Latest news with #Cybermen
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sue Stapely, PR doyenne of the Law Society who worked on Doctor Who and campaigned to free Sally Clark
Sue Stapely, who has died aged 79, began her career with the BBC, working on shows including Doctor Who and Z Cars; she retrained as a solicitor and in 1989 she joined the Law Society, the professional body for solicitors, to head its media relations operation, helping to turn the society into an effective lobbying organisation. Along the way, as a member of the SDP, she stood as a candidate for the party in the 1987 general election and was the first national chair of the 300 Group, which aimed to encourage more women into politics. Later on she worked pro bono on behalf of the campaign to free Sally Clark, the 37-year-old solicitor convicted in 1999 of the murder of her two infant sons. The convictions were eventually overturned in 2003, though Sally Clark never recovered from the experience and was found dead at her home in 2007. Susan Sly was born on July 11 1946 to Stanley Sly and Kathleen, née MacIvor, and joined the BBC in 1966. During her time with Doctor Who she was an uncredited director's assistant on The Invasion (1968), in which the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, takes on an army of Cybermen. She was involved in the scene in which the cyborgs march down the steps outside St Paul's Cathedral, even talking her then partner into one of the costumes. In 1972 she worked, again uncredited, on the series The Curse of Peladon, with the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee. 'I recall vividly Alpha Centauri and a range of rather louche monsters and some fairly dodgy special effects, as well as rather too much time spent in the cold water tank in Ealing Studios filming fight sequences,' she told the Law Society Gazette. Sally and Stephen Clark, 1999: Sue Stapely offered her help pro bono in co-ordinating media interest in the case of Sally Clark - David Burges In 1968 she married Simon Stapely and after leaving the BBC to start a family in 1973 she studied law at Kingston University, and at the College of Law, where she qualified as a solicitor while her two sons were still young. After working for several years as a manager at various Citizens Advice bureaus, she joined the solicitors Heald Nickinson, where she became a partner, heading its family law department and setting up its public affairs department. In 1987 she was selected as SDP candidate for the safe Conservative seat of Chertsey and Walton, and expressed optimism that more women would be returned at the 1988 general election. 'When Mrs Thatcher was made prime minister many women were delighted,' she said, 'But they see her style of government now and her total refusal to promote women as unhelpful.' When the Law Society hired her to blow the dust off its PR in 1989, following the introduction of the 1988 Legal Services Act, which opened up legal services to a wider range of professionals, she jumped at the chance to head a new press and parliamentary unit. She pioneered the Law Society's Make a Will Week annual event, which gave some stuffier members of the profession the vapours when it was launched in 1991. Solicitors were encouraged to don lycra suits and pose as a Superman-style comic book character, 'Will Power' and dispatched to their local supermarkets to hand out promotional literature in a joint project with Safeway. She then launched a battle to save legal aid, in response to the Lord Chancellor's cuts to legal-aid eligibility levels, holding fringe meetings at party conferences and revitalising the Society's network of public relations and parliamentary liaison officers. In 1992 the campaign drew 2,000 solicitors to a lobby of Parliament. Three years later she came up with the idea of National Law Week, 'to show the positive side of the legal profession and to have some fun at the same time'. The first event saw more than 1,500 lawyers donning tracksuits for a three-and-a-half-mile run through the City; others threw open their doors to offer free legal advice, visited schools to explain the law and legal rights to young people, or went abseiling or go-karting, donated blood, or performed on stage to raise funds for charity. In 1972 she worked with the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee (pictured), recalling 'a range of rather louche monsters and some fairly dodgy special effects' - Alamy Shortly after she took up her role at the Law Society, Sue Stapely wrote to her old employers to beg the Archers scriptwriters to inject some professional dynamism into the terminally dull Ambridge solicitor Mark Hebden. She was invited to a meeting, became an adviser – and she remained on board long after Hebden's demise. She advised the scriptwriters on everything from agricultural tenancies, to the creation of the Asian female lawyer Usha Gupta, to the three-month imprisonment of mother-of-two Susan Carter for harbouring her fugitive brother Clive, which inspired the national 'Free the Ambridge One' campaign. 