‘Doctor Who' Star Says 'Doctor Woke' Criticism Means Series Is Simply Spreading Kindness
Varada Sethu, the new star of Doctor Who, has defended the BBC and Disney+ series against claims it has gone 'woke.'
In an interview with the Radio Times, the new companion to Ncuti Gatwa's Time Lord said that the 'woke' barb means the drama is simply doing the right thing in being inclusive.
More from Deadline
BBC & ITV Fail To Negotiate AI Safeguards In New Contracts With Actors Union Equity But Broadcasters Say Provisions "Remain Firmly On The Table"
YouTube's Revenue Will Top Disney's This Year As It Becomes "The Home For All Things Video", Analyst Says
'Snow White', Poisoned By Controversy At Box Office, Won't Have A Happy Ending With $115M Loss: What Went Wrong
'There's been a couple of Doctor Woke [references] or whatever, but I just think we're doing the right thing if we're getting comments like that,' Sethu said.
'Woke just means inclusive, progressive and that you care about people. And, as far as I know, the core of Doctor Who is kindness, love and doing the right thing.'
Sethu and Gatwa's pairing means that two people of color will pilot the Tardis for the first time in Doctor Who's history. 'Ncuti was like, 'Look at us. We get to be in the Tardis. We're going to piss off so many people',' she said.
'We really are equals in the way that we interact with each other. Russell [T Davies] wanted someone who can push back and not be in awe of this all-powerful being.'
Season 15 of Doctor Who will premiere on the BBC and Disney on April 12 amid uncertainty over the futures of both Gatwa and showrunner Davies.
It is also unclear if Disney will continue to co-produce Doctor Who beyond 2025. The Mouse House's commitment is critical to budgets, storylines, and casting, meaning its withdrawal could mean major changes to the show. Doctor Who fans will likely have to wait until at least 2027 before a follow-up to this year's season.
Best of Deadline
Everything We Know About 'Black Mirror' Season 7 So Far
How Jon Gries' Return To 'The White Lotus' Could Shape Season 3
'Severance' Cast Through Seasons 1 & 2: Innies, Outies, Severed And Unsevered
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Day of the Jackal' author Frederick Forsyth dies at 86
Frederick Forsyth, the British author of 'The Day of the Jackal' and other bestselling thrillers, has died after a brief illness, his literary agent said Monday. He was 86. Jonathan Lloyd, his agent, said Forsyth died at home early Monday surrounded by his family. 'We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers,' Lloyd said. Born in Kent, in southern England, in 1938, Forsyth served as a Royal Air Force pilot before becoming a foreign correspondent. He covered the attempted assassination of French President Charles de Gaulle in 1962, which provided inspiration for 'The Day of the Jackal,' his bestselling political thriller about a professional assassin. Published in 1971, the book propelled him into global fame. It was made into a film in 1973 starring Edward Fox as the Jackal and more recently a television series starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch. In 2015, Forsyth told the BBC that he had also worked for the British intelligence agency MI6 for many years, starting from when he covered a civil war in Nigeria in the 1960s. Although Forsyth said he did other jobs for the agency, he said he was not paid for his services and 'it was hard to say no' to officials seeking information. 'The zeitgeist was different,' he told the BBC. 'The Cold War was very much on.' He wrote more than 25 books including 'The Afghan,' 'The Kill List,' 'The Dogs of War' and 'The Fist of God' that have sold over 75 million copies, Lloyd said. His publisher, Bill Scott-Kerr, said that 'Revenge of Odessa,' a sequel to the 1974 book 'The Odessa File' that Forsyth worked on with fellow thriller author Tony Kent, will be published in August. 'Still read by millions across the world, Freddie's thrillers define the genre and are still the benchmark to which contemporary writers aspire,' Scott-Kerr said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
EastEnders icon calls for return of on-screen daughter who is now Netflix star
A member of a legendary EastEnders family who left years ago has been issued a plea to return by her soap mum. The Beale clan have been at the forefront of some of the soap's biggest storylines over the past 40 years. And with the return of Cindy, played by Michelle Collins, there's been plenty of drama on the Square in recent months. Now, Collins, 63, has called for the return of her on-screen daughter – who in real life has gone on to become a Netflix star. Cindy's daughter Cindy Jr has been absent from Albert Square since 2015, only receiving a few mentions over the years. Played by Mimi Keene, since leaving EastEnders, the young actress has gone on to find fame in award-winning Netflix comedy Sex Education. "I have never met Cindy Jr so it would be quite nice if she came back," Collins told The Mirror. "She's probably too busy, but maybe she can fit us in for a week!" Mimi Keene played Cindy Jr for two years. (Image: BBC) Cindy Jr left the Square with her partner Liam Butcher following the shock death of Lucy Beale. In recent years, it has been mentioned that the couple split and Cindy Jr has been travelling on her own. The 26-year-old actress portrayed Cindy Jr on the BBC soap from 2013 to 2015. Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Michelle herself would be leaving EastEnders for a short while this summer to take part in a one-woman show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Recommended reading: EastEnders star confirms exit from BBC show for new role Iconic EastEnders star set for return 20 years after leaving the BBC soap EastEnders' Shane Ritchie teases comeback of popular noughties soap star The dark comedy called Motorhome Marilyn will see Collins play a struggling actor named Denise who is obsessed with Marilyn Monroe. However, the Cindy Beale star remained silent about how she would be written out of the show by BBC bosses. She told fans that her character would be focusing on her business and would not be getting involved in love interests for the time being.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘Lilo & Stitch' Positively Bubbly With $611M Global, ‘Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning' Easily Runs To $354M WW
Updated: With a pair of phenomenal holds, Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning continued to dominate global turnstiles this weekend. To wit: Disney's Lilo & Stitch added $113.1M from 52 offshore markets, lifting the international box office cume to $330.7M. The overseas drop was just 28%. The worldwide total through today is $610.8M. More from Deadline 'Lilo & Stitch' Kicks Up $63M Second Weekend, 'Mission Impossible 8' $27M+, 'Karate Kid: Legends' At $21M - Box Office Update 'Lilo & Stitch': All The Box Office Records Broken Peter Bart: Barry Diller's New Memoir Might Be The True Final Reckoning Paramount/Skydance's Mission: Impossible 8's sophomore offshore session was good for $76.1M, a great 33% dip from opening. The international total on the Tom Cruise-starrer is now $231.2M, and global is $353.8M. Before we dig into details on the above, note that Sony's Karate Kid: Legends, which kicked off international rollout in early May ahead of its wide global release this weekend, kicked up another $12M from 43 offshore markets this session. That takes the international cume to $26M through Sunday. Alongside domestic, the global gross to date is $47M. Major markets to come on this one are: Australia (June 5), Italy (June 5), China (June 7), Spain (August 8), France (August 13) and Japan (August 29). Now, turning back to Lilo & Mission… Disney's live-action take on the 2002 animated adventure has already become the No. 2 studio release of the year internationally, and is the No. 1 non-local title across Europe (except for Denmark and Finland), and in all markets across Latin America as well as Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Philippines and Thailand. Notable holds this frame include France (0%), Germany (-12%), UK (-28%), Australia (-29%), Brazil (-34%), Spain (-36%), Mexico (-40%), Korea (-44%) and Italy (-46%). Some markets saw increases, including Netherlands (+21%), Belgium (+13%), Saudi Arabia (+8%), Poland (+7%), Singapore (+3%) and Ukraine (+1%). New this session was Hong Kong ($1.1M), where the little blue alien opened at No. 1 and 4% ahead of The Minecraft Movie. Among other benchmarks, L&S is notably the 2nd highest grossing Disney live-action title of all-time across the Latin American region (behind only The Lion King); the 2nd highest grossing Disney live-action title ever in Mexico, 3rd highest in Colombia and 4th highest in Brazil. Further, it is the highest grossing film of 2025 in Italy (non-local), Brazil, Mexico and Thailand. The Top 5 to date are: Mexico ($45.9M), UK ($34.5M), France ($23.1M), Brazil ($21.6M) and Germany ($18.1M). Japan opens next weekend. As for Mission 8, audiences continued to accept. Notable strong holds were seen in Netherlands (-4%), Germany (-10%), France (-21%), Indonesia (-21%) and Japan (-23%). Also notably, China debuted this frame. This is a market that typically gravitates towards the franchise, but has been wonky of late with Hollywood fare. So, great news that The Final Reckoning became the highest-grossing imported film on a single day this year, and the fastest imported film to reach the RMB 100M mark in 2025. The gross there is a strong $25.2M while social scores are the highest of the franchise. The Top 5 markets to date are: China ($25.2M), UK ($22.3M), Japan ($18.5M), Korea ($17M) and France ($14.2M). Elsewhere, New Line/Warner Bros' Final Destination Bloodlines landed with another $14.4M from 75 offshore markets, a strong 37% drop from last weekend. The international running total is $117.6M through Sunday with worldwide at $229.3M. The Top 5 are: UK ($12.5M), Mexico ($11.2M), India ($7.6M), Philippines ($6.9M) and France ($6.7M). The film has also become the biggest horror movie of all time in Pakistan, and the 4th best ever there for a WB title. MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE (UNI): $4.2M intl weekend (41 markets); $6.2M intl cume/$6.8M global (WB): $3.1M intl weekend (73 markets); $524.1M intl cume/$947.1M global (DIS): $2.8M intl weekend (52 markets); $187.7M intl cume/$369.6M global (WB): $1.8M intl weekend (59 markets); $83M intl cume/$350.1M global (SNY): $1M intl weekend (8 markets)*Denotes new Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'Stranger Things' Season 5 So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
