With the series' first female Doctor, diversity on Doctor Who was always going to be a hot topic – and one of the series' writers, Vinay Patel, has been celebrating that as he talks about what we can expect from his episode.
'Demons of the Punjab' sees team Tardis visit Yaz's grandmother in 1947 on the day of the partition of what was then known as British India into India and Pakistan.
Patel has praised having a "more diverse cast" on the show, and said he wanted to make sure the episode "opened the discussion" about the seriousness of this period in history.
"I always wanted to do this because it felt it was a period of history that the audience, particularly a British audience, might not know a whole lot about. But there are so many compelling and rich stories from that time," Patel, who is one of the first BAME writers on Doctor Who in the show's 55-year history, told Radio Times.
"I'd known about partition for most of my life, so I just wanted to bring that to a wider audience. With a more diverse cast, we get to tell more stories that people who may not be of that background can learn about and identify with."
"If there was one thing keeping me up at night more than anything, it was figuring out how to tell this story in a way that didn't feel like it was disrespectful of the seriousness of it," Patel added of striking the balance between historical storytelling and sci-fi elements.
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"In one way, you need to show violence and horror graphically in order for it to stick with people.
"For now, 'Demons of the Punjab' could be a way of opening the discussion," he suggested, "to bring the story out to a larger public and the ramifications of partition that still affect the subcontinent to this day."
'Demons of the Punjab' sees Yaz attempt to discover her grandmother's hidden history, and meeting younger members of her family.
This throws up a myriad of dangers, however, as the Doctor warns that things could change if she puts a foot wrong – "Tread softly, you're treading on your own history."
While Yaz is learning about her family's roots, Ryan's mission is to go hunting for whatever villains are lurking – and it looks like he's on his own.
But the biggest mystery the trailer throws up is the Doctor appears to be unexpectedly zipping between places without knowing why...
Doctor Who continues today (November 11) at 7pm on BBC One.
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Tasha is a freelance writer for with a particular interest in the representation of women in film and TV. After graduating with a Literature degree then journalism qualifications with News Associates a few years further back than she’d like to admit, Tasha began her freelance career. She’s worked as a writer, editor and commissioning editor for a number of publications including Digital Spy. She is also a theatre critic. LinkedIn