'It all got to a heady peak when I got a call from Michael Howard, who had returned from a trip abroad to be greeted by the constituent who started the campaign, requesting he overturn the sentence,' she recalled. Instead she provided the then Home Secretary details of similar cases, all of which involved equally harsh sentences. A regular contributor to programmes like Any Questions and Woman's Hour, Sue Stapely became famous within the profession for her media relations training courses. After one such event, a practice partner wrote to her to say that while the experience had been stimulating and challenging, '[a certain partner] is, on the whole, as well as can be expected. The men in white coats are optimistic that he will be available to sign letters and file his post within a few days.' In 1994 she published Media Relations for Lawyers (republished and updated in 2003), which included such sage advice as 'Stop pumping out press releases like shotgun blasts'; 'Stop patronising journalists. Some of them aren't as smart as you, but some are even smarter'; and 'Never lie, for as soon as your lies are spotted (and they will be) you will be permanently discredited.' Sue Stapely left the Law Society in 1995 following reports of strained relations with its newly elected president Martin Mears, and moved into reputation management as a director of the consultants Fishburn Hedges. She also did work for Edge International and Quiller Consultants, in addition to running her own consultancy from 2001. That year, suspecting a miscarriage of justice, she offered her help pro bono in co-ordinating media interest in the case of Sally Clark, who had been widely reviled in the media after being found guilty of murdering her two infant sons. The tide began to turn in May 2001 when, following a failed first appeal, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, in an unprecedented move, decided not to strike Sally Clark off the Roll of Solicitors. Sue Stapely used this decision as a launchpad for discussing a potential miscarriage of justice with the media. Subsequent investigations of the facts in the case and support from individual journalists and medical experts raised questions about the validity of the statistical and medical evidence used in Sally's trial. Then in July 2002, when the news broke that the case had been sent back to the Court of Appeal, Sue Stapely put the brakes on all media activity to ensure that the case was not jeopardised. Silence was maintained until the appeal was heard in January 2003, when Sally Clark's conviction was overturned. Edward Fennell in The Times described Sue Stapely's work on behalf of the campaign as 'outstanding'. Among an extensive CV of voluntary activities, Sue Stapely served as a governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company, chairman of Playground Proms (bringing classical music to schools in deprived areas) and a trustee of the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art. She was a founding board member of the Media Standards Trust and raised funds for homeless and children's charities. Sue Stapely's marriage was dissolved in 2002, and in 2012 she married David Fitt. He survives her with the two sons of her first marriage. Sue Stapely, born July 11 1946, died April 29 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
BBC News
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Doctor Who The Story and the Engine creatives and Ariyon Bakare tease a poetic, "time-bending cultural ancestral collision" with "lots of hair"
Doctor Who season 2's The Story and the Engine takes the TARDIS to Lagos, where the mysterious Barber reigns supreme. The Doctor discovers a world where stories have power, but can he stop the Spider and its deadly web of revenge? Watch Doctor Who on BBC iPlayer and add to your Watchlist NH/EP Ariyon Bakare (The Barber) How did you come to be cast in Doctor Who? It came as a wonderful surprise as they approached me directly for the part. My agent called with the offer to return to the Whoniverse. I was worried that they had forgotten I had been part of the franchise before, but then they remembered I was in full prosthetic as Leandro. After my experience playing Leandro, I was delighted to step back into that world. It was an instant yes. How did you feel when you were told you got the part of The Barber? Thrilled! Barber was right up my alley. I was particularly excited because Inua Ellams wrote the script. His writing has such depth and cultural richness - his storytelling is poetically sublime in a way that's uniquely his. I couldn't wait to dive into this character. Was it hard to keep the secret of your casting from your friends and family? Absolutely. I was bursting to tell my friends but had to keep it to myself until the official announcement. I felt like Clark Kent, having the best superpower ever and not being able to share it with the world; it was fun. I'd make a great spy! Were you a fan of the show before? Yeah, I was a big fan as a kid. I would collect Doctor Who cards that you'd get in cereal boxes. I loved the Daleks, of course, but I was also a huge fan of the Cybermen. What do you think makes Doctor Who so special? Doctor Who is genius because it literally built change into its story with the whole regeneration concept. More than being quintessentially British, it always stays fresh with new faces, new companions, and new creative teams. I love how it can be whatever it wants - one week, you might get a historical episode, then suddenly it's a creepy thriller, then boom - full-on sci-fi the next. But what makes it stand out is its hopefulness about people. At its heart, the show believes we can be better and that compassion and intellect matter more than violence. It's this amazing mix of wild imagination, hope, and constant reinvention that keeps fans coming back for decades. What was it like working with Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu? You have two incredible young actors of their generation. I can only imagine that stepping into the shoes of these iconic roles, a mainstay of British culture, is quite a daunting feat. Yet together, they manage to do it with an effortless 'joie de vivre,' making it modern and accessible to a new generation of Whovians. I love them. Their chemistry on screen is a joy to watch. Varada's smile can melt any viewer's heart. Now, blend that with Ncuti's wit and charm, you create instant screen magic. What was it like working on the Doctor Who set? I love the Doctor Who set; the production design is always on point. The attention to detail is incredible. When you enter the set, your first reaction is 'woah' and 'wow.' Your second reaction is, 'Where's the TARDIS?' and 'Can I get a picture next to it, on it, and inside it? 