Latest news with #AnitaDobson
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Anita Dobson wins big for her surprise EastEnders return while Emmerdale's Amelia Flanagan is overcome with emotion as she accepts Best Young Performer gong at British Soap Awards
Anita Dobson looked jubilant as she won Scene of the Year for her surprise EastEnders return, while Amelia Flanagan held back tears as she accepted her gong at the British Soap Awards on Saturday night. Stars of the country's favourite soaps descended on London's Hackney Empire for the annual bash which was hosted by Jane McDonald. And among the biggest moments of the night was Anita, 76, scooping an award for her reprisal of the iconic Angie Watts for EastEnders' special anniversary episode in February. The actress returned as the Queen Vic's first landlady for the first time in 37 years for a heartbreaking cameo with daughter Sharon - played by Letitia Dean. Her shock return left viewers stunned and in tears, with fans branding it the 'TV moment of the year', so her win came as no surprise. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Anita Dobson looked jubilant as she won Scene of the Year for her surprise EastEnders return (left), while Amelia Flanagan held back tears as she accepted her gong (right) at the British Soap Awards on Saturday night Anita won the prize over stiff competition from Mason's death in Coronation Street, Amy's deathly plunge in Emmerdale and Hollyoaks' Mercedes confronting of her mortality. Meanwhile, Amelia was overcome with emotion as she was announced as the winner of Best Young Performer for playing April Windsor in Emmerdale. The 16-year-old - who previously won the prize for Best Young Performance for the role in 2015 - couldn't hid her shock as she took to the stage to accept the trophy. The actress beat out Corrie's Will Flanagan, EastEnders star Sonny Kendall and Hollyoaks' Noah Holdsworth for the win. Another standout moment of the ceremony was Sir David Jason taking to the stage to present the coveted Best Soap award. The Only Fools and Horses star, 85, cut a dapper figure in a classic black suit and bow tie as he announced EastEnders as the winner. It capped off a good night for the residents of Walford, with the BBC soap coming out the victor of this year's awards with a whopping eight wins. Following in their wake was Hollyoaks with three gongs, Emmerdale two and Coronation Street only receiving one win on the night. Meanwhile, Amelia was overcome with emotion as she was announced as the winner of Best Young Performer for playing April Windsor in Emmerdale The 16-year-old - who previously won the prize for Best Young Performance for the role in 2015 - couldn't hid her shock as she took to the stage to accept the trophy. As well as their wins for Anita and Best Soap, EastEnders also nabbed the Best Episode award for Phil's Psychosis: The Mitchells In 1985. Steve McFadden, who plays fan favourite Phil Mitchell, won the Best Dramatic Performance award while Patsy Palmer won Best Comedic Performance for her role as Bianca Jackson. The popular progamme also scored Best Villain for Navin Chowdhry for his role as Nish Panesar, while Lacey Turner, who plays Stacey Slater, won the Best Leading Performer Award. Rudolph Walker & Angela Wynter (Patrick & Yolande Trueman) delivered another win for EastEnders as they won Best On-Screen Partnership. Hollyoaks' three awards started with Isabelle Smith who won Best Newcomer for her role as Frankie Osborne. The Osbornes then won the Best Family award while Hollyoaks' sibling sexual abuse storyline received the Best Storyline award. Emmerdale's camera operator Mike Plant took home the Tony Warren Award which is given to employees working behind the scenes. Coronation Street's sole gong of the night was the Outstanding Achievement Award which went to David Neilson who has played Roy Cropper for 30 years. Denise Walsh and Martin Kemp presented the Best Newcomer award together, before Denise was surprised with an award herself by Shirlie Kemp. The actress was given the special CHEE award, standing for Corrie, Hollyoaks, Eastenders, Emmerdale, for someone who has appeared in all four soaps. Last year's show was suddenly cancelled with no explanation after the nominees had been announced. The June 2023 edition reached 5.7 million viewers in total with just under one million streams on ITVX and a peak of 3.2m viewers via its linear overnight broadcast. Singer and self-confessed soaps lover Jane, 61, stepped in as a last-minute replacement for Phillip Schofield two years ago after he quit ITV after admitting to an affair with a young male This Morning colleague. Host Jane said: 'I'm beyond excited to be hosting The British Soap Awards again as I had such a ball hosting the awards last time. 