Chris Chibnall has said that the new Doctor Who cast and crew are looking to change the public perception of the show – eradicating any barriers that might stop a new viewer from tuning in to the long-running series.
Speaking to Digital Spy, the new showrunner said:
“I think it was really important for us to feel, as with any new Doctor coming in and particularly with Jodie [Whittaker] coming in, that it’s really for everyone. It’s for the whole country, it’s for the whole nation… get on your sofas on a Sunday night!”
Echoing his desire to draw new viewers in, relatively new fan of the show Jodie Whittaker said:
“For me, as a new Whovian, because it’s a show with such rich history, you do feel like you might not understand it if you don’t know all the tropes, or you haven’t seen every episode.
“That’s absolutely not the case, and I think as well as making the show for such a wonderful set of fans that span the entire world, it’s also [intended] to potentially be someone’s first series as well.”
New companion Mandip Gill, who be playing Yasmin Khan in the new series, said that she felt intimidated by the show’s long history and only jumped on board during the audition process.
She said:
“I only started watching Doctor Who when I got the meeting [for the part], but prior to that, I wouldn’t have thought that I could join in, just because it seemed so ‘technical’ – whereas this series, you really don’t need to do know anything.
“Everything’s explained, they’re 10 standalone episodes, you can join in, it’s about the sci-fi, it’s about the monsters, it’s about the relationships, and Chris has written it in a way that it’s so truthful. We’re doing, like, sci-fi naturalism.”
Throwing in his two cents, Bradley Walsh, who will be playing new companion Graham O’Brien, said that the brand-new filmic look of the show should draw in newbies.
He added:
“It’ll almost be difficult to do it justice in people’s front rooms, because it’s shot like we’re making films – it’s like we’ve made 10 one-hour feature films.
“We had directors fly in from the States to do it, guys that are directing Gotham and stuff like that – big, big shows. Now they’ve come together at the BBC and we’re making this behemoth that is Doctor Who!”
Doctor Who returns on Sunday 7th October with The Woman Who Fell to Earth at 6:45 pm on BBC One.
