Latest news with #MrsFlood
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- 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)
Metro
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Doctor Who fans are certain they've worked out this season's big twist
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Doctor Who fans think they have figured out the shocking twist in the season finale as the Doctor faces off against The Rani. The two-part finale kicks off with Wish World on Saturday as Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson) and The Rani (Archie Panjabi) enact their plan that will destroy the Earth on May 24 (as ominously delivered by a holographic Graham Norton). Lucky Day conspiracy theorist Conrad (Jonah Hauer King) has been recruited to join their nefarious schemes and we know there is still one more foe lying in wait to complete this Unholy Trinity. When Mrs Flood revealed her true identity during the mid-credit scene after The Interstellar Song Contest and bi-generated, she quickly fell in step behind Archie Panjabi's 'upgraded' version. And in a sneak peek for the new episode we see Mrs Flood continue her servile persona as The Rani's punching bag after she quips that the imagery of being sprung from Mrs Flood's loins is the 'most disgusting thing she's ever heard'. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Now, up until this point, Mrs Flood has shown her nefarious side (lulling us into believing she would be a key nemesis at the end of this season). Whether through her terrifying speech to Cherry at the end of season one or her conniving plans to release Conrad from jail – plenty of fans have expressed their surprise at her sudden change in demeanour. As such, some Whovians believe we've not see the end of Mrs Flood's scheming and, provoked by The Rani's dismissive attitude, she'll turn against herself in a last minute twist to bring down her counterpart. In one theory posed by Reddit user Slight-Ad-4442, they wrote: 'We're all thinking that the new Rani is the evil one, but perhaps that's the point. Mrs Flood seems like a nice old lady but really is the more ruthless of the two.' And then took the theory further, adding: 'Turns out that Mrs Flood has a little bit of the Rani evilness in her, but a lot more goodness in her. She will betray the Rani in favour of her own survival or saving Belinda.' And it was speculation backed up by other fans who see the same trajectory for her. 'I totally see either one of The Rani's betraying the other!' Gold_Warning_3099 agreed. 'The two Ranis betraying each other seems on point. Different incarnations never seem to get on that well, plus the Master/Missy combo was already them killing each other. These kind of ideas tend to repeat,' Caacrinolass pointed out. Over on X, users had the same idea, although the jury seems to be out on which exactly how the betrayal will go down if the theory pans out. 'I'm putting money on it now, Mrs Flood will betray the Rani, especially with how much they've set up this hatred the Rani has for Mrs Flood already haha,' @whoronomy posed. 'Calling it now, Mrs Flood is gonna turn out to be the evil one and The Rani will have to help The Doctor,' luisthegardener said. 'I think Mrs. Flood is purposely messing with the Rani,' twistedtardis declared. Russell T Davies has opened up a bit more about the dynamic between the pair. '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,' he told the BBC. More Trending And added: 'It's a delightful partnership. It's really fun, and very powerful. The Doctor is immediately up against two enemies instead of one.' Everything will come to a head in the final episode of the season, The Reality War in which 'battle rages across the skies as the Unholy Trinity unleash their deadly ambition. 'The Doctor, Belinda and Ruby have to risk everything in the quest to save one innocent life.' View More » Doctor Who returns this Saturday with Wish World on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Doctor Who and Coronation Street star Michael McStay dies aged 92 as family pay tribute MORE: 'My BBC drama did something rarely seen before on TV' MORE: Doctor Who will continue even if Disney drops out – but there's a devastating catch
Gizmodo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Russell T Davies Reveals Why Now Was the Time for ‘Doctor Who' to Resurrect the Rani
One of the many, many things that happened on the latest episode of Doctor Who was that the show finally lifted the lid on what two years of teasing who Mrs. Flood was leading towards. Turns out, it was exactly what many Doctor Who fans had, jokingly or otherwise, guessed immediately. In some ways, according to showrunner Russell T Davies, that was the point. 'The Interstellar Song Contest' climaxed with the reveal that Mrs. Flood was, in fact, the latest incarnation of the Rani, the renegade Time Lady scientist originally played by the late, great Kate O'Mara across two classic Doctor Who serials, 'Mark of the Rani' and 'Time and the Rani,' and the absurd 1993 anniversary special/charity drive Dimensions in Time. Very quickly after that she become the second-latest, as a mortally wounded Flood prepared to regenerate, only to bi-generate just like the 14th and 15th Doctors had, revealing a new Rani, played by Archie Panjabi. The Rani, aside from being something of a camp icon thanks to the winning combination of an immaculate 1980s fashion sense and O'Mara's delectably scenery-devouring performance, has become something of a running joke in the era of modern Doctor Who, with fans immediately joking that the second a mysterious female character comes up, she must be the Rani. The Master's wife in season three? The Rani. River Song? The Rani. Missy? The Rani. That woman from 'End of Time' who may or may not be the Doctor's mother? No, clearly the Rani! Mrs. Flood was no exception to that joking theory, it's just that this time it was decided to pay it off. 'Whenever you introduce any woman into any role on Doctor Who, half the internet seems to conject that she's the Rani,' Davies recently told the BBC. 'Sometimes, you just have to go with it.' For Davies, it was also an opportunity to play with a character who is both, almost paradoxically, a returning legacy character (something this current era of Doctor Who has largely stayed away from playing with outside of last year's Sutekh return), and also one who could essentially be brand new to a less-familiar audience. '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,' Davies continued. 'That's good. That allows her to become a new character for the newer audience, she's not weighted down in continuity.' As to why not making her actually a new character—after all, the Time Lords are no stranger to Getting Better after seemingly being wiped out forever—well, Davies thought about that too. But for Davies, finally invoking the Rani meant an opportunity to have those less-familiar viewers check out her prior appearances. '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,' Davies concluded. '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.' We'll learn just how different this new Rani is–these new Ranis are, rather—when Doctor Who begins its two-part finale this weekend.