'You all know I love my soaps, so to be in a room giving recognition to all these wonderful actors and their fantastic hard work is simply joyous. I can't wait to get my glittery frock on and celebrate with everyone.' Meanwhile, Gemma John-Lewis, Entertainment Commissioner ITV said: 'The British Soaps Awards are an opportunity to celebrate and shine a light on the incredible actors and production teams that deliver gripping drama and captivating stories throughout the year. 'We're delighted Jane McDonald, a self proclaimed number one soap fan, is returning to host the awards.' The British Soap Awards airs on Thursday at 8pm on ITV1 & ITVX.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Anita Dobson reveals surprise way she tuned into Billie Piper's shock reveal in Doctor Who finale as she reflects on 'riotous' reaction to Mrs Flood twist
She's become a huge fan favourite with her mysterious role as Mrs Flood. And while she was attending the Soap Awards as Saturday's Doctor Who finale hit screens, Anita Dobson revealed she still planned to tune into the bombshell episode. The EastEnders star, 76, had joined her co-stars in attendance for the glitzy red carpet at London's Hackney Town Hall on Saturday, just an hour before the finale was being broadcast. And speaking to MailOnline on the red carpet, Anita shared that she and co-star Gillian Taylforth planned to watch the finale 'on her phone' ahead of the ceremony. Anita has caused a stir among Who fans with her role as the mysterious Mrs Flood, who was later revealed to be a hidden incarnation of legendary villain The Rani. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Speaking about the moment her character's true identity was revealed, Anita added: 'It actually wasn't as crazy as when Mrs Flood looked at the camera and winked, that caused a riot! 'That didn't, because a lot of people are thinking ''where is she going to go from here?'' Doctor Who's explosive series conclusion saw Ncuti Gatwa bid farewell to his role as the titular Time Lord, with Billie Piper sensationally unveiled as the next incarnation. Viewers also saw Anita's version of The Rani's fate left unknown, as she opted to escape the wrath of the villainous Time Lord Omega, after he ate the main Rani (played by Archie Panjabi). Anita's co-star Adam Woodyatt later confirmed that they had watched the Doctor Who finale on her phone, revealing in an Instagram post that she blocked several calls from husband Brian May to avoid interrupting the show. He captioned the post: 'My personal highlight from the #britishsoapawards wasn't @bbceastenders winning, it was something quite different. 'It was sitting on the stairs in Hackney Town Hall with Anita (aka Mrs Flood aka The Rani), sharing my airpods and watching @bbcdoctorwho on my phone!! 'We were so engrossed, @brianmayforreal called twice and Anita bumped the calls. Speaking to MailOnline on the Soap Awards red carpet, Anita shared that she and co-star Gillian Taylforth planned to watch the finale 'on her phone' ahead of the ceremony 'I wish someone had taken a photo of us sat there watching it together but I will always have that memory.' Anita was in attendance for the star-studded Soap Awards, where she accepted the award for Scene Of The Year, following Angie Watts' shock return in the show's 40th Anniversary episodes back in February. The best and brightest in serial drama were in attendance for the ceremony, which will be broadcast on ITV on June 5. It was the BBC 's EastEnders that cleaned up on the night with eight awards while Hollyoaks received three, Emmerdale two and Coronation Street only one. They kicked off their wins with Best Episode which went to Phil's Psychosis: The Mitchells In 1985. EastEnders also won Scene of the Year for Angie Watts' Shock Return while Navin Chowdhry won Best Villain for his role of Nish Panesar. Steve McFadden, who plays fan favourite Phil Mitchell, won the Best Dramatic Performance award while Patsy Palmer won Best Comedic Performance for her role as Bianca Jackson. Rudolph Walker & Angela Wynter (Patrick & Yolande Trueman) delivered another win for EastEnders as they won Best On-Screen Partnership. Lacey Turner, who plays Stacey Slater, won the Best Leading Performer Award and EastEnders also won the most coveted award of all: Best British Soap. Hollyoaks' three awards started with Isabelle Smith who won Best Newcomer for her role as Frankie Osborne. The Osbornes then won the Best Family award while Hollyoaks' sibling sexual abuse storyline received the Best Storyline award. Emmerdale's Amelia Flanagan won Best Young Performer for playing April Windsor while camera operator Mike Plant took home the Tony Warren Award which is given to employees working behind the scenes. Coronation Street's sole gong of the night was the Outstanding Achievement Award which went to David Neilson who has played Roy Cropper for 30 years. British Soap Awards 2025: Full List of Winners Viewer Voted Categories: Best British Soap: Coronation Street EastEnders - WINNER Emmerdale Hollyoaks Best Leading Performer: Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater, EastEnders) - WINNER Kellie Bright (Linda Carter, EastEnders) Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle Dingle, Emmerdale) Beth Cordingly (Ruby Miligan, Emmerdale) Villain of the Year: Calum Lill (Joel Deering, Coronation Street) Navin Chowdhry (Nish Panesar, EastEnders) - WINNER Ned Porteous (Joe Tate, Emmerdale) Tyler Conti (Abe Fielding, Hollyoaks) Best Comedy Performance: Jack P Shepherd (David Platt, Coronation Street) Patsy Palmer (Bianca Jackson, EastEnders) - WINNER Nicola Wheeler (Nicola King, Emmerdale) Nicole Barber-Lane (Myra McQueen, Hollyoaks) Panel Voted Categories: Best Family: The Platts (Coronation Street) The Slaters (EastEnders) The Dingles (Emmerdale) The Osbornes (Hollyoaks) - WINNER Best Dramatic Performance: Peter Ash (Paul Foreman, Coronation Street) Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell, EastEnders) - WINNER Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle Dingle, Emmerdale) Isabelle Smith (Frankie Osborne, Hollyoaks) Best Single Episode: Mason's death (Coronation Street) Phil's psychosis: the Mitchells in 1985 (EastEnders) - WINNER April's life on the streets (Emmerdale) Hollyoaks time jump (Hollyoaks) Best On-Screen Partnership: Alison King and Vicky Myers (Carla Connor and Lisa Swain, Coronation Street) Rudolph Walker and Angela Wynter (Patrick and Yolande Trueman, EastEnders) - WINNER William Ash and Beth Cordingly (Caleb and Ruby Miligan, Emmerdale) Nathaniel Dass and Oscar Curtis (Dillon Ray and Lucas Hay, Hollyoaks) Best Newcomer: Jacob Roberts (Kit Green, Coronation Street) Laura Doddington (Nicola Mitchell, EastEnders) Shebz Miah (Kammy Hadiq, Emmerdale) Isabelle Smith (Frankie Osborne, Hollyoaks) - WINNER Best Storyline: Paul's battle with MND (Coronation Street) Phil Mitchell: Hypermasculinity in crisis (EastEnders) Belle and Tom - Domestic Abuse (Emmerdale) Sibling sexual abuse (Hollyoaks) - WINNER Best Young Performer: Will Flanagan (Joseph Winter-Brown, Coronation Street) Sonny Kendall (Tommy Moon, EastEnders) Amelia Flanagan (April Windsor, Emmerdale) - WINNER Noah Holdsworth (Oscar Osborne, Hollyoaks) Scene of the Year: Amy's deathly plunge reveals a grisly secret (Emmerdale) Mercedes confronts her mortality (Hollyoaks)
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Coronation Street and Emmerdale humiliated at British Soap Awards as rival soap wins EIGHT gongs
The return of an iconic character ensured the win for this year's Best Soap gong washed up Coronation Street and Emmerdale humiliated at British Soap Awards as rival soap wins EIGHT gongs CORONATION Street were brutally snubbed at the 2025 British Soap Awards as they failed to pick up any of the previously announced awards at this year's ceremony. The annual soap event made a return this year after ITV mysteriously axed the contest in 2024 as Jane McDonald returned for her second year as host of the event. Advertisement 5 Coronation Street lost out at the Soap Awards but star Tina O'Brien still dazzled Credit: WireImage 5 Despite Emmerdale's loss, Mandy Dingle actress Lisa Riley was beaming Credit: PA Wire 5 EastEnders picked up Best Soap thanks to Anita Dobson's return as Angie Credit: Shutterstock But it was bad news for Coronation Street as the programme suffered a devastating loss after managing to bag just the specially curated Outstanding Achievement Award which went to Roy Cropper star David Neilson. The show failed to secure wins in any of the main panel or viewer-voted categories amid ITV's ongoing cash crisis and the mass cast exodus at the soap over the past six months. Its ITV counterpart Emmerdale also faced a crushing blow ahead of the impending ITV schedule changes which will see 30 minutes worth of each programme cut a week from January 2026. BBC rival EastEnders swept the board after collecting a total of eight gongs in its 40th anniversary year - more than double its nearest rival, Channel 4's Hollyoaks who got three awards. Advertisement EastEnders was awarded Best Soap after its huge live episode and anniversary week which saw Anita Dobson return as Angie Watts and Martin Fowler killed off in the arms of his love, Stacey. It was certainly not the only award that they picked up with actress Lacey Turner receiving the trophy for Best Leading Performer ahead of her impending exit from the show. The 40th anniversary also managed to clutch the Scene of the Year thanks to Angie's shock return. Steve McFadden a won a trophy for Best Dramatic Performance as Phil Mitchell but did not attend the ceremony with Angela Wynter and Rudolph Walker also receiving prizes as Patrick and Yolande - beating Corrie fan favourites Lisa Swain and Carla Connor, affectionately known as Swarla, to the Best On-Screen Partnership award. Advertisement