There are big reveals coming'

The Time Lord is back, as Ncuti Gatwa joins returning actress Varada Sethu for a new season of adventures across the Whoniverse

- LAURA CARRENO-MULLER

Whovians, brace yourselves! Doctor Who is taking an unexpected turn. As Ncuti Gatwa reprises his role as the 15th Doctor, he warns fans that his Time Lord is no longer the bright-eyed hero they once knew.

"You can see a change in The Doctor in one of the episodes. We already explored it during the Christmas special," Ncuti says. "He's been around for hundreds of years and has picked up some anger. But the big bad this season? That's just as exciting."

A lot has changed since Ncuti, 32, first stepped into the TARDIS. The biggest shift? The Doctor has a new companion. Varada Sethu, who made her Whoniverse debut last year as Mundy Flynn in Boom, returns as Belinda Chandra - Mundy's ancestor.

For Varada, 32, the return is a dream come true. "I was devastated to leave because I'd had such a beautiful time," she says, adding that she feared the Hollywood strikes would harm her career. "I thought I wasn't going to work again."

However, showrunner Russell T Davies had other ideas. "I watched Boom about 50 times," Russell, 61, says. "I thought it was a shame to say goodbye to such a good actor. We'd auditioned a lot of Belindas before and it wasn't clicking."