Latest news with #DoctorWoke
Telegraph
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Doctor Who chief brands anti-woke critics ‘toxic'
Russell T Davies, the head writer for Doctor Who, has criticised 'toxic' people who claim the show is too woke. The Welsh screenwriter and television producer, 61, said he had no time for complaints about the show's ' diversity and wokeness '. He told BBC Radio 2: 'Someone always brings up matters of diversity. And there are online warriors accusing us of diversity and wokeness and involving messages and issues. 'And I have no time for this. I don't have a second to bear [it]. Because what you might call diversity, I just call an open door.' He added: 'Why limit yourself? Why breathe in the exhaust fumes? Why be toxic? Come over here where the life and light and air and sound is.' Davies, who was also behind the hit shows Queer As Folk and It's a Sin, was head writer for Doctor Who from 2005 to 2010 and began his second spell in charge in 2023. He has previously faced criticism for placing too much focus on identity politics in the show. Recent episodes have seen a transgender character refer to the Doctor as 'male-presenting' and a drag queen who makes the point of using 'them' as a personal pronoun. The sci-fi series returned last week with the two lead parts played by minority ethnic actors for the first time. Ncuti Gatwa has resumed his role as the Doctor and Varada Sethu plays Belinda Chandra, his new companion. Sethu also hit back at 'woke' claims earlier this month after she landed the role. 'Ncuti was like, 'Look at us. We get to be in the Tardis. We're going to p--- off so many people',' she told Radio Times, referring to their skin colour. '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. ''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.' In May last year Gatwa said he felt 'sad' for critics of the show's diversity. 'For me, personally, I find it fascinating that it matters so much to these people,' he said. 'You are going to limit yourselves from a show that ... you claim to love ... because you don't like something about someone's appearance or their race. It's just ... really sad for them.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘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
Telegraph
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
New Doctor Who star hits back at ‘woke' claims
Doctor Who is 'doing the right thing' if people think it is too woke, its new star has claimed. Varada Sethu will take on the role of the Doctor's companion, alongside Ncuti Gatwa as the Time Lord. 'Ncuti was like, 'Look at us. We get to be in the Tardis. We're going to p--- off so many people',' Sethu told Radio Times, referring to their skin colour. '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. ''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, 32, appeared in the last series in a guest role, playing an Anglican Marine called Mundy Flynn in the war-themed Boom episode. Showrunner Russell T Davies thought Sethu and Gatwa had so much on-screen chemistry, he cast her as Belinda Chandra, the new companion. Sethu said her character would be more than a mere sidekick. 'We really are equals in the way that we interact with each other. Russell wanted someone who can push back and not be in awe of this all-powerful being,' she said of Belinda's relationship with the Doctor. Belinda is 'the main character of her own story'. The daughter of two Indian doctors who moved to Newcastle upon Tyne when she was a child, Sethu entered and won the Miss Newcastle contest aged 18 'to p--- off my mum' after being scouted in a shopping centre. 'The pageant world doesn't align with my values. But it did give me the confidence to throw myself into acting,' she said. She began a veterinary degree but realised that acting was her true calling and convinced her father to let her downgrade to a three-year physiology course while looking for acting roles. Before she was cast in Doctor Who, Sethu was best known for her role in Andor, the Star Wars spin-off for Disney+. There have been persistent rumours that Gatwa will leave the show at the end of the second series amid doubts over its future, with Disney bosses said to be unhappy with the returns on their multimillion-dollar investment. The BBC signed a $100 million deal with Disney in 2022, but ratings for the first two series were underwhelming. Davies was criticised for placing too much focus on identity politics. In an interview last year, he conceded that audience figures for series 14 'might not be the ratings we love' but said the show was a success with the under-30s. 'I was brought back in to bring in a youthful audience. That's been massively successful. Those figures are astronomic for Doctor Who,' he said.
The Guardian
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Woke' criticism of Doctor Who proves show on right track, says its newest star
Criticisms that Doctor Who has become too 'woke' prove the series is doing the right thing by being inclusive, its new star Varada Sethu has said. Sethu plays the Doctor's latest travelling companion, Belinda Chandra, in new episodes airing next month. With Ncuti Gatwa returning as the Doctor, the pairing marks the first time a Tardis team will comprise solely people of colour. Speaking about the milestone, Sethu told the Radio Times: 'Ncuti was like, 'Look at us. We get to be in the Tardis. We're going to piss off so many people.'' At a time when representative casting in sci-fi and fantasy is prompting toxicity online, the actor, who recently appeared in the Disney+ Star Wars series Andor, said she had been encouraged by fans' response to her joining the show. '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.' Doctor Who celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2023, when some viewers criticised its introduction of transgender and non-binary characters, as well as a scene in which David Tennant's Doctor realises he has a crush on Sir Isaac Newton. Sethu, who was born in India and moved to the north-east of England at a young age, has also appeared in Jurassic World Dominion, Annika and Strike Back. The 32-year-old made her first appearance in Doctor Who last year, playing an entirely different character in the episode Boom. She told Radio Times that, after filming that episode, the Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies said he 'kept seeing me and Ncuti on screen and thinking, 'God, those two have such great chemistry'.' Sign up to The Guide Get our weekly pop culture email, free in your inbox every Friday after newsletter promotion She added: 'We really are equals in the way that we interact with each other. Russell wanted someone who can push back and not be in awe of this all-powerful being.' Sethu said the new Doctor Who episodes were 'bright and energetic', with one – The Interstellar Song Contest – including a cameo from the TV personality Rylan Clark. She also spoke of the 'whiplash'-inducing experience of taking on one of the most coveted and high-pressure roles on British television. 'I was dropped into [filming] within two weeks of being told I had it. So a lot of the confusion and stress that [Belinda is] going through is the confusion and stress that I was going through,' she said.
