Doctor Who season 1 finale is the "most devastating" yet, says Russell T Davies: "Oh my god, you’re gonna die"

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Exclusive: Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies opens up to SFX about a "devastating" finale

Doctor Who
(Image credit: James Pardon/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios)

We’ve not even stepped into the TARDIS full time with Ncuti Gatwa and, yet, showrunner Russell T Davies is already warning fans about the upcoming Doctor Who season 1 finale, teasing that it’s going to be the show’s "most devastating" yet. 

But let’s rewind a little first – as Davies confirms that the dynamic between Ruby (Millie Gibson) and the Doctor, both connected by a sense of abandonment, will be a throughline for Doctor Who season 1.

"That’s a spine throughout the series – we saw at Christmas she was a foundling, left at the church at Ruby Road," Davies tells tells SFX magazine in the new issue, which features Doctor Who on the cover.

"Also the Doctor’s now a foundling, mysteriously abandoned in outer space, doesn’t know his parents either, and that’s a big connection between the two of them, it’s a real hum, a vibration between the two of them that really forges their friendship like no other Doctor and companion team ever before, and that hasn’t finished. You’re going to see that develop," Davies says.

On the shape of the series, Davies says that while "every episode stands on its own" there will be a "running theme and running story that’s going to build and build and build to 'The Most Devastating Finale'."

"Literally, the biggest finale ever," Davies proclaims. "There’s some shots of that in the trailers coming up. Oh my god, you’re gonna die."

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Doctor Who releases on BBC One and iPlayer (UK) on May 11 and Disney Plus (globally) on May 10. The above is just a snippet from our interview, available in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Doctor Who on the cover and is available on newsstands from Wednesday, April 17. 

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Darren Scott

I'm the Editor of SFX, the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine – available digitally and in print every four weeks since 1995. I've been editing magazines, and writing for numerous publications since before the Time War. Obviously SFX is the best one. I knew being a geek would work out fine.