Series 15, Episode 1 | 1 part | First broadcast: 12 April 2025 | Writer: Russell T Davies | Director: Peter Hoar
Cast
- Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor
- Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra
- Jonny Green as Alan Budd
- Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood
- Max Parker as Manny
Summary
Nurse Belinda Chandra is abducted by robots and crowned queen of a planet named after her by an obsessive ex-boyfriend seventeen years earlier, and the Doctor, already stranded there as its historian, helps rebel humans and robots overthrow the ruling AI, which is revealed to actually be that same ex-boyfriend merged with the machine after being consumed by resentment toward Belinda, and though the Doctor rescues her, the TARDIS cannot return her to the exact moment she left, forcing her to travel with him.
Interesting Facts
- This episode formally introduces Varada Sethu’s ongoing companion role as Belinda Chandra, distinct from the unrelated character Mundy Flynn she had played the previous series in “Boom.”
- The story directly explores incel culture, with Sethu describing the approach as coming “from a place of compassion.”
- Its set and costume design draw inspiration from 1950s science-fiction films such as Forbidden Planet and This Island Earth.
- Anita Dobson’s recurring Mrs Flood appears again, continuing the season-long mystery ahead of her eventual reveal as the Rani.
- The episode scored a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from 15 critics and drew 3.57 million consolidated viewers.
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