Doctor Who showrunner says season 2's new companion brings a "whole new energy" that "defines the whole series"

A new Doctor Who season brings with it a new companion for Ncuti Gatwa's Time Lord to zip around time and space with.

While it's likely a familiar face to many (having appeared in season 1 standout 'Boom' as separate character Mundy Flynn), Varada Sethu is set to bring a "whole new energy" as Belinda.

"It's really the whole new energy that Belinda brings, that [Varada] brings with her, that defines the whole series," Davies says of the new Doctor Who season 2 arrival in the new issue of SFX magazine, which features Black Mirror season 7 on the cover and is now on newsstands.

"Having Belinda on board is a different take. Part of what I wanted to do was to show the range of the show – that it's not always one companion with the Doctor, you can bring new people in. But also Belinda is that bit older."

It's that age difference between Belinda and Ruby Sunday (whose actor Millie Gibson was only 18 at the time of filming the first season) that will prove key when comparing the two companions. For Davies, it's a chance to really hold the Doctor to account instead of filming more like a father figure.

"The joy of Millie [Gibson, as Ruby Sunday] was she was a genuine 18-year-old playing an 18-year-old," Davies explains.

"What we didn't quite realize though was that sometimes that can make the Doctor look a bit paternal – just in the writing, because Ncuti plays it with the full joy of youth. What I wanted was someone more the Doctor's age to confront him a bit more, to challenge him, while Ruby is on Earth finding herself and becoming older in herself, to attack him on all fronts. So that’s a subtle shift."

Davies added, "Sometimes we need someone to part the curtains on the wizard and say, 'What you get away with is quite mad.' It’s lovely to bring a voice like that in: the voice of sanity. It's probably the voice of your best mate who sits watching Doctor Who with you."

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Doctor Who season 2 releases on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK and Disney Plus globally on April 12. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Black Mirror season 7 on the cover and is available now. Check out what you need to be looking out for on newsstands below...