The Walford based soap also collected the Comedy Performance gongs and Villain of the Year. In a major blow to Coronation Street, only David Neilson picked up the Outstanding Achievement Award as Roy Cropper which was presented to him by by his on-screen wife Julie Hesmondhalgh. Emmerdale shock return as Aaron's wedding to serial killer is gatecrashed by ex Hollyoaks managed to win three awards with Isabelle Smith winning as Best Newcomer with The Osbourne family taking home Best Family and the sibling sexual abuse storyline being named Best Storyline. Emmerdale managed just two awards with Amelia Flanagan beating her Corrie star brother Will to the Best Young Performer prize. Advertisement Mike Plant, one of the show's camera operators, picked up the prestigious off-screen Tony Warren Award accolade for his contributions to the soap behind the scenes. British Soap Awards 2025: Winners List Here's who took home trophys at the 2025 British Soap Awards Best Single Episode - Eastenders: Phil's Psychosis: The Mitchells In 1985 Best Young Performer - Emmerdale Scene Of The Year - Eastenders: Angie Watts' Shock Return Best Newcomer - Hollyoaks: Isabelle Smith as Frankie Osborne Villain Of The Year - Eastenders: Navin Chowdhry as Nish Panesar Best Family - Hollyoaks: The Osbornes Best Dramatic Performance - Eastenders: Steve McFadden as Phil Mitchell Best On-Screen Partnership - Eastenders: Rudolph Walker & Angela Wynter as Patrick & Yolande Trueman Outstanding Achievement Award - Coronation Street: David Neilson Best Comedy Performance - Eastenders: Patsy Palmer as Bianca Jackson The Tony Warren Award - Emmerdale: Mike Plant Best Storyline - Hollyoaks: Sibling Sexual Abuse Best Leading Performer - Eastenders: Lacey Turner as Stacey Slater Best British Soap - Eastenders ITV's crushing defeats come amid a period of unrest backstage at the shows. Both Corrie and Emmerdale have lost a number of stars over the past 12 months amid cuts at the channel. In particular, Coronation Street has faced increasing criticism of its far-fetched storylines and dwindling viewer interest in many of its plots. Advertisement Fans will be able to see all the reaction from the ceremony held at the Hackney Empire during the broadcast of the ceremony this Thursday evening on ITV. 5 Roy Cropper star David Neilson picked up the Outstanding Achievement Award Credit: Getty
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Doctor Who's Russell T Davies, Anita Dobson and Alex Sanjiv Pillai on the return of the Rani and "colossal" two-part season finale Wish World and The Reality War
Doctor Who season two's momentous two-part finale Wish World and The Reality War will see the Doctor and the Rani go head-to-head in a monumental battle that will send shockwaves through the Whoniverse. Originally played by Kate O'Mara, the Rani is a Renegade Time Lord and enemy of the Doctor who first appeared back in the 1985 classic serial The Mark of the Rani. Now, alongside Anita Dobson, the Emmy Award-winning Archie Panjabi joins Doctor Who as the Rani, who has been hiding in secret as Mrs Flood and meticulously waiting for her time to face the Doctor. Watch Doctor Who on BBC iPlayer and add to your Watchlist What can we expect when the Time Lords cross paths? Showrunner Russell T Davies, Anita Dobson and director Alex Sanjiv Pillai reveal all... EP/NH/JA2 Russell T Davies (Showrunner) Why did you decide to bring back the Rani? She's a classic enemy of the Doctor. Whenever you introduce any woman into any role on Doctor Who, half the internet seems to conject that she's the Rani. Sometimes, you just have to go with it. I think she's great in two ways. She's a famous classic villain if you know her. At the same time, she's not up there with The Master, the Cybermen or the Daleks, she's just a little bit more niche. That's good. That allows her to become a new character for the newer audience, she's not weighted down in continuity. We don't spend a long time discussing exactly what she was doing in The Mark of The Rani (1985). She's fairly continuity free. It's one of those things where you think we could have just made a new Time Lord and cast Archie Panjabi. That would have been wonderful. That would have been great. But, naming her the Rani leads us into this conversation about the character. It leads some children to BBC iPlayer, where they'll discover some great old stories with Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. For viewers who might not be familiar with the Rani, what can you tell us about their history with the Doctor? She's one of the Doctor's enemies. She's a bit more interesting than simply being all evil because she was a scientist that was always more amoral than immoral. She'd do anything for science. In this story, we discover she's on her greatest experiment yet on a vast scale. Plus, she's coming back into a universe that's completely