Russell T Davies has explained why the cast of Doctor Who started singing and dancing at the end of The Devil’s Chord, the second episode of Series 14 — and further says that the scene was cut in post-production.

The conclusion of the story saw the Doctor wink at the audience and then he, his companion Ruby Sunday, and more start an impromptu routine. Some loved it; some hated it. Either way, there was a scene to explain why that happened, but it was edited out in the cut.

Davies said:

“There’s one scene we deliberately cut at the end of The Devil’s Chord, actually, because they run onto the rooftop and there was a scene where the Doctor said, ‘Oh, time’s gonna go crazy now, music is flooding back in, and everything’s gonna be strange for 10 minutes’ to kind of explain why they burst into song.

“Why explain why you burst into song? Just burst into song! So I think that scene possibly would’ve made a lot of people happy. I’m really glad we took it out! It’s only 20 seconds of dialogue, it was nothing. I can’t think of anything else that we cut.”

As much as I like Russell, the quote, “that scene possibly would’ve made a lot of people happy. I’m really glad we took it out” really sticks in the throat. Why would not making people happy make you feel good? Why purposefully wind people up? Especially fans who have stuck with the show through thick and thin? It really is a curious thing to say. He might be joking, but still.

Personally, I don’t mind a good sing-song and a jig. Whether we got an explanation about the ending or not wouldn’t have made a huge difference to me — I thought The Devil’s Chord was awful anyway, so no ending would’ve redeemed it. Fortunately, I largely liked the rest of the season, with Boom, 73 Yards, and Dot and Bubble being high points for me.

If you’re looking for musical Doctor Who, might we suggest The Rings of Akhaten, Doctor Who and the Pirates, or the Doctor Who Proms?