Russell T Davies has no time for anti-woke Doctor Who critics

Davies’ comments echo similar ones made by the Doctor’s latest companion, Varada Sethu. “I just think we’re doing the right thing if we’re getting comments like that,” she said in a recent interview. “Woke just means inclusive, progressive, and that you care about people. And as far as I know, the core of Doctor Who is kindness, love and doing the right thing.” Similarly, star Ncuti Gatwa reflected that being part of the first non-white Doctor/companion duo represents “progress, in terms of how we reflect the societies that we live in.” He added, “That’s something incredible that media can do, and that’s what it’s doing. But it’s also exciting to look forward to a day when [having non-white leads] isn’t something huge.”

For his part, the show’s architect told BBC Radio 2 he doesn’t even “know if it’s conscious” to weave diversity into the plot of Who: “That’s life, and I think it’s the only way to write.” (Fair enough, though it’s hard to imagine the obviousness of Belinda’s quote-unquote woke declaration in last week’s premiere that they were on “planet of the incels” was an unconscious choice.) Davies compared writing inclusively to that open door with fresh air and a whole world outside, whereas some people are only experiencing the world through a cracked-open window letting in exhaust fumes with a narrow view. Writing from the narrow window, he said, is much harder. “Why limit yourself? Why breathe in the exhaust fumes? Why be toxic?” He questioned. “Come over here where the life and light and air and sound is.”