When we last saw the Doctor, the TARDIS had cast Jodie Whittaker out the door and promptly threw a fiery temper tantrum as it apparently dematerialised. So, it is no surprise that actors Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole, who play two of the Doctor’s new companions Yasmin and Ryan, have described those first few moments of series 11 as “chaotic”.
Speaking to Digital Spy, the pair have elaborated on the growing relationship between the Doctor and companions.
Tosin Cole said:
“It starts off as a bit of chaos. It’s all over the place… and then we just kind of gel. There’s more of an understanding of each other and [a sense of] knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
It very much sounds like a relationship of equals but that doesn’t mean that they don’t question the Doctor’s authority.
Mandip Gill said:
“We all see the Doctor in a different light. I think that’s what’s very interesting. We don’t all believe what she says is gospel. My character does, but not everyone. You have people questioning her.
“It feels like a family by the end of it. For my character, there’s times where she wants to go home and make sure everything’s okay. But I feel like by the end of it, while she knows it’s always an option to go home, this is kind of her new family.”
So this seasons arc might just be one of family; of each person assigning themselves a role, challenging that role and eventually working together to become more than the sum of their very different, but no less important parts.
Doctor Who returns this autumn on BBC One.