Doctor Who will introduce a brand-new companion when it returns this month on Disney+ with Varada Sethu's Belinda Chandra. Fans have already been making their own theories about the character, her backstory, and possible connections to the past, but showrunner Russell T. Davies has debunked a big one.
Longtime Whovians will be well aware of The Sarah Jane Adventures, a 2000s spin-off starring the late Elizabeth Sladen's classic companion Sarah Jane Smith and a group of youngsters who help her prevent alien threats on Earth.
Interestingly, The Sarah Jane Adventures was created by Russell T. Davies, who was the Doctor Who showrunner at the time - a role he recently returned to, starting with the 2023 specials, and still holds going into Season 2.
Among Sarah Jane's high schooler friends was Anjli Mohindra's Rani Chandra, who shares a surname with Season 2's new companion Belinda Chandra, who is played by Andor actress Varada Sethu. Their identical surnames have sparked theories that Rani and Belinda may be related in some way.
Is Doctor Who's Belinda Related to Sarah Jane Adventures' Rani Chandra?
"Nope, that is a coincidence."
The Direct: "Belinda Chandra shares a surname with Rani Chandra from The Sarah Jane Adventures. Is there any connection there?"
Russell T. Davies: Nope, that is a coincidence, I'm afraid. It's a very Kerala-specific background. We went through a number of surnames for Belinda but to make it Kerala-based.
And also, I wanted it to sound good because I'm stuck with a whole episode with the planet called Miss Belinda Chandra One with robots called Miss Belinda Chandrabots, with a city called Miss Belinda Chandraville, and people called Miss Belinda Chandrakind who dropped bombs called Miss Belinda Chandrabombs.
So I had to have a name that sounded good. And believe you me, there are an awful lot of surnames from Kerala that didn't sound good. So I accepted the fact that I've used Chandra in the past, but there is no connection. It just sounded good.
The Direct: Well, I can imagine that it took a number of tries to find the right one.
Davies: Oh, my God, I literally had to try out... I had a list here, and I would try them all out in the dialog. Some of them were just impossible. So, I think we've got the best option in the end.
While things aren't looking good for Rani's chances of returning to Doctor Who, she recently reprised her role for a series of full-cast audio dramas, Rani Takes on the World, which are distributed by Big Finish.
Doctor Who Showrunner Confirms Mrs. Flood's Bigger Role in Season 2
"She's moving closer and closer and closer to center stage."
During the interview, Russell T. Davies confirmed Mrs. Flood will appear in every Season 2 episode and hinted at a "great, big, cosmic plan at work."
The Direct: "Mrs. Flood is back this season and has moved from being Ruby Sunday's next door neighbor to Belinda Chandra's."
Russell T. Davies: How is this remotely possible? She lived next door to Ruby Sunday. Now, she lives next door to Belinda Chandra. You'd almost think there was a great, big, cosmic plan at work, wouldn't you?
Stay tuned, she pops up every week. I mean, we had, we had the joy of [Anita Dobson] in I think four episodes last year out of the first nine episodes; every week this year, every single week, she's moving closer and closer and closer to center stage. And I promise you, she will not disappoint. There's glorious stuff coming up.
I mean, I'm not daft. That's one of Britain's greatest actors coming in and having a laugh. And that's fine. I love it when she comes in and has fun, but there's far more than that going on. Don't worry, we really deliver on there. She's brilliant.
Russell T. Davies Hypes Up Doctor Who Season 2's Huge Finale
"It's a Titanic finale."
- The Direct: "What is your favorite episode this season that you really can't wait for fans to see?"
Russell T. Davies: It's kind of always the finale. I think every single year could have asked me, and it'd be the finale, which we're still working on. It's like we're going right up to the wire.
We've more or less finished Episode 6, little bits to fiddle with in that, the sound mix is still ongoing in Episode 7, and the final effect shots and great, big explosions and things are going into Episode 8. We had a meeting about that today, so they're almost finished. But I think we haven't had a music score for that yet, so that's still pending. But obviously, that's a few months of transmission, so we've got plenty of time.
So that's all underway. It's a Titanic finale - they're not literally on board the Titanic; we've done that before - but it's a really epic story with the cast at their best to watch Ncuti and Varada and Millie and Gemma as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart in that finale is really special. Everyone's giving it everything.
Doctor Who is going into its second season on Disney+ following a historic deal between the U.S. streamer and the BBC to take the series global.
