million fewer people than the numbers watching when Jodie Whittaker, the previous Time Lord, was on the show until 2022.

But this is still a tiny fraction of the sort of interest it used to attract. At its peak it was watched by around 13million on a Saturday night in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.