'I had just returned from Nigeria, maybe two weeks before we started shooting. The attention to detail amazed me when I stepped onto the set. They recreated parts of Nigeria; the colours of the walls, the red earth, and the props were replicated with such precision that it showed how talented the production design team are and how much effort and care is put into creating an authentic setting for us actors The TARDIS lands in Lagos, a place the show has never been before; how was this to film? What I love about this episode is its cultural depth. Inua's script is steeped in Nigerian culture; it tells a story about storytelling and the origins of stories - the power they hold to heal, educate, and inspire. The Nigerian cultural element is authentic; the barbershop serves as a hub of conversation where these stories are shared. Inua brilliantly employs old Nigerian folktales, those bedtime stories we all heard as children, and creates a timeless piece that is Nigerian in essence but universal in appeal. For me, it demonstrates that all stories are significant; stories are not diminished by culture, race, or geography. Good storytelling is simply that - no one story is less relevant than another. In the end, it reminds us that whether across galaxies or cultures, our shared stories are what truly make us human. What else can audiences expect to see from this episode? Hair, lots of hair. Where would you go if you could travel in the TARDIS to any time and place in the universe? This is a particularly hard question to answer. James Baldwin once said, 'Once you find yourself in another civilisation, you're forced to examine your own.' With this knowledge, I travelled through so many eras via literature, art, and films. But there are many that I would have loved to inhabit physically. I'd love to have experienced everything from Ancient Greece to the Harlem Renaissance. Finally, I've landed on the 'Années Folles" (The Crazy Years) in 1920s Paris, the Jazz Age. The civil rights era of the 1960s sits right alongside it. What would it be if you had to describe the episode in one word or phrase? A time-bending Cultural Ancestral collision. Makalla McPherson (Director) What can audiences expect from this episode? Audiences can expect something bold, poetic, and deeply rooted in culture. We take the Doctor out of his usual world and bring him to Nigeria - which immediately shifts the energy and opens up new possibilities. Inua Ellams wrote a truly unique script with a very distinct tone. The episode is fast-paced, filled with rich cultural references, and led by a brilliant ensemble cast - including the incredible Ariyon Bakare and Sule Rimi. Tonally, it dances between emotional intimacy and uncertainty, touching on themes of friendship, identity, and community. There's also a dark, gritty undercurrent that gives the story real weight. It was a joy to bring to life, and I'm so grateful to the team who made it happen. There were definitely some challenges in the shoot, but everyone came together with passion and care, and I'm incredibly thankful for that. Can you tell us about the process of creating this episode? My starting point was always the script - understanding the story beats, the characters, the emotional spine, and asking what we could show rather than tell. Most of the episode takes place in a single location - a barber shop - with an ensemble of eight strong actors. So the challenge was: how do we keep this dynamic, fresh, and visually engaging? We used a tool called Previs (previsualisation technology), which let me step into the set virtually using a 3D headset. That meant I could block scenes, map out camera movement, understand scale, and decide where props and action would go, all before the set was built. It gave us a clear blueprint and allowed us to be bold with how we used the space. Working with designer Phil Sims was also key - he was instrumental in helping bring the cultural world of the episode to life, with authenticity and imagination. How was it to work on Doctor Who? I absolutely loved it. I had an incredible time. I've been a huge fan of Russell T Davies for years, so to collaborate with him was a real privilege. He was supportive and generous from the start. I remember him saying, 'Every episode is like a film—make it your own. Put your stamp on it.' That freedom to be expressive while still honouring the legacy of Doctor Who was amazing. The scale of the production is phenomenal. Walking into Bad Wolf Studios and seeing the ambition behind the sets, the craftsmanship, the sheer number of people working tirelessly behind the scenes - it was awe-inspiring. And despite its size, the show really feels like a family. Everyone is working towards the same goal: to make something extraordinary. How was it working with