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When actor Varada Sethu was announced to be playing the new companion in the upcoming Doctor Who season 2, some fans were initially confused. That's because Sethu has been in Doctor Who before and not only that, but very recently too.
As you may recall, in the last season's brilliant episode 'Boom' Sethu played a character named Mundy Flynn, a marine fighting in a war on the planet Kastarion 3. However, in the upcoming season she will be portraying a totally different character named Belinda Chandra, a nurse the Doctor meets taking her on adventures through time and space.
In the trailers for the new season a connection between the two is teased, with showrunner Russell T Davies confirming in an interview with GamesRadar that Belinda is one of Mundy's ancestors. However, the question is – is that the full story, is it simply just a coincidence, or is there more to it?
We put that question to Davies ahead of the new series airing, who confirmed that fans shouldn't worry too much about the connection as it doesn't play a significant role in the story. As he explains, that's because he didn't want the show to be bogged down with continuity: "It plays a small role because the main story is getting Belinda home. The fact that she's connected to someone from the Doctor's past is handled lightly."
Davies continues: "It's never a show I want to bog down in so much continuity that you get lost. I always think it's inbuilt into the nature of an anthology show that every week is different. So every week you've got to start again, and it becomes an unnatural weight on the show if you're having to catch up with an awful lot of current continuity. So, if you remember the fact that actually the Doctor, as he says, has met one of Belinda's descendants, she is an ancestor of Mundy, that's a great extra detail."
However, despite Davies saying this he does tease that there may indeed be more than meets the eye when it comes to this connection. As he concludes: "I wouldn't worry about it too much but there are surprising revelations to come despite that, I'm gonna keep you on your toes don't worry." So, watch this space.
The new season of Doctor Who arrives on April 12 via Disney Plus internationally and BBC iPlayer in the UK. For more that should be on your watch list, check out our guide to the new TV shows to look out for.
