Spoilers for "The Legend of Ruby Sunday," episode 7 of Doctor Who season 14 are ahead.
In Doctor Who, Gabriel Woolf portrays Sutekh and The Beast.
An actor who made his television debut over 50 years ago returns in Doctor Who season 14, episode 7, "The Legend of Ruby Sunday," and his appearance links the episode to a story from David Tennant's tenure as the Tenth Doctor. The One Who Waits was Sutekh all along, as the penultimate episode of Doctor Who season 14 reveals. Sutekh's only TV tale appearance may be unfamiliar to younger viewers because he only played the Fourth Doctor opposite Tom Baker in the four-part "Pyramids of Mars" serial from 1975.
Not only has the antagonist made a comeback, but he also has the voice of the original performer from the first Doctor Who series. The actor's third appearance in the Doctor Who world is in "The Legend of Ruby Sunday". Still, Sutekh is merely one of two characters he plays in the venerable British science fiction series. The actor has now made appearances in all three of the major eras of Doctor Who's illustrious past, which is interesting, but his comeback may be far more significant than that.
Woolf voices Sutekh in "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" a second time.
In 1975, Woolf portrayed the evil Osiran opposite Tom Baker in her debut role. Currently in his early nineties, the actor provides just his voice to the iconic antagonist in "The Legend of Ruby Sunday." In the interval between those two roles, Woolf provided the voice of yet another antagonist: The Beast in Doctor Who episodes 8 and 9, "The Impossible Planet," and "The Satan Pit."
Although Woolf voiced Sutekh in audio adventures for Doctor Who as well, only the TV series and its spinoffs are regarded as canon.
Carla Sunday Citations The Beast in Doctor Who season 14's Sutekh appearance
Apart from the fact that they are both actors, Sutetkh's return to the show adds another link to Gabriel Woolf's 2006 Doctor Who role. Carla Sunday boldly states, "I know its name," after glancing at the swirling cloud of sinister smoke, even before Sutekh's real appearance is revealed. That is the Beast. The Satan-like entity from David Tennant's era is the only character Carla can really be referring to in this scene, but it's incredibly unclear how Ruby's adoptive mother even knows who the Beast is, let alone how she recognizes him.
It's interesting to note that, albeit being fleeting, the shape encircling the TARDIS during the Time Window does indeed resemble the Beast. It is unclear from "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" if the Doctor hears Carla's declaration, but if he does, he doesn't say anything. In addition, when Ruby asks where the missing UNIT member is, he replies, "I am in Hell," which seems like yet another obvious allusion to Woolf's David Tennant-era character.
Is There a Connection Between The Beast and Sutekh?
Based on the facts, it's plausible that Sutekh and the Beast have a close relationship or even are the same person. The Tenth Doctor narrates in "The Satan Pit" about the Beast's strange captivity, a tale that is at least somewhat reminiscent of Sutekh's first demise at the hands of Baker's Doctor in "Pyramids of Mars." Most notably, Ten even brings up the term "Pantheon" in his conversation with the Beast in "The Satan Pit." Although the Pantheon of Gods in Doctor Who is a relatively recent notion, its origins appear to be deeper than first meets the eye.
It's also important to remember that in the 2006 tale, the Beast assumes possession of multiple avatars, acting and speaking via them. This is consistent with Sutekh's skills in "The Legend of Ruby Sunday," where he subtly controls Susan Triad and Harriet Arbinger. Sutekh, like the Beast, is also unfathomably old. Originally belonging to an alien race akin to gods, he seems to have had his identity altered to that of a true deity, much like the Beast.
Sutekh's Similarities to The Beast
Despite Matt Jones writing the screenplays, Russell T Davies was the showrunner when the 2006 two-parter debuted. It's difficult to overlook the potential similarities brought up by Woolf's dual casting as Sutekth and the Beast, especially with Davies taking the helm of the Doctor Who series during its Disney period. Of course, it's possible that the performer was just a natural fit for both parts, but Davies doesn't often use coincidences.
It is possible, though remote, that Sutekh and the Beast are separate entities, even though they might yet have some connection. For instance, Doctor Who has already proven that Jinkx Monsoon's Maestro's father is the Toymaker. In "The Legend of Ruby Sunday," Sutekh also makes reference to other members of the Pantheon and the fact that certain other hierarchical figures have children as well. Sutekh and the other villain from Doctor Who most likely share a close bond even if Sutekh isn't the Beast in a different guise.
