'She's a classic enemy'

After her surprise EastEnders comeback, Anita Dobson returns to Doctor Who as the Rani in the most jaw-dropping finale yet

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Anita Dobson is getting good at keeping secrets. After pulling off a surprise comeback in EastEnders for the soap's 40th anniversary, the 76-year-old actress faced another major challenge: keeping her Doctor Who character's true identity under wraps.

“It was hard,” she says. “You start to say a sentence and think, ‘No, I can’t go down that road.’ It was so exciting, though.”

In the current season, Anita plays kind and unassuming Mrs Flood. But underneath that warm exterior lies the Rani, a ruthless, renegade Time Lady. “She's a classic enemy of the Doctor,” says series creator Russell T Davies. “Whenever you introduce any woman into any role on Doctor Who, half the internet conjects that she’s the Rani. Sometimes, you just have to go with it.”

For long-time fans, the Rani’s return is a major moment. Originally introduced in 1985 and played by the late Kate O'Mara, the character was a sharp-witted and glamorous neurochemist who preferred science over ethics. “She’s more interesting than simply being all evil because she was a scientist that was always more amoral than immoral,” Russell adds.