Doctor Who star says Revolution of the Daleks is a ‘lovely gift’ to Whovians this Christmas time
Exclusive: Nicholas Briggs, who voices the Daleks in the series, thinks fans have plenty to look forward to in the sci-fi series – as well as his new turn in an animated spin-off
The future of Doctor Who on TV is still a slight mystery to fans, with rumours abounding of delays or structure changes for Jodie Whittaker’s next series as the BBC gears up for filming in the next few weeks.
Still, before all that Whovians can look forward to festive special Revolution of the Daleks, which was by chance filmed before the UK-wide lockdown shut down TV production – and according to one of the episode’s stars, it’ll be the perfect balm for fans waiting for season 13.
“It was a whole lot of work and I have finished it all,” Nicholas Briggs, who has voiced the Daleks since 2005 and stars in the special this winter, told RadioTimes.com.
“I think it was great that they got ahead and did this festive special - and it's turned out to be extremely fortuitous actually, a lot more than they had probably intended.
“So I think it will be a great gift to Doctor Who fans and a lovely, lovely bit of Doctor Who at Christmastime, or round about whenever it's going to be.”
Briggs, who previously described his time filming the special as full of “interesting challenges” went on to make clear that by Christmastime he meant the entire holiday, with the episode’s specific airdate still yet to be announced by the BBC but expected to air either on New Year’s Day (following in the footsteps of previous episodes and specials) or earlier around Christmas Day.
And after that, season 13 beckons – though Briggs remained cagey about any details, dodging questions about whether Chris Chibnall and the team had already been in touch about getting him to perform more monster voices in the new episodes.
“It's all coming and there's people sorting it all out,” he said. “Again, I'm not particularly involved in it, so I don't really know what they're planning for a new series of Doctor Who, but it's definitely going to happen.
“I'm not privy to any decisions about anything like that. It’s just me speculating as your average Dalek. But I'm sure that ways and means will be found to make Doctor Who.”
And fans who really can’t wait will still get some new Doctor Who action are in luck, with Briggs soon to star in a new online-only spin-off called Daleks! which follows some of the Doctor’s greatest foes in five short animated adventures.
“The dream job for me was to become the voice of the Daleks all those years ago back in 2004, and this is just takes it to another level really,” he told us.
“It's full on dark action with great characters – and you maybe wouldn't expect that from Daleks because you tend to think of them as a bit monotone.
“It's a really compelling drama and lots of fun and something very spectacular for all the family to look at. It’s great for adult fans as well as for children of all ages.”
In other words we’re in for a total Dalek smorgasbord in the coming months, and we can’t wait. Egg whisks at the ready…
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks comes to BBC One in late 2020/early 2021, and Daleks! comes to the Doctor Who YouTube channel in November.
Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide.
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
