“Take Me Home” – Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu Discuss the New Season of “Doctor Who”
Varada Sethu is having quite the month! Not only is the actress returning to Doctor Who as the companion, she’ll also be seen in the second season of Andor: A Star Wars Story as Cinta Kaz. Ahead of the debut of this season of Doctor Who, I had the chance to attend a press conference with both Varada and the Doctor himself, Ncuti Gatwa. Here’s what I learned.
The actress is no stranger to Doctor Who, having memorably appeared in last season’s “Boom." With the surprise nature of her appearance, fan speculation ran rampant as to how her new character of Belinda Chandra might be connected to Mundy Flynn from “Boom." This is actually something quite common in the history of the show – something Varada was unaware of – with Amy Pond and Martha Jones actresses Karan Gillan and Freema Agyeman having previously appeared in unrelated roles. We’ve even had two Doctors (Colin Baker and Peter Capaldi) appear as a different character before getting cast in the title role. Varada teased a “genetic link" in how showrunner Russell T Davies has tied the two characters into each other, noting an importance to why the Doctor keeps coming back to this person.
Season 1 gave us a very happy Doctor / companion relationship with the fun loving Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) acting as almost a best friend to the Doctor. This season will be a little different, with a tension between the two characters as the Doctor attempts to get Belinda home. Ncuti noted that the characters are very much equals, and that Belinda is not afraid to call the Doctor out or take matters into her own hand. “She doesn't want to be somebody else's little adventure."
The press conference was held on the 20th anniversary of Doctor Who first coming back to TV screens in the U.K. after a 16 year hiatus. With this preface, Ncuti and Varada were asked about their favorite stories of the revival. Ncuti gave a somewhat cliche fan answer with “Blink," the memorable 2007 story that first introduced the Weeping Angels – while Varada went for something out of the upcoming season, the second episode “Lux." This story is set in 1950s Miami and features a cartoon villain, voiced by Alan Cumming, and even animated versions of the Doctor and Belinda. Varada loved the process of filming the episode and getting to be turned into animated characters.
Another important milestone comes in the form of diversity and inclusion, as this is the first season to feature a TARDIS team entirely composed of people of color – something that both actors are very much aware of. While acknowledging how much it means to her, Varada also didn’t want to take on the pressure too much to allow for a creative and playful performance. “I think if you put on the pressure of being the first of anything, it [in some ways] takes away the joy."
Doctor Who will premiere on Saturday, April 12th at 12 a.m. PDT / 3 a.m. EDT on Disney+, where available, and will be exclusively accessible on the BBC and BBC iPlayer in the UK.