Russell T Davies promises new ‘Doctor Who’ series will be packed with ‘little nods’ to its rich history
Opening up about the upcoming fresh series of the series, showrunner Russell T Davies has promised "little nods” and “little references" to the show’s past when ‘Doctor Who’ returns.
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 RadioTimes.com: “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.
