The identity of the greatest Doctor Who stories of all time, it did further add more to an incredibly crucial mystery in the show.

Even though there was no direct confirmation in the episode that linked Anita and Mrs. Flood to one another, a new Doctor Who theory suggested that the two could be the same person. There were several Doctor Who details connected to Mrs. Flood’s identity in season 15, although nothing was concrete enough for audiences to come to a solid conclusion. However, “Joy to the World” might have finally provided Doctor Who viewers with an answer.

Doctor Who Teases What Happens To Anita After 2024's Christmas Special

This Wasn't The First Time The Doctor Organized A New Job For An Old Friend

After the Doctor saved Joy, a mysterious employee of the Time Hotel arrived at the Sandringham Hotel and offered Anita a job. She immediately knew the Doctor was behind this because of the “Auld Lang Syne” card, and Anita’s fate after Doctor Who’s Christmas episode was sealed. This wasn’t a particularly unusual moment, as the Doctor had previously sorted out a job for someone he cared for, like when UNIT offered a position to Martha Jones after the events of the Year that Never Was in season 3.

It was assumed that Anita took the job, and a shop front was also seen named “Mr. Benn’s,” a nod to her surname. As the Time Hotel was never truly in one time period or another, this implied that Anita had a successful career there, and because things were very timey-wimey, she possibly worked there before she or even a future child opened the store. However, like everyone, Anita would have eventually retired and considering the physical appearances of actresses Steph de Whalley and Anita Dobson, it could easily be argued that Anita looked like a younger Mrs. Flood.

Theory: Mrs. Flood Is Anita In Doctor Who's Future

There were multiple details that suggested Anita eventually became Mrs. Flood. Although “Joy to the World” didn’t show what happened to Anita after she took the job, the good or the bad, there were some other nods and references which ed the argument that the two women were the same person. Audiences already knew that she wasn’t going to the cast of Doctor Who season 15 as production already announced the arrival of Varada Sethu. However, what if Anita wasn’t Anita anymore?

Anita's Career At The Time Hotel Must Eventually End

If Anita retired one day, she would’ve been stuck in a world completely different to the one she was born into. Even if she was used to the strange atmosphere of the Time Hotel, it would make sense that Anita wanted to return to some familiarity. Anita wouldn’t have been able to leave through the Sandringham Hotel’s 2024 door, as she would’ve encountered her past self.

So, instead, Anita left through another door before this point, but with no family or friends who would recognize her, she set off in search of the one person who could help - The Doctor. The Doctor spent a year chatting with Anita, so it wouldn’t be unusual that he mentioned Ruby at some point, and this was where her search began. As the Doctor hadn’t lived out the events of “Joy to the World” at this point, Anita kept quiet, but this was why she was already familiar with the TARDIS and knew the Time Lord’s name.

Nods To Mrs. Flood Actress Anita Dobson

The most obvious connection between the two characters was the name Anita, just like Mrs. Flood actress Anita Dobson. However, there were other references to Dobson within Anita’s character. Dobson is married to Queen’s Brian May, but the iconic guitarist has also made a career for himself as an astrophysicist. In 2023, May was a part of a NASA project connected to an asteroid named Bennu, which was eerily similar to Anita’s surname of Benn.

Who Creates The Tiny TARDISes?

Throughout the year at the Sandringham Hotel, the Doctor collected several TARDIS figurines. When he departed, he left Anita with her own TARDIS, too. It could be presumed that Anita accepted these packages at the desk when they arrived, and perhaps she made a note of a return address, which helped her in her search for Ruby Sunday.

But who made these TARDIS models? It was strange that somebody was selling small TARDIS figures on the internet, which was where the Doctor claimed he bought them, and so perhaps Anita/Mrs. Flood was also the mysterious creator and seller. As Anita knew that in 2024, the Doctor was buying them, she also realized that somebody needed to sell them in the first place.

Mrs. Flood Being Anita Doesn't Necessarily Mean She's A Friend

Time And Resentment May Have Changed Anita's Outlook On The Time Lord

Despite the fantastic friendship that formed between the Doctor and Anita in “Joy to the World,” it might not have stayed that way. Anita might have grown to resent the Doctor for sorting out the job at the Time Hotel in the ending of Doctor Who’s 2024 Christmas episode, especially if she was unable to leave until she retired, or she spent years struggling to find a way to get back to her own time.

Although audiences knew there were many time doors to step through, it didn’t mean that there was one for every year of human history, and Anita might have needed to leave even decades before her own time. She might have also been angry that he simply didn’t come to say goodbye to her properly, and instead sent a Time Hotel employee, so she felt like her time with the Doctor wasn’t as important to him.

Mrs. Flood definitely had some unusually bitter moments in Doctor Who season 14, and if she was hurt over the Doctor’s abandonment back when she was Anita, her behavior would make sense. If in all those years, and with a time machine, the Doctor didn’t come and visit her once, Anita would likely be furious.