changed. There are no Time Lords. The Doctor thinks he's the last. That gives her a much bigger arena to play in. She's rarely operated on such a cosmic scale before, and this gives us a chance to scale her up. She was played in the old days by Kate O'Mara who was a fine actor, a really fine actor. She was very famous in her day. She left Britain and became part of the Dynasty empire, she played Joan Collins' sister, Caress. She also very openly and honestly did a lot of television in order to earn money for her own company to put Shakespeare on stage. She was a wonderful woman, and I wish I had known her. We dedicated the readthrough of this episode to Kate O'Mara. How was it to write for the Rani? Enormous fun, because I think it's a great character. I love Kate O'Mara's portrayal. But at the same time, it's kind of blank. You can put her into whole new areas. As I said before, she's now in a universe she's never been in before. In the past, she was a Renegade Time Lord. Now, she's the only Time Lady in existence. So that ups the stakes for everyone. It was enormous fun. And once we knew we had Archie, that was a very big playground that opened up to us. How did Archie playing the role come about? It was an immediate offer. I think our director Alex (Pillai) had worked with her before. Also, one of our producers, Phil Collinson, had worked with her before on a BBC One series called Sea of Souls, just before she went to America and did The Good Wife. It's always very helpful when you can approach an agent, but also approach the actor with a text saying 'hello' at the same time. She was just delightful. It was an immediate 'yes.' We're so lucky that she was free. She lives in America now and has such a lot of work over there, but fortunately our dates fitted. It was a very exciting day when she said 'yes.' It was the only offer we made. What can fans expect from the two-part finale? The Rani is famously a scientist, and now she's a scientist walking into a world where a Pantheon of Gods has been awoken, which is magic in the air. She simply finds it fascinating. To her, it's a different form of science, she's not there to reject it. She's a true scientist with a very open mind. True scientists have open imaginations. Saying, 'yes we can go to the moon,' 'yes we can travel in time,' 'yes, there's anti-gravity.' The problem with her experiments and her ideas is that she doesn't care how many lives she loses along the way. We'll see her running experiments on a massive scale. The very first scene of the two-part finale will really take people by surprise as to what she's up to. And from then on, it never stops. It's a huge extravaganza. Will Mrs Flood still be involved? What you get now is the two Ranis working together. Mrs Flood is still calling herself Mrs Flood. As viewers saw at the end of episode six, it's a fantastically servile relationship where she sort of becomes the Igor to the Rani's Frankenstein. I can tell you, those two loved working together so much. It was beyond words. They had such a laugh together. I don't think we have any interviews or behind the scenes footage of them separately because they never left each other's side. They got on so well. It's a delightful partnership. It's really fun, and very powerful. The Doctor is immediately up against two enemies instead of one. Everyone is coming back for the finale. We've got Ruby (Millie Gibson), Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), Colonel Ibrahim (Alexander Devrient), Shirley (Ruth Madeley) back, and also Mel (Bonnie Langford) is back. Conrad (Jonah Hauer-King) is back too. The last we saw of Conrad he had been imprisoned, but the prison governor turned out to be Mrs Flood and she was unlocking him from his prison cell. He's now part of this big coalition of evil against the Doctor. Anita Dobson (Mrs Flood/The Rani) How hard was it to keep the secret of Mrs Flood's true identity? It was very hard. Very hard indeed. You start to say a sentence and you think, 'No, I can't go down that road'. You have to do exactly what Russell (T Davies) does which is switch and take the conversation somewhere else. It was over quite a long period of time that I kept the secret, so it was hard. It was so exciting, though. I also had to keep my return to EastEnders quiet for a long time. So, I am getting really good at keeping secrets now [laugh]. How was it to film the bi-generation scene with Archie Panjabi? It was so much fun. I saw the one they did with Ncuti [Gatwa] and David [Tennant] when Ncuti took over as the Doctor. I thought, 'wow, how did they do that?' When I got told it was going to happen to me and Archie, I was blown away. It was actually more difficult than you'd think, but it was great fun. It looked amazing. I have to say, Archie is a dream to work with. How did you react to the news of who Mrs Flood really was? I had a few suspicions of