WHO’S BACK
The showrunner and cast of Doctor Who gather for a chat about their second season
When the new and fully revamped version of
Doctor Who arrived in autumn 2018, with Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor and her gang of companions Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill and Bradley Walsh off The Chase, the impact was immediate and huge, with their debut episode getting the show’s highest series premiere ratings in its history. Now, they’re all back to talk through the new series, although this gathering in Cardiff – where the show is mostly filmed – happened to coincide with a news story that showrunner Chris Chibnall was about to quit, even though this new run is only his second season in charge…
Chris, let’s get rid of the elephant in the room first – is this your last series? Chris: That’s 100 per cent grade-a bulls**t. It’s categorically untrue and we’re already planning the next series. Was this the same rumour where Jodie was meant to be pregnant? No. Please write this verbatim. Somebody made this up, it is a lie. I swear on my life, that’s a lie. So, how do you feel about your second series together? Jodie: It’s been incredible.
And the thing is, what this show can do, because of the nature of it… You know we go to all different worlds, go through history? We can really showcase extraordinary talent. Some of which you may have seen before and some of which you might not have. We’ve started some new Whatsapp groups and have lots of new friends. The injection of new energy has been brilliant. That always helps along a nine-and-a-half-month shoot. C: Not that you’re counting! Is there anything you can tell us about how things might be different between the last series and this one? C: I think it’s a development – we keep going. Last year was a recruiting year for the show and I think we managed to recruit some people and that’s exciting. So, we are building on that with lots of new faces, a few old faces and there are some things trickling through that might be important. So, yeah, it feels like a step up, possibly more ambitious in terms of scale, storytelling, everything. I would say we are aiming to keep moving forwards, so yeah, there are bigger things this year than last year. J: For us guys, it’s moving forwards for us. It doesn’t feel like it’s regurgitating anything that
‘The injection of new energy has been brilliant’ Jodie
we’ve done before. For us, it’s only been last season, whereas for Whovians, it’s been however many years. And we are continually treading new ground for each of the character journeys and the development of everybody’s storylines. Do you talk about what you want to do with your characters? Mandip: We did have a little chat, didn’t we? After the last series, we went for a meal with Chris and he said go away and think about where you would like to see your character go. And I gave a few little things, which Chris obviously elaborated on and made good. There are rumours that there might be some sort of closer relationship between The Doctor and Yaz. Is that true? J: Oooh! Well, you’ll have to watch it. I think all of our relationships have developed, within the unit of four. And I think every single character has their own unique friendship and relationship. Tosin: There’s a little thread going on between me and Graham [Walsh], and I think we do touch upon that. And [as for] the group, we’re getting along and trying to save the universe together. And does all this feel new for you, Bradley? Did you find that there were things you were learning last year? Bradley: It’s a completely different animal to anything I’ve ever worked in. I remember Chris saying, “It’s going to be a journey, Brad.” But I imagined that I’d come to work and it would be like a normal acting job, like other stuff I’ve done. But the fact is that it isn’t like that at all. It’s a behemoth. And how long until we see a Doctor Who Celebrity Chase – and how good will they be? B: I swear to you now, if I’ve asked them once, I’ve asked them a million times. Thank you very much, because you’ve now brought it up in front of them. ITV would be delighted, like all their Christmases had come at once... J: We have played it because I bought the board game. M: And I was horrific... ■