Varada Sethu felt massive pressure ahead of her Doctor Who debut
Varada Sethu has explained how she felt an enormous amount of pressure on her shoulders during the making of her first 'Doctor Who' episode as companion Belinda Chandra.
Varada Sethu felt a huge sense of anxiety filming her first episode of 'Doctor Who'.
The 32-year-old actress has joined the cast of the iconic BBC sci-fi show as Belinda Chandra – the new companion to Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor – and admits the pressure of such an important part was hard to cope with at first.
Varada told the Metro newspaper: "I had the weight of 60 years on my shoulders, so when I was filming the first episode it felt overwhelming.
"I got such an imposter syndrome. But Russell T Davies, the showrunner, was great at texting me almost every day to say, 'You're doing great. I saw the rushes – they're beautiful. I love the scenes.' It was so caring."
Varada previously worked with the 'Doctor Who' boss on the 2016 BBC adaptation of the Shakespeare play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and was stunned when Davies offered a role on the programme without the need for an audition.
She said: "For everything else in my whole working life, I've had to audition except for these two things that just happen to be in one of the biggest franchises in the world."
Varada explained that her companion – who was kidnapped by robots in last week's series-opening episode 'The Robot Revolution' – doesn't have much enthusiasm for accompanying the Time Lord on his adventures.
The 'Jurassic World Dominion' star said: "All Belinda wants is to go back home to her life.
"She's not interested in being swept up in the Doctor's adventures because it's mad and not for her. Or she thinks it's not."
Varada continued: "One thing about Belinda I love is her relationship with the Doctor. They're very much equals in the way healthy, loving relationships are. She's not afraid to hold him accountable."
The actress first watched 'Doctor Who' during David Tennant's spell as the Time Lord during the 2000s but enjoys working with Ncuti's different take on the character.
She explained: "He's the person who's most fixed in my brain about 'Doctor Who'. There's such a manic energy I loved. Doctor Who is a shape-shifting character but I feel the connecting thread is that they are all a bit mad.
"If David Tennant's Doctor is dark and chaotic, Ncuti's has this huge, warm, vibrant energy he brings to the set. It brought out the best in me."