my own along the way. Throughout the series, my makeup artist and I used to discuss it, we'd say 'She's that… oh no, she can't be'. Another day, she'd say 'I know, she's this person', and I'd say, 'No, I don't think so'. I really wasn't sure. Once I found out, I had to be even more careful not to drop any secrets or give anything away. The Rani is such an iconic character in the history of Doctor Who. What can you tell us about her? She is a bit like the Doctor. She is the last Time Lady. I had thought for a while, 'am I the Rani?' A couple of other people asked me to, and I thought it would be exciting. When Archie came on board, I didn't quite understand it all until I learned we would be doing the split (bi-generation). Then I got it, we're part of the same thing. We are one, except she plays the bossy one, I sit quietly and make notes. It was quite an exciting alliance. It was good fun to play. Archie and I clicked on the first day which is brilliant. That's what you hope for, this sympathy and connection between each other. We had a lot of fun. We worked on a big set for the most part of the finale, and it was mind blowing. I loved my costumes so much. I couldn't believe the stuff I was getting to wear. It was all so lovely. What can you tell us about this two-part finale? When I went in to do some audio dubbing, I was really looking at the episode thinking how fantastic it is. I asked if I could watch a little bit further on as I hadn't watched all my parts back before, I literally gasped out loud. They said 'I hope you don't mind but we filmed your reaction because it was so truthful and so amazing'. That's how exciting it is. Can you describe the finale in one word or phrase, what would it be? Fantastic! It's completely unexpected, very exciting and I am very, very proud to be part of it. Alex Sanjiv Pillai (Director) What's it like to come back and direct the two-part finale of season two of Doctor Who? Russell (T Davies) asked me to come back while I was filming the Christmas episode (Joy to the World - 2024). I was overjoyed to be able to stay with the Doctor Who family. I finished the editing of the Christmas special, had a couple of weeks off, and then I was straight back into it. It really felt like I had never left. What would you say the tonal differences are between the Christmas episode and the finale? There are huge differences. The Christmas episode is a broad family episode. We wanted it to be warm and give us a sense of family and belonging, with an emotional understanding of the people that we love and may have lost. It includes all those emotions that Christmas really evokes. Like a warm cup of a tea. For season two, the idea was to have a punchier, more dramatic, more tense, scary even, set of stories. The two-part finale, Wish World and The Reality War, is a culmination of all those things. We want to thrill, we want to shock, we want to absolutely terrify. What can you tease us about the sets and the costumes that we'll be seeing in this episode? At the heart of it is the Rani, who is played by the incredible, Emmy award-winning Archie Panjabi. Her costume was a subject of many meetings with our incredible costume designer, Pam Downe. The idea was to make something that made her look powerful. One of the executive producers was talking about the original eighties look of the Rani and suggested giving it a bit of a punky spin. This developed into the spiky leather look for Archie, and it fitted her like a glove. She swaggers about in the costume like a woman in-charge of the entire universe, which is of course what she is. We give her one of the largest sets I've worked on. The unusual thing about the set is that it has a ceiling. Phil Simms, our production designer, created a huge dome above, very much like you're walking onto a James Bond set. At one point we had four cameras on the set, one on a crane, as there was room for it, and that's important because the action in there is huge. We're talking about universe-spanning cosmos-defining action between the Doctor and the Rani, and we really had to show the scale. What was it like to work with Ncuti, Varada and Millie? They all have a really great chemistry. There's a close dynamic between Ncuti, Varada and Millie. I've got to say that's the secret of the Doctor and the companions, they have to really bounce off each other in real life and on set. They enjoy being around each other, and I think the camera shows that. This episode will go down in history with the re-introduction of the Rani. What was it like keeping this secret? It's easy to keep secrets on Doctor Who, because we know how much it means. I don't want to let anyone down on the creative side or on the fan side by giving away story points. I've been a Doctor Who fan all of my life and I'm very privileged to be part of that team, and it's therefore very easy to know the importance