Doctor Who's Billie Piper has explained why the franchise is "completely different" than it was 20 years ago.
Piper first appeared in the Whoniverse back in 2005, playing Rose Tyler, the companion to Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor. Eccleston left the show after one season, with Piper staying on for another year.
The duo will soon be reunited for a new audio drama, The Ninth Doctor Adventures. However, Piper has revealed that the project will be different to their original stint together.
"If we just made the Doctor Who that we made 20 years ago now, it would feel slightly disingenuous, because things were so different then, even 20 years ago, to what we're experiencing, what we've seen, what we've been exposed to since," she told Doctor Who Magazine.
"God, we were so much more positive then. People have been profoundly affected by the material they see on social media. And it's been so normalised; everyone is a lot more heavy-hearted."
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She added: "It's not to say that we don't have a capacity for joy, because I think we absolutely do, but to ignore where we are right now... it's a completely different experience."
The Ninth Doctor Adventures will feature 12 new stories for the Doctor and Rose, all set within the timeline of their original season together.
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The audio series kicks off with 'Snare', and follows Rose's former neighbour Kevin who returns to the Powell Estate to clear out his dad's old flat. But when Kevin is introduced to Rose's new friend, the Doctor, he soon becomes embroiled in a supernatural mission.
Meanwhile, The Ninth Doctor Adventures might not be the last we hear (or see) of Piper, as she made a surprise on-screen return during the recent Doctor Who season finale.
Following the shocking regeneration scene, Ncuti Gatwa's fifteenth Doctor was seemingly replaced by Piper - though it remains to be seen whether she will be taking over as the next Time Lord.
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