Ncuti and Varada? It was a real pleasure. Varada is such a talented actress - thoughtful, open, and really collaborative. She brought so much depth to her character. And Ncuti is just electric. He's determined to make this Doctor his own, and he brings real care and precision to every choice. As a director, your role is to support them - guide when needed, but mostly create a space where they can shine. They were both open to collaboration and committed to delivering something special. It was a joy to share the space with them. If you could travel anywhere in time and space, where would you go? I'd go back in time - to the eighties. I was born then, but I'd love to have lived through it as an adult. I love the fashion, the vibe, the energy. There's something nostalgic about that era that feels lost today. I like the idea of slowing life down and going back to basics. If you could sum up your episode in one word or phrase, what would it be? Poetic. Inua Ellams (Writer) Welcome to the Whoniverse. How did your involvement in Doctor Who come about? I got really excited when it was announced Russell was returning as I'm a huge fan of his work. I dropped him a message. All I said was that I'm really excited by what you're going to do next, I'm a huge fan of your work and I can't wait to watch the next series. Within an hour, Russell responded saying 'Inua, I'm a huge fan of your work, would you come and write for us?' I said 'Absolutely!'. I went up to meet him and we chatted and set up an idea, and it began burrowing away. Have you always been a fan of Doctor Who? Yeah, I've been watching since I was ten years old in Nigeria. I'm a huge fan. There was a long hiatus when there was nothing happening. Then when the show returned, I watched most of them. What is the process of writing an episode of Doctor Who? Is it different to what you've done before? The turnover time is faster. A play takes me five or six years to write, but we had to do this in a relatively short time - in about a year. It's also very different from writing a regular drama, when much of the information and storytelling comes out through dialogue. You have to think pictorially. It took me some time to really boil down into that. I had really great script editors, particularly David Cheung, who worked with me diligently across the script. Russell's vast knowledge and experience and input was, without a doubt, viscerally important to writing it. I really liked working with Russell. There was something the previous showrunner said to me, Chris Chibnall, which I think is true: 'Doctor Who is a sci-fi and horror for eight years old, but also for all ages.' I kept that in mind. What would terrify an eight-year-old, but what's also fun and exciting. How do you honour as much of what has come before, whilst creating new things for a new generation? It was great to grapple with and I had so much fun. What can you tease about the episode you've written? It's entirely set in mostly one location. The moral of the story is to give credit where it's due. And I took that little idea and expanded it, and really drew it out. It is a huge story, but also a very simple that sits on a lot of social history. It's one location, a lot of fun, a lot of mythology written into it, but a new myth too. What does it mean to you to set this story in Lagos, and why did you choose the barber shop? I was a kid in Lagos when I started watching Doctor Who. The show taught me to really dream beyond my present reality, to go across the universe, to leap into incredible adventures. When I became a displaced person and an immigrant, I forgot about what it felt like to be in Nigeria. Sixteen years passed before I returned to visit as an adult, and something began to nestle and settle into my body. My body remembered a way of being, a sense of freedom. So, to take Doctor Who, this Doctor particularly, to Lagos sort of felt like stretching an olive branch out to the Inua who lived there three decades ago. I guess what I'm trying to show is a little bit of the magic of Lagos, a little bit of the sparkles that exist when you choose to discover it. Doctor Who is full of incredible stories, and this is what happens in barber shops. Incredible stories are told. So, I was trying to unite them all. What was it like writing for the Doctor and Belinda? Ncuti and Varada brought so much joy and tenderness to the script I had written. Early in the drafts, I tried to make fun of the fact that he's called the Doctor and she's a nurse, I tried to play out a sort of buddy-cop relationship, but I quickly realized, there was much more at play, and something deeper between them. The series starts off with Belinda determined to get home, the Doctor trying everything he can to get her home, and the frustrations all that causes. There's a shift in this. Compared to other companions, Belinda doesn't want to go on adventures. She loves her work, she wants to do her work, she's thrown into this adventure. Most companions decide to go with The Doctor but Belinda doesn't have a choice. Keeping that in focus really underpinned the decisions I made about how the characters talk to each other. If you could travel in the TARDIS to any time or place in the Universe, where would you go? I've talked about going to see the Pyramids when they're being constructed, eyeing the blueprints so we could build them now. That's still top of my list. If you could describe your episode in one word or phrase, what would it be? It's a call to artists and creatives, to always give credit where it's due.
