Lucky Day

You’ve already got two mums. What, do you collect them?

Shirley Anne Bingham

Synopsis

Ruby Sunday faces life back on earth without the Doctor. But when a dangerous new threat emerges, can Ruby and UNIT save her new boyfriend, Conrad, from the terrifying Shreek?

Review

So far, the pattern of Series 15 has mirrored that of Series 14. We’ve had the adventure in the far future to kick things off, a story with a member of the Pantheon of Discord set in the past to follow, a returning element in episode 3 (this is tenuous, but Steven Moffat for Boom and the Midnight Entity for The Well) and now episode 4 being Doctor-lite. It’s something similar to the pattern established by Russell T Davies during his first run in the revived series.

Sorry, love, who put you in charge?

Or go and get some fresh air, big man, see what happens?

Derek and Ruby Sunday

Lucky Day is, at the time of broadcast, possibly the weakest story in this series. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as this series has been remarkably strong so far, and it is not significantly weaker. Pete McTighe does write a really compelling story about what happens to companions once they leave the Doctor, and there are interesting elements of the story about the huckster Conrad Clark and his followers that can be see to speak about Doctor Who fandom as well as the state of the world currently. This messaging works a lot better that McTighe’s rather heavy-handed episodes written as part of the Thirteenth Doctor’s era, and arguably works better than this series’ earlier attempt to tackle online culture in The Robot Revolution. Part of the problem in execution is that there seem to be massive plot holes. It seems very strange that Ruby would so openly speak about the Doctor and UNIT on Conrad’s podcast without background checks being done on him. One of the story’s key reveals hangs on the fact that Kate interviewed Conrad to work for UNIT, something that he was rejected for as she felt he could not be trusted. It stretches credulity somewhat that Ruby would just go and speak to him anyway, especially given the strong relationship that we see between the two throughout this episode. Not only that, but it goes some way to disprove one of Conrad’s key arguments, that UNIT are too secretive. Even if you accept that Ruby does so only to ensure Conrad’s safety from the Shreek by delivering the antidote, it feels a bit too much of a stretch.

Whilst we are given a monster of the week in the shape of the Shreek, but the true monster is Conrad Clark, the host of Lucky Day and leader of Think Tank, a group dedicated to exposing what they feel to be lies perpetuated by UNIT. The story initially sets up looking like a romantic comedy up until the big twist, complete with meet cutes and romantic getaways to the countryside before the reveal that this is a trap, not only for Ruby but for Kate Stewart and UNIT. Jonah Hauer-King deserves credit for making Conrad feel so complete, and turning him into a love to hate style character following that reveal, which makes for compelling watching even when the story is not sure where to go. When he says how awful his life has been listening to Ruby talk about her struggles and listening to her playing piano, it’s a genuine gut punch. He is someone who cannot stand being at the centre of the narrative, or being right, and goes to the extreme of getting people to simulate an alien attack to meet his own ends. When his movement gains traction, Conrad loses sight of what he set out to do. When he infiltrates UNIT Tower, with the help of his mole Jordan Lang, Jordan confronts him about what he is going to do, and gets shot for his troubles. It’s unclear whether his one-man attack on UNIT Tower was the plan all along, or rather some ill-thought through plan for revenge on an organisation that refused to give him a job.

The story is almost a modern update to stories that talk about Doctor Who fandom, like Love and Monsters, and there are parallels between this story and that one. Conrad, like Elton Pope, meets the Doctor as a child and goes down a rabbit hole of fandom. Unlike Elton, Conrad goes down a darker path, seeing things as being special effects or men in rubber masks, and has thinly disguised misogynistic tendencies, especially towards Ruby and Kate. The first encounter with the Shreek feels as though it is harking back to Rose by being set in a shop with mannequins, and Conrad alludes to many events that UNIT were involved with, including The Web of Fear in citing hoaxes. Ultimately, it’s a message that there are those who watch the show who seem to be unable to take in the core messages at its heart and seem to be personally offended when it stands up for the downtrodden. It is notable that, in the entrapment, Conrad’s followers state that, as well as wasting taxpayers’ money, Shirley Bingham is cheating the benefits system, something that echoed online discourse following her being able to cross her legs in her first appearance.

