Skip to content
TARDIS Guide

Overview

First aired

Saturday, May 25, 2024

Written by

Russell T Davies

Publisher

BBC

Directed by

Dylan Holmes Williams

Runtime

47 minutes

Story Type

Doctor-Lite

Time Travel

Present

Tropes (Potential Spoilers!)

Supernatural

Story Arc (Potential Spoilers!)

Susan Twist

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

Earth, England, London, Wales

UK Viewers

4.06 million

Appreciation Index

77.2

Synopsis

Landing on the Welsh coast, the Doctor and Ruby embark on the strangest journey of their lives. In a rain-lashed pub, the locals sit in fear of ancient legends coming to life.

Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat

Edit date completed

Characters

How to watch 73 Yards:

Reviews

Add Review Edit Review

22 reviews

Horror stemming from the fears of abandonment and isolation, unending. Gibson gives an all-time great performance within this episode, showing the effects of the enforced solitude that she has endured.

The Welsh folk-horror sets the scene wonderfully, and is beautifully eerie and atmospheric, and this shifts so well into a political horror story too. Such a strange juxtaposition, which works to deliver a stone cold classic story.


joeymapes21

View profile


Rewatched 2025-04-06 (⭐⭐⭐⭐)


jamesnneill

View profile


This review contains spoilers!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

“73 YARDS: RUBY'S LONG WALK INTO HORROR”

Following the intensity of Boom, 73 Yards slows things down—but not in a comforting way. Instead, it plunges Ruby into an eerie, isolating nightmare, where the Doctor’s absence is keenly felt. This Doctor-lite episode, filmed early in production while Ncuti Gatwa was still busy with Barbie, places Ruby at the centre of a terrifying alternate timeline where she is relentlessly pursued by an unknown force.

What starts as a classic Doctor Who folk horror—complete with a mysterious fairy circle on the Welsh coast, a small pub filled with wary locals, and an unsettling figure always lingering at exactly 73 yards—soon takes on a far greater scope. Ruby’s seemingly supernatural stalker remains silent yet ever-present, signing something to her from a distance. The mystery builds immediately, with every person who dares to approach the woman reacting in sheer terror before fleeing from Ruby forever.

FROM FOLK HORROR TO POLITICAL THRILLER

One of the episode’s greatest strengths is its ability to shift tones so effortlessly. The pub scene is a highlight, where Ruby, the outsider, becomes the subject of teasing and eerie ghost stories from the locals—setting up a rich, atmospheric unease. The pacing allows this scene to breathe, which makes the sudden transition into something much larger all the more jarring.

What follows is an unusual but gripping structure: we watch Ruby live through years of her life, abandoned by loved ones, unable to form meaningful connections because of the woman who haunts her. The horror of isolation grows as we see her mother and even Kate Stewart of UNIT turn away from her in fear. Then, out of nowhere, 73 Yards transforms into something entirely different—a political thriller.

Enter Roger ap Gwilliam, a rising far-right politician, dubbed “Mad Jack” and portrayed by Aneurin Barnard with unsettling charisma. He is a dangerous populist force, climbing the ranks toward becoming Prime Minister, a man whose future leadership threatens the world itself. Ruby, despite everything, is drawn into his orbit, determined to stop him before he gains access to nuclear codes. This unexpected shift into political commentary is bold, timely, and unnerving—especially because ap Gwilliam is all too believable.

But what exactly is his connection to the supernatural events that have plagued Ruby’s life? That remains deliberately ambiguous. 73 Yards thrives on unanswered questions, much like Midnight or Blink, but with an even more abstract and symbolic edge.

AN UNEXPLAINED HORROR

The nature of the mysterious woman remains unresolved. Who is she? Why does she inspire such fear? Why does she turn everyone Ruby loves against her? We never hear what she says to those who approach her, but whatever it is, it drives them to abandon Ruby instantly. That, in itself, is more terrifying than any monster.

The horror elements are accentuated through clever direction—Dutch angles, extreme close-ups, and unsettling quick cuts create a sense of claustrophobia, especially in the pub sequence. The music, too, is masterfully used, creating a thick atmosphere of unease. This is a story where the tension never fully lifts, lingering long after the credits roll.