The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Is Doctor Who doomed?
The Doctor has fought enemies like the Daleks and Cybermen all through time and space, but the Time Lord may now be facing their greatest threat: viewer apathy in a time of television industry upheaval, as rumours of cancellation and the departure of its leading actor swirl. With this year's series of Doctor Who approaching its midpoint and seeing record low ratings, there is still no sign from the BBC or streaming partner Disney+ if the show has a future beyond May. Showrunner Russell T Davies has insisted that it was always the plan not to commission more episodes until after this season aired in full, but that stance contrasts with his promise of 'annual Doctor Who, no gap years, lots of content, on and on and on', made when he returned to the show in 2023. With nothing in production, it would already be a tight squeeze to have a series ready for the start of 2026. Davies recently told viewers of BBC Newsround: 'I kind of know that the Doctor's reached the status of, like, Robin Hood. Sometimes there might be a pause, and during that pause, the viewers of Newsround now will grow up a few years and start writing stories and they'll bring it back.' If Disney+ decides not to renew its distribution and funding deal, that would leave the BBC with three choices: cast around for a new international streaming partner, go back to making the show in-house on a more constrained budget, or put it on hiatus. This year's season has also been dogged by rumours of a premature exit for the show's leading light, 32-year-old Ncuti Gatwa, who first appeared in the role in 2023. After an acclaimed run in The Importance of Being Earnest in the West End last year, Gatwa is to tread the boards again in 2025. He will star as playwright Christopher Marlowe opposite Edward Bluemel's William Shakespeare in Born With Teeth at London's Wyndham's theatre from mid-August until 1 November. That doesn't suggest the actor expects to be in the Tardis any time soon. Reports of belated reshoots to the current series in February this year have only added to the rumour mill. A Gatwa exit would mean he had appeared in only two series, fewer than any Doctor, with the exception of Christopher Eccleston. However, viewer apathy may be a bigger problem than money or casting. Nowadays, overnight ratings are far from the be-all and end-all, but the second episode of this year's run, Lux, set the unwanted record of lowest overnight rating in the 62-year history of the show at 1.58m. Davies and BBC executives might be buoyed, though, that season opener The Robot Revolution was still the second most viewed BBC show of the day, and gained a huge uplift via streaming, with nearly 75% of views online. Saturday's episode, The Well, bounced back up to 1.9m BBC One viewers. The BBC is confident it is still enough of a draw to screen the series finale in UK cinemas. Taken overall, though, even with changes in viewing habits, those figures suggest the new iteration of Doctor Who, made by Bad Wolf and part-funded by Disney+, has not halted a long-term trend of declining viewing figures. After the final episode of this Doctor Who season airs on 31 May, the only known remaining Whoniverse production is spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea. Co-written by Pete McTighe and Russell T Davies and starring Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the limited series is expected to air in autumn or winter. It runs the risk of being a spin-off from a show that is no longer being made. Doctor Who has survived interruptions and cancellations before. An attempt by BBC bosses to axe it in the mid-80s was converted into an 18-month hiatus. The show's original run eventually came to an end in 1989, and perhaps history is in the process of repeating itself. Fans now regard some of those final Sylvester McCoy stories, such as Remembrance of the Daleks and The Curse of Fenric, as some of the best of the entire series. But by then, few were watching and the writing was on the wall. Maybe, regardless of how good some of the Gatwa episodes have been – Boom, 73 Yards, and Dot and Bubble remain likely to be well regarded by fans for decades – time is simply up for this version of Doctor Who in this television landscape. Without a regular TV series between 1989 and 2005, creativity among fans flourished, with different strands of books, audio stories, comics and webcasts featuring a multitude of different takes on what Doctor Who could be. Some dream of that freedom again, although it is likely the BBC would keep a tighter leash on its franchise IP than it did in the 90s. Whatever format Doctor Who might take in the future, as Davies has implied, it is unlikely we have heard the last of the Time Lord for ever. 'Face-changing alien with a magic box that travels anywhere in time and space' will always remain an irresistible storytelling formula.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Doctor is back… with a brand new companion
