Doctor Who star Varada Sethu has spoken about the “progressive” upcoming season of the show, saying it is “doing the right thing”.
The actor will make her debut as companion Belinda Chandra in the BBC sci-fi series later this month as the show returns for its 15th season since its reboot in 2005, though it is being marketed as season two following the acquisition by Disney+.
Following Peter Capaldi’s departure in 2017, the BBC made a long overdue step in casting its first female and Black actors as the iconic Time Lord, with Jodie Whittaker being succeeded – barring a brief return from David Tennant – by Ncuti Gatwa.
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With Russell T Davies's return as showrunner in 2023, several storylines have seen the show embrace its diversity and inclusivity, though some sections of the fanbase have branded the new era as “woke”.
Sethu, however, thinks such comments are a sign that the show is on the right track, with the actor telling Radio Times: “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.”
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“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,” added the actor, who previously played Mundy Flynn in season 14 episode, ‘Boom’.
Sethu, whose character will appear alongside Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), continued by sharing that Gatwa had embraced the show’s defiant attitude to its detractors, recalling: “Ncuti was like: ‘Look at us. We get to be in the TARDIS. We're going to piss off so many people.’”
Whilst we still have a little while to wait until Sethu makes her debut as Belinda, Gatwa had previously teased the newcomer’s arc, sharing: “She’s brought such an amazing energy to the show and has added such an incredible dynamic to that TARDIS.”
Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
