Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has stated that fans shouldn't expect any classic monsters this season.
Last year's run of episodes didn't feature any baddies from the past, with the exception of Sutekh in the finale, and it looks like this year's episodes may go even further.
Speaking to Radio Times, Davies explained that he wants to focus on new villains this time around.
"I'm shifting it away from Daleks and Cybermen and the Master... partly because I came in off the back of a story 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!
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"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."
Expanding on his love of references, Davies referred to the show as "like a living text, you can't deny the fact that it's 62 years old now".
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The season will feature a recurring villain in the form of Mrs Flood, who first debuted in the 2023 Christmas special.
Anita Dobson's mysterious character appeared a handful of times last year, but will be "popping up every week" before the finale this time around and has "an awful lot to do".
Doctor Who will return on April 12 on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