of the story material. I was thrilled to know that the Rani was coming back. I was more thrilled when Archie came on board. I've known her for a number of years, and I've worked with her before. And wow, she embodies the part. What can you tell us about Archie Panjabi and Anita Dobson's dynamic? It was like they had known each other all their lives! Anita Dobson, like Archie, is the most fabulous, interesting, pleasant and kind person. They spent their time between shots nattering away in the corner. They became great friends. Mrs Flood and the Rani are two parts of the same character. Anita plays subservient to the more dominant side of the Rani which is played by Archie. So, on-screen a great dramatic dynamic created by Russell, and off-screen, a barrel of laughs. If you could describe the episode in one word or phrase, what would it be? Colossal.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
A legendary Doctor Who villain returns: Meet the Rani
One of the Doctor's deadliest foes has returned after hiding in plain sight on the show since Christmas The Church on Ruby Road, viewers met Ruby Sunday's (played by Millie Gibson) neighbour Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson).At first, she seemed like a regular neighbour. But very quickly, the show started leaving us with questions. Like why does she seem to know what a TARDIS is? Why is she also Belinda's (Varada Sethu) neighbour? And why does she keep turning up wherever the Doctor's (Ncuti Gatwa) adventures take episode The Interstellar Song Contest (streaming on BBC iPlayer now), viewers finally learned the truth when the character bi-generated (as the Doctor had before her) and was revealed to be an old foe of the Doctor, the Rani (Archie Panjabi).As the episode revealed, Mrs Flood is now "a Rani", while Panjabi plays "the Rani – the definite article", the newest addition of this iconic on to learn everything you need to know about the return of the Doctor's latest adversary, as well as your guide to the episodes you should watch before the next installment of Doctor Who. Who is the Rani? For many series of the show, the Doctor's greatest Time Lord adversary was the Master. But then during Colin Baker's run, a new foe emerged."She's an old Doctor Who villain who's never been brought back since the show came back in 2005," says Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies in a behind the scenes video, "she's been waiting in the wings and the time has come."It was Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor, who summed up the Rani perfectly. "Don't underestimate her," he said in the episode Time and the Rani. "She's a brilliant but sterile mind. There's not one spark of decency in her."In The Mark of the Rani, starring Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and available as part of iPlayer's collection of classic Doctor Who, the Rani (Kate O'Mara) is introduced as a renegade Time Lord from the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey. Her main interest is science, but she is willing to hurt and kill for her an interview with the BBC, actor Kate O'Mara described the character as someone who attended university with the Doctor, "studying science. And then it went completely to her head, and she wanted to govern the whole universe."In The Mark of the Rani, we learn about her time on the planet Miasimia Goria. Her experiments have taken away the planet's inhabitants' ability to sleep, causing chaos on the reverse this, the Rani heads to 19th-century Earth, where her plan is to harvest the chemical that promotes sleep in human brains. Naturally, the Doctor and Peri (Nicola Bryant) prevent her from doing the Rani returned, it was to face off against McCoy's Doctor in his first episode, Time and the Rani. In this serial, the Rani has brought geniuses from across time and space to the planet Lakertya, where she is forcing them to calculate how to turn the planet into a device that would allow her to manipulate evolution across the course, the Doctor stops her, and she is taken prisoner by the residents of the planet. How she escaped that, as well as the devastation of Gallifrey, is yet to be these two episodes, the Rani was played by actor Kate O'Mara, a legend of 1980s TV after playing Joan Collins' sister in the American soap it is fitting that the character is now being played by another legendary soap actor – Anita Dobson, part of the original EastEnders cast in Panjabi, meanwhile, has soap experience too, starring in The Bill and Holby City as a young actor. Her defining role, however, was in The Good Wife, which led to her being the first Asian actor to win a Primetime Emmy for find out what these actors will bring to the role, however, and to find out what devious plans they have to challenge the Doctor, tune in to the two-part series finale, which starts on Saturday May 23 on BBC One and iPlayer.