Russell T. Davies Hypes Up Ncuti Gatwa & Teases Season 2 Masterplan
For Doctor Who Season 2, Ncuti Gatwa is heading into his second outing as the Doctor, although he has traded out Mille Gibson's Ruby Sunday for Varada Sethu's Belinda Chandra as his companion aboard the TARDIS.
- The Direct: "You can feel more and more that Ncuti Gatwa is coming into the role in his second season. How would you say his Doctor differs in Season 2 with Belinda as opposed to Season 1 with Ruby?"
Russell T. Davies: I think it's not him getting used to the Doctor; I think it's us getting used to him, to be absolutely honest. Go back and watch 'The Church on Ruby Road' or 'The Giggle' and watch a man who is absolutely certain what he's doing from day one. I'm quite serious about that.
I think it's what you bring to it, and that's a very brilliant actor who always knew exactly what he wanted to do. And it's right there. He will be modest in interviews and talk about learning and stuff like that. No, he hit it straight away. Bang.
I mean, it's funny, you talk about Season 2, but every episode is different. There's a different Doctor, and there are different things to learn about him as ever. The relationship, of course, is different with Belinda, who's created as one of those companions that crop up in 'Doctor Who' history every so often as more of an equal to him.
Ruby was beautifully young, and it was such a beautiful thing to cast an 18-year-old as an 18-year-old, phenomenally rare in television, that automatically made the Doctor a bit older, which I loved. That made him king of the world, and she listened, she was wide-eyed. She's kind of learned to grow up and move away from him, and she comes back. We have phenomenal scenes where you see that Ruby is now more than equal to the Doctor.
Ncuti Gatwa's fate as The Doctor beyond Season 2 is unclear as a decision on the show's future won't come until after the upcoming run. The BBC recently responded to rumors that he is quitting Doctor Who by debunking claims that the sci-fi mainstay series has been shelved.
He continued to explain how Belinda brings a unique take to the TARDIS as, unlike the usual companions who say, "Isn't it wonderful," she is desperate to get home to May 24, 2025, which is "the one day they can't reach:"
Davies: But at the same time, on board the TARDIS, you just want that other take. There are many takes on Doctor Who, but one of the classic takes is to walk into the TARDIS and say, 'Isn't it wonderful.'
But the second take is to be Belinda Chandra, and to walk into the TARDIS and say, 'Everyone is finding a gun at my head. Everywhere we land, they want to blow me up or dematerialize me, or dissect me, or turn my head into a robot, or just shoot me like a piece of Gorgonzola with laser beams.' And she's not having it.
It's very significant that she's a nurse in A&E; she's done the emergency department, so she's very much aware of injury and illness and danger of death, and she's not having it. And it makes sense.
Truly, that's what I'd be like with the Doctor. We all like to think we'd be wide-eyed. We all like to think we'd be Sarah Jane Smith or Ruby, being wide-eyed and happy to see dinosaurs. I would be terrified of the dinosaurs eating me. And I would say, 'Take me home immediately.' And that's Belinda, but except she's desperate to get back to work, and she's desperate to get back to, specifically, May 24, 2025, and that's the one day they can't reach.
Davis explained that Belinda's target date of Saturday, May 24, 2025, was very carefully chosen as it lines up with when Episode 7, "Wish World," will premiere on Disney+ (BBC One and iPlayer in the U.K. & Ireland).
That said, there was more to that exact date choice, as the Doctor Who showrunner revealed it was all to do with lining up "The Interstellar Song Contest" episode with the annual Eurovision Song Contest:
Davies: If you study your calendar - this took a lot of work and a lot of convincing with various broadcasting partners - you will see Episode 7 transmits on May 24, 2025, when we will see what terrible things are happening. And then Episode 8 goes wildly beyond that.
So, it's very exciting. Can you imagine how much work it was getting all those broadcasts to bring things down to one date? That is, that was more work than anything on the entire series.
Actually it also all pins around the date of the 'Eurovision Song Contest' as 'The Interstellar Song Contest' goes out on the night of the 'Eurovision Song Contest,' and the actual date that made everything else decide. And, you know, in America, the contest is not so well known to Disney.
And we did say to them, 'It's like 60% of your territories will be getting this; they all know. You might not know what it is, but your viewers do. So that was a great game to play, pinning it down to that date. That was a lot of work, but it was worth it. That'll be a great night, you can actually sit and watch 'The Interstellar Song Contest' and then the 'Eurovision Song Contest,' that is so much fun."
Doctor Who will return on Saturday, May 12, with the Season 2 premiere on Disney+, along with BBC One and iPlayer in the U.K. and Ireland.
