One of the great things about Who is the space for mad ideas. Here’s my latest – it involves Clara, the TARDIS phone and a mystery hanging over from The Bells of St John. It’s my latest idea as to who gave Clara the TARDIS phone number.

What do we know?

We know ‘the woman in the shop’ gave the number. We know it isn’t several candidates:

• River Song – Clara met River (Name of the Doctor) and nothing was said
• Missy – Clara met Missy (Dark Water / Death in Heaven).

It could be an ex-companion (eg Ace, Romana, Susan) or even someone more unusual (Jenny (as in The Doctor’s Daughter?) all possible, but I think it is more subtle. I think it is the Doctor!

We know Time Lords can change gender – Missy and (in the non-canon, Steven Moffat Curse of Fatal Death) even the Doctor was once played by Joanna Lumley (pictured above). It is therefore possible the Doctor herself gave Clara the number. When Clara entered the Doctor’s timeline she only went backwards so didn’t meet any future incarnations.

Mad perhaps, but who knows, possible.

Thoughts?