CHRISTINA CHONG

Star Trek's latest Noonien-Singh sets course for the charts

- Darren Scott

Playing the chief security officer on board the USS Enterprise, Christina Chong is well-versed in alien interactions now, but her first extraterrestrial encounter was a little closer to home, thanks to a little show called Doctor Who. She's part of an elite club of people who've appeared in both sci-fi institutions. "Obviously now I'm a Trek fan, but before Doctor Who I'd never really been in sci-fi or seen much of it," she admits. "So that was my first introduction to prosthetic aliens and that kind of thing. Doctor Who was great!"

What's La'an's journey this season?

She's still, obviously, got that trauma underneath, but we're not playing it this season. There's a lighter energy about La'an in season two. Episode three is a huge rollercoaster of emotions for her. She goes from her normal reserved, kind of standoffish persona - she's actually very vulnerable underneath, she's just protecting herself. She lost all her family to the Gorn, then she ends up trying to save her timeline, falls in love with Kirk and loses him. So her biggest fear happens again. But she's a fighter and she's determined to overcome her trauma.

Presumably the Gorn are CG, so what's it like acting with them?