73 Yards Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wales

The Doctor declares they are in Wales -- he can tell by the smell. Wales is in the southwest of the United Kingdom, and is notable for its unusual language. Most episodes of "Doctor Who" since 2005 have been filmed in Cardiff and other parts of Wales.

The hiker claims that the town is Glengateuck, which may exist but I do don't know how to spell it on Welsh.

Answer: Coca Cola

Ruby orders a Coca Cola and innkeeper mocks her as "last of the big time spenders." She then charges her 5 pounds for the Coke, which seems a little excessive.

Answer: 2046

After twenty years of dealing with the phantom woman and a string of failed relationships, Ruby gets to 2046 where she spots the politician the Doctor spoke of right before he vanished. She gets involved in the campaign to keep an eye on him.

Answer: Roger ap Gwillian

Roger ap Gwillian, played by Aneurin Barnard, is a proto-fascist with a dangerous interest in nuclear weapons. Ruby discovers that Gwillian plans to get nuclear weapons from Pakistan and use them -- against whom was uncertain.

Ruby is able to use the shadow woman to scare the bejeebers out of Roger, forcing him to resign as Prime Minister.

Aneurin Barnard was 36 when he filmed "73 Yards", so he would be a very young Prime Minister. Barnard has been working regularly in TV since 2007 and films since 2011. He earned a Laurence Olivier Award in 2010.

Answer: Albion

Roger ap Gwillian was running under the banner of the Albion party. Albion is an ancient name for the British Isles and is believed to come from Albus meaning "white" in reference to the White Cliffs of Dover.

The motto of the Albion party was "Better, Bigger, Bolder Britain." The theme apparently resonated, because Gwilliam's party received a majority of 92 seats in the election.

Answer: Kate Stewart

Kate Stewart makes a brief appearance, trying to assist Ruby with the mystery woman. Things take a turn for the worse for Ruby when the woman scares Kate and her UNIT team -- a group who deals with aliens and other freaky supernatural stuff on a regular basis.

Kate Stewart is played by Jemma Redgrave. "73 Yards" was her tenth appearance on "Doctor Who". She played a major role in the fiftieth anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor" (2023). Kate has worked with the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th Doctors.

Answer: Welsh hiker

Susan Twist was the hiker Ruby met near the start of "73 Yards". The hiker is friendly at first and offers to help Ruby, but runs off in terror after speaking to the mystery woman.

This is Twist's sixth appearance on "Doctor Who". During this season, she was Communications Officer Scalzi in "Space Babies", the tea lady in "Devil's Chord" and Ambulance in "Boom". While Twist is clearly part of the larger arc of the season, the exact nature of her character is uncertain.

Ruby does ask the Hiker if they had met before, a subtle nod to Twist's recurring appearances. It is possible Twist could be someone who is split across time, like Clara "Impossible Girl" Oswald.

Answer: Cardiff City Stadium

The rally scene was shot at Cardiff City Stadium, which has a capacity of around 33 thousand. As noted earlier, Ruby uses the field to get exactly 73 yards away from Gwillian to use the mystery woman against him.

Cardiff City Stadium is the home field of both the Cardiff City and Welsh National football teams. It is on the west side of the city.

Answer: False

Towards the end of "73 Yards" it is implied that the mystery woman is a shadow of Ruby. At her death, she merges with the woman and is transported to the moment she and the Doctor arrived in Wales. The good news is that Ruby lives to age 85... At least in that timeline.

We never do discover what the mystery woman says to people that is so terrifying. But she did manage to scare:
- a Welsh hiker
- Josh, the bar patron
- Ruby's mother Carla
- Kate Stewart and a team of UNIT commandos
And the Prime Minister of the UK.

Speaking of timelines, Ruby stops the Doctor from stepping on the fairy circle, which causes the mystery woman to vanish. That creates a massive paradox. Luckily, Ruby has twenty years to derail Gwilliam's political career.

Answer: Russell T Davies

Russell T Davies took over the reins at "Doctor Who" in 2023 and has done much of the writing since. "73 Yards" is one of his best, and Millie Gibson should send him a fruit basket. Davies turned "Who" to television in 2005 and ran the show from 2005 to 2009.

Dylan Holmes Williams was the director. This was his first episode of "Doctor Who." He has done music videos and several episodes of "Servant" in 2022-23.

Hilary Hobson played the mystery woman. That is about all that is known about her.

Dame Sian Phillips has been acting since 1959. She achieved legendary status with her work on "I, Claudius" in 1976. And she was still acting at age 90 (born May 1933).