Varada Sethu welcomes 'Doctor Woke' criticism
Varada Sethu welcomes criticism that 'Doctor Who' is "woke" because she is proud the show is "inclusive [and] progressive".
Varada Sethu welcomes criticism that 'Doctor Who' is "woke".
The 32-year-old actress is to star as the Doctor's new companion, Belinda, and both she and co-star Ncuti Gatwa are aware having a TARDIS team of people of colour will "p*** off" some viewers, but they think the show is doing the right thing by being "inclusive [and] progressive".
Varada told the new issue of Radio Times magazine: “Ncuti was like, ‘Look at us. We get to be in the Tardis. We’re going to p*** off so many people.'
“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.”
Varada previously had a guest role in the show as Mundy Flynn so she admitted she was shocked when she was asked to return.
She recalled: “I said, ‘But I’ve been in it already. They know that, right?’ "
But showrunner Russell T. Davies planned to "write some magic to make it work" because he had been blown away by the chemistry between Varada and Ncuti.
She explained: “He said they were in the edit for Boom, kept seeing me and Ncuti on screen and thinking, ‘God, those two have such great chemistry.
“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.
[Belinda is] the main character of her own stor. This mad man has just come crashing into her life, and now she can’t go home to her main plot.”
Of the reveal that links Mundy and Belinda, Varada admitted she didn't get chance to "absorb" it properly.
She said: “I think I honestly didn’t have time to absorb it. It was just like, ‘Cool. That’s that.’ ”
Read the full interview with Varada at https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/varada-sethu-doctor-who/ or in the new issue of Radio Times magazine, which is available now.