Meet Varada Sethu's Belinda Chandra, who's about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime with The Who is back, with a new episode materialising onto iPlayer on Saturday 12 April - and the show has a new face for fans to The Robot Revolution, we will meet Belinda Chandra (played by Varada Sethu), who crosses The Doctor's path when a group of robots kidnap her after believing she is their that's just the beginning of the adventure for the pair. Writer and Doctor Who mastermind Russell T Davies says: "They are flung into outer space, and for all sorts of mysterious reasons that will be revealed as the series goes on, he can't get her home. "He's got a time machine that can travel anywhere. But the one place he can't land is that day in May in 2025 when Belinda left the Earth, and that's going to be the ongoing struggle of the entire series – get Belinda home."This means the pair have a different dynamic than the one between The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson).Davies says that at first, the pair are "a little bit more combative," but that "she very quickly realises this is the most amazing person in the universe". Who is playing Belinda Chandra? Meet actor Varada Sethu… although she will not need any introduction to anyone who watched the last series of Doctor Who (streaming now on iPlayer).The Indian-born, Tyne and Wear-raised actor previously appeared in the episode Boom, playing Mundy Flynn, the Anglican Marine who met The Doctor on the is not the first companion who has previously appeared on the show playing a different Agyeman (who played David Tennant-era companion Martha Jones) played a victim of the Cybermen in the episode Army of Ghosts, while Karen Gillan (who played Amy Pond alongside Matt Smith) played a Pompeii soothsayer in episode The Fires of Pompeii – that also featured future Doctor Peter Capaldi. Most recently, Sethu also joined the Star Wars universe when she starred in Andor on Disney+. On that Rogue One spin-off, she played Cinta Kaz, the medic to the Rebels of the planet her other credits for the BBC are crime comedy Annika and pre-apocalyptic drama Hard tells the BBC she got the call to play Belinda just as she was leaving an acting course. "I had just done this intense scene with my scene partner in front of everyone and I was crying and crazy," she says."I was on this high, this buzz, and I got a call from my agent to say, 'do you want to go in for this meeting to go in for the companion?'""She got it on the spot," says Gatwa. "She's that good."Asked what she loves most about her new role, Sethu says: "It's so exciting, and there's so many different genres in each episode. I don't think there are many jobs where you get to do that."Series two of Doctor Who premieres on 12 April 2025 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Russell T Davies promises new ‘Doctor Who' series will be packed with ‘little nods' to its rich history
Russell T Davies has promised 'little nods' and 'little references" to the rich history of 'Doctor Who' when the show returns. The showrunner is returning to helm a fresh series of the sci-fi hit, which will feature all-new threats for the Time Lord and his allies. Last year's episodes featured repeated mentions of the Doctor's granddaughter Susan (played by Carole Ann Ford as a series regular from 1963-64), much to the delight of fans. And when asked if fans could expect similar nods in the latest season, Russell confirmed they will get 'little moments' acknowledging the rich history of 'Doctor Who'. He told 'I love those references. It's like a living text, Doctor Who – you can't deny the fact that it's 62 years old now.' Despite his affection for the series's past, Russell added he remains keen to introduce new monsters and villains rather than rely on an established rogues' gallery. He added: 'I'm shifting it away from Daleks and Cybermen and the Master... partly because I came in off the back of a story (2022's 'The Power of the Doctor') that had literally the Daleks and the Cybermen and the Master all in one episode fighting Jodie Whittaker – which was brilliant, but once that's happened, it's just common sense to take a different step. 'But little moments, little nods, little references... if anyone can say, 'Oh, you look like a Drahvin!'' then I'm happy! 'I love that stuff – sometimes the writers put that into scripts and we enjoy it, but they're just nods and Easter eggs. That's the flavour of transmission today, I think.' In the upcoming season of Doctor Who, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and new companion Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) will confront a variety of formidable adversaries across time and space, including Mr Ring-a-Ding – a cartoon character voiced by Alan Cumming, who escapes into the real world – while a mysterious force also seeks to prevent Belinda's return to Earth. 'Doctor Who' will air from Saturday 12 April at 6.50pm on BBC One, with new episodes available from 8am on Saturdays on BBC iPlayer in the UK. The series will be available on Disney+ outside the UK.
