Doctor Who Interview: Russell T. Davies on New Series and a LGBTQ+ Lead
96Having first hit the airwaves in 1963, Doctor Who has gone through change innumerable times in the past 60 years. So much so that change is one of the very cornerstones of the franchise. That being said, as we learned in the 60th anniversary specials, sometimes things have a way of coming back around just when they’re needed. Writer, showrunner, and executive producer Russell T. Davies, responsible for having revived the franchise in 2005 and turning it into a global phenomenon, has returned along with this new era.
Much like he did in 2005, Davies has created a new entry point for Doctor Who fans with a thrilling new doctor/companion duo. Ahead of the new season, I sat down with Davies to dive into these first two episodes and get a taste of what’s to come across the rest of the season. During our conversation, Davies broke down that fun Star Trek Easter egg and leaning more into queer themes for this era of Doctor Who. He also admits that casting Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson was “astronomically lucky,” and says he’ll keep bringing back Yasmin Finney’s Rose Noble as often as she wants to return. He also teased Steven Moffat and Kate Herron’s highly anticipated episodes, “Boom” and “Rogue.”
While Gatwa’s Doctor and Gibson’s Ruby have clear similarities to past Doctor/Companion duos, they’re also breathing a bit of new life into the series as their own unique dynamic. When asked how writing for these two differed from past TARDIS teams, Davies admitted that, “In many ways, it doesn't. In many ways, I'm not here to reinvent the wheel.” He went on to praise his past stars, saying, “I loved working with Billie Piper and David Tennant and Freema [Agyeman] and Catherine Tate. I have been blessed with great actors, and it's happened again. I've got to say that's a casting director who does a brilliant job.” He continued, “His name is Andy Pryor, and he searches the land for the best talent, so this doesn't happen by chance. Hard work never happens by chance. It’s always diligence.”
Queer themes have always been part of Davies’ writing as a gay man himself — and as a queer person myself, seeing the series openly embrace the LGBTQ+ community has only made me love Doctor Who even more. From Yasmin Finney’s Rose Noble getting her hero moment as a trans woman in “The Star Beast” to little indicators of a more fluid sexuality for the Doctor, the latest era of Doctor Who celebrates queerness while other mainstream shows are pulling back on their representation. Davies said, “No one's ever asked me to step back from [writing queerness into the series]. It doesn't even feel particularly queer to me, it just feels natural.”
While we were on the subject of queerness, I had to ask Davies about casting drag legend and queer icon Jinkx Monsoon as part of a new pantheon of Doctor Who villains. “What a joy,” he said “I'd actually known Jinkx for a while, and I knew Jinkx's husband. I was actually talking to Jinkx's husband on the night they met. Michael [Abbott] said, “I'm off for a date,” and I didn't know with whom. Then I was a guest at their Zoom wedding! They got married in the lockdown, and I gave a speech on Zoom.” Davies went on to say that he’s “always admired Jinkx.” He attends Monsoon’s Christmas show every year in Britain, “I genuinely walk away from them dazzled by their invention” he said, praising her genius. “So when it came to writing Maestro, that just absolutely fitted everything I wanted to do. Casting Jinkx was almost common sense, and obviously, everyone else on the team agreed with that.”
The first two episodes of Doctor Who Season 1 are now streaming on Disney+ and you can catch the next episode, Moffat’s “Boom,” on Friday, May 17 at 7 PM ET.
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