Metro
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Russell T Davies addresses fans correctly guessing huge Doctor Who mystery
Doctor Who's singing, dancing, Eurovision episode finally revealed the longstanding mystery of who exactly the gilet-clad Mrs Flood is, bringing back a vintage Whovian villain. The Interstellar Song Contest unmasked Mrs Flood as the Rani, in an episode the BBC One ratings have cemented as the highest watched of this season so far with 2.57 million viewers. The show was granted a welcome bump from a jam-packed schedule that squeezed the episode in between the FA Cup final and the live Eurovision Song Contest. After a season spent popping up in every episode, Anita Dobson's Mrs Flood followed in the footsteps of David Tennant's Doctor and bigenerated – split in two – into Archie Panjabi. The Rani pair are now poised to face off against the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) in the upcoming two-part finale of the show. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. The episode saw the universe's frothy Europop night, hosted by the inimitable Rylan and hologram Graham Norton, devolve into a fight for survival that ended with a longtime nemesis of the Doctor rearing its head. While some Whovians had suspected Mrs Flood would be revealed to be the Doctor's wife, River Song, others correctly theorised she was the Rani and should be awarded a collective pat on the back. Although some shows might want their Big Bad reveal to remain unknowable, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has said it's no bad thing that some fans were on the money. Speaking on the official Doctor Who companion show Unleashed, he said: 'Finally, we found out who Mrs Flood is. I think ever since Mrs Flood appeared, people have been saying she's the Rani, and sometimes you just want to deliver what people expect. The Rani has yet to make an appearance during rebooted Who, so newer fans might have been scratching their heads during Saturday's big reveal. The Doctor's foe first appeared in Colin Baker's run as the Sixth Time Lord, when she was played by Kate O'Mara. She's a renegade Time Lord turned mad scientist, who has caused chaos on planets with her madcap experiments. Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor summed up the Rani in the Time and the Rani episode, saying: 'Don't underestimate her. She's a brilliant but sterile mind. There's not one spark of decency in her.' 'Yes, she's a Time Lady. Yes, she is the Rani. And yes, she's bi-generated and now she's Mrs Flood and Archie Panjabi as the Rani, which is so exciting. More Trending 'It was kind of the plan almost from the beginning. I always thought she was the Rani. Which actually is a very old Doctor Who villain who's never been brought back since the show came back in 2005. She's kind of been waiting in the wings, and the time has come.' Davies has since said that Ncuti Gatwa has always wanted to face the Rani, telling the BBC: 'It's an honour to work with Archie – I've been a fan for years, and what a joy, to see her twinned with Anita Dobson. It's the greatest threat the Doctor has ever faced and there are even more villains to come!' View More » Doctor Who continues with Wish World on Saturday, May 24 on BBC iPlayer and Disney Plus outside of the UK. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Doctor Who and Coronation Street star Michael McStay dies aged 92 as family pay tribute MORE: 'Godmother' of Israeli settler movement from Louis Theroux documentary now sanctioned by UK MORE: Aisling Bea struggles discovering family's 'shameful' past on Who Do You Think You Are
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Doctor Who star Anita Dobson had 'no idea' about show twist
Anita Dobson has revealed she had "no idea" that her Doctor Who character was going to turn out to be one of the Timelord's greatest enemies. The EastEnders legend has been playing Mrs Flood in the BBC sci-fi hit since 2023. But fans were recently stunned to discover that her true identity is much more sinister, as Mrs Flood is actually the Doctor's foe, The Rani. Dobson has now shared that for a long time she was in the dark about who her character really was. And when she did find out, she couldn't tell anyone other than her husband, Queen's Brian May. The actor opened up on The One Show on Monday, 19 May, saying that she'd had no clue where Mrs Flood's storyline was going. "It's been a blast, the whole thing," she said of starring in the series, where Ncuti Gatwa is currently in control of the Tardis. "But I had no idea when I started. I played a little nosy neighbour in the Christmas episode and then Russell (showrunner Russell T Davies) asked me to come back for the series and all the way along I was thinking, 'I don't know where this is going but it's a real blast!' "And who knew? She is The Rani!" Asked if it was hard to keep the secret for two years, Dobson said May was the only person she told. "It wasn't (hard) for the first series because even I didn't know, I was happily acting out my little scenes with no idea," she said. "And then in the second series, obviously the make-up department, the costume department were sort of saying, 'Well, who do you think she is?' and even I started to get, 'Well, I don't know, I don't know where this is going' and I started to get excited as well. "But I didn't really know until really late and even then I had to keep very quiet." "I love playing villains, they are the best parts!" she added. The star also talked about her recent return to Albert Square. Dobson found fame as EastEnders' Angie Watts, and was a regular on the BBC soap from 1985 to 1988. Read more: Doctor Who Doctor Who's Ncuti Gatwa teases 'beautiful' Nigeria-set episode 'Doctor Who's new series is its boldest ever, and you should be watching' 'Doctor Who's ultimate fan service moment perfectly sets up the finale' She returned to Walford this year as the soap celebrated its 40th anniversary. Angie appeared in the form of a vision as her daughter Sharon (Letitia Dean) lay injured after The Queen Vic explosion. She was wearing an outfit that she'd worn as Angie in 1985. "It was weird," Dobson said of her Walford return. "Very emotional and absolutely lovely. It was like stepping into a bath of warm water, warm bubbled water. Everybody was gorgeous to me. "It was wonderful working with Letitia again." "I couldn't believe I got back into the costume, the original costume - I am very proud of that," she laughed. The One Show airs at 7pm on BBC One on weekdays. Doctor Who continues on BBC One at 6.50pm on Saturday, 24 May.