It would be remiss of me to review Lucky Day without talking about Kate Stewart, as played by Jemma Redgrave. Kate has been part of Doctor Who for thirteen years at this point, and whilst I personally like the character, it has not always felt as though the show has known what to do with her. She is a callback to a much-beloved character in the shape of the Brigadier, whilst also supposed to be heading up a modern and forward-facing secretive organisation focused on science. At times, especially during the Whittaker era, it felt as though the show forgot that she should be a character in her own right. Since the start of the second Russell T Davies era, this has been rectified somewhat. We got an interesting glimpse into her in The Giggle, and Lucky Day provides us with an insight into what steps she is willing to take when the Doctor is not present. Setting the Shreek on Conrad is a move that makes a lot of her staff uncomfortable, but it is something that feels absolutely necessary in the face of his disinformation – it is almost the ultimate way of disproving what he is saying. Redgrave gives a really powerful performance in this story too.

I was somewhat surprised to see Belinda appear in the cold open. That gave me false hope that she and the Doctor might crop up again later on in the story. That is not to do down Millie Gibson, or Ruby Sunday, as I liked her run as a companion in the last series, but we have a really interesting Doctor-companion dynamic this year, and returning to Ruby feels like a backwards step. Gibson is really good here and sells the hell out of all of the emotions you would expect her to, but I can’t help but feel like this is an opportunity lost to give Belinda a full eight-episode run. Millie Gibson gives a really powerful performance, especially in her final words to Conrad following her tasering the Shreek and her reaction to Conrad’s betrayal. One of the best elements of McTighe’s story is perhaps that focus on what it’s like to have travelled with the Doctor and returned to everyday life. Ruby states that she is on a constant form of alert, similar to PTSD, and ends with her accepting that she might just have to let go of the Doctor in order to stand any chance of finding happiness in her life post-TARDIS.

This is a Doctor-lite story, however, I think that it does use Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor well. His enthusiasm at arriving on New Years’ Day 2007 is nicely set against the scene where he appears to Conrad in prison at the end, full of contempt for the disinformation that Conrad is pumping out into the world, showing just how far this Doctor has come. Gatwa’s second series is giving him more opportunities to show a more cold and steely side to this seemingly happy go lucky Doctor, and he is nailing it. I did feel that the speech was probably written by Russell T Davies rather than Pete McTighe. It is also helped by the fact that Conrad shows no remorse for his actions, although I do think that the bit about how Conrad would have no legacy was immediately undermined by the Mrs. Flood cameo.

Verdict: Lucky Day has interesting ideas at it’s heart, but fumbles the execution. 7/10

Cast: Ncuti Gatwa (The Doctor), Varadu Sethu (Belinda Chandra), Millie Gibson (Ruby Sunday), 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 Gason (Michelle), Paul Jerricho (Alfie), Michael Woodford (Derek), Alexander Devrient (Colonel Christofer Ibrahim), Tina Gray (Audrey), Lachelle 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) and Anita Dobson (Mrs Flood).

Writer: Pete McTighe

Director: Peter Hoar

Producer: Vicki Delow

Composer: Murray Gold

Original UK Broadcast Date: 3rd May 2025

Behind the Scenes

• A working title for this episode was Meanwhile.
• The first episode to feature more than two names in the opening credits since The Power of the Doctor.

Cast Notes

To follow.

Best Moment

I really liked the direction of the café scene between Ruby and Conrad, where she tells him how the Shreek will be coming for him.

Best Quote

You have to be invited into my TARDIS, Conrad. To be special. But you… you’re special for all the wrong reasons. You see, I am fighting a battle on behalf of everyday people who just wanna get through their day and feel safe. And warm. And fed. And then along comes this noise. All day long, this relentless noise! Cowards like you weaponizing lies, taking people’s insecurity and fear and making it currency. You are exhausting. You stamp on the truth, choke our bandwidth and shred our patience because the only strategy you have is to wear us down. But the thing is, Conrad, I have energy to burn and all the time in the universe.

The Fifteenth Doctor

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