Yet, despite the lack of answers, there is a poetic symmetry to the ending. Ruby, now an old woman, lies on her deathbed, the mystery woman finally approaching her—before seemingly becoming her. The implication? Ruby was being warned all along, haunted by a future version of herself sent back to prevent the very life she just endured. It’s a haunting, cyclical resolution that raises as many questions as it answers.

MILLIE GIBSON CARRIES THE SHOW

If anyone doubted Millie Gibson’s acting ability before this, 73 Yards should put those concerns to rest. With Gatwa barely present (though looking fantastic in his costume when he does appear), this is entirely Gibson’s episode—and she absolutely delivers. Ruby’s journey from curious traveller to haunted, isolated warrior is gripping to watch, and Gibson sells every moment with emotional depth and nuance.

📝VERDICT: 9/10

A bold, unsettling episode that shifts between folk horror, psychological thriller, and political drama with impressive fluidity. It never fully explains itself, but that’s part of its power—lingering in the mind long after the credits roll. Millie Gibson proves she can carry an entire episode, while the chilling concept of an ever-present, unexplained horror makes 73 Yards a standout.


MrColdStream

View profile


Doctor Who horror goes so hard, man. Despite everything so far, and how down bad I am for this season, this is still somehow the best episode of the season so far. Just absolutely phenomenal.

S.


Azurillkirby

View profile


There is a mystery here.
But mysteries do not have to be solved.
Live in that mystery.
Live in that confusion.
There's glory in it. Like birds cawing across a dark field.
Like the smell of dust and ... apricots?
Science Fiction demands answers. Science demands answers.
But stories don't always. Stories aren't always finished. Or they are finished, and then there's nothing.
Sometimes there's just a bunch of gnarled wood and mist and secrets.
This is new, and it is beautiful.


ThePlumPudding

View profile


Open in new window

Statistics

AVG. Rating861 members
4.03 / 5

Trakt.tv

AVG. Rating573 votes
3.88 / 5

Member Statistics

Watched

1209

Favourited

213

Reviewed

22

Saved

6

Skipped

2

Quotes

Add Quote

DOCTOR: Oh, yes! We are in Wales. Spectacular!

RUBY: How can you tell?

DOCTOR: Oh... That smell. That green. That coastline, Ruby. Oh, the rocks and the water, it never ends. The war between the land and the sea.

Open in new window

Transcript + Script

[Welsh coast]

(The TARDIS materialises on a cliff top.)

DOCTOR: Oh, yes! We are in Wales. Spectacular!
RUBY: How can you tell?
DOCTOR: Oh... That smell. That green. That coastline, Ruby. Oh, the rocks and the water, it never ends. The war between the land and the sea.
RUBY: Oh, you know, I've been to Wales twice. I went to see Shygirl...
DOCTOR: Oh.
RUBY: ..in Cardiff. And then I went to the Mumbles when I was about 16, 'cos of a boy. I think I broke his heart, but there you go.
DOCTOR: Oh, bless him. Mind you, Roger ap Gwilliam. That's a bad example of the Welsh. Terrifying.
RUBY: Oh, yeah?
DOCTOR: The most dangerous Prime Minister in history. He led the world to the brink of nuclear... Wait, what year are you from?
RUBY: 2024.
DOCTOR: Oh. Yikes. Sorry, he was 2046. Sorry, spoilers. Forget I said anything.
RUBY: No, no, no, tell me what happened.

(The Doctor treads on a thread forming a pattern on the grass.)

DOCTOR: No, no, no, no, no. What is this? Oh, it's a circle. Someone made this. I'm sorry, man. I am sorry.
RUBY: Oh, it looks like something made by children, doesn't it? Lucky charms and bird skulls. Hey, there's little messages, look. "I miss you." That's all it says. "Rest in peace, Mad Jack." Oh, poor old Mad Jack. Bless him, eh? It looks like some sort of memorial.


Open in new window View Script (PDF)