"It's like a living text, Doctor Who – you can't deny the fact that it's 62 years old now."
Doctor Who is returning with all-new threats for the Time Lord and friends to face – but series boss Russell T Davies has promised "little nods, little references" to the show's past.
Last year's episodes featured repeated mentions of the Doctor's granddaughter Susan (played by Carole Ann Ford as a series regular from 1963-64), much to the delight of fans.
Asked if we could expect similar nods in the latest season, Davies confirmed that we'll get "little moments" acknowledging Doctor Who's rich history.
"I love those references," he told RadioTimes.com. "It's like a living text, Doctor Who – you can't deny the fact that it's 62 years old now."
Despite his affection for the series's past, Davies explained that he remains keen to introduce new monsters and villains rather than rely on an established rogues' gallery.
"I'm shifting it away from Daleks and Cybermen and the Master... partly because I came in off the back of a story [2022's The Power of the Doctor] that had literally the Daleks and the Cybermen and the Master all in one episode fighting Jodie Whittaker – which was brilliant, but once that's happened, it's just common sense to take a different step...
"But little moments, little nods, little references... if anyone can say, 'Oh, you look like a Drahvin!' then I'm happy! I love that stuff – sometimes the writers put that into scripts and we enjoy it, but they're just nods and Easter eggs. That's the flavour of transmission today, I think."
In the upcoming season of Doctor Who, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and new companion Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) will confront a variety of formidable adversaries across time and space, including Mr Ring-a-Ding – a cartoon character voiced by Alan Cumming, who escapes into the real world – while a mysterious force also seeks to prevent Belinda's return to Earth.
Doctor Who will air from Saturday 12th April at 6:50pm on BBC One, with new episodes available from 8am on Saturdays on BBC iPlayer in the UK. The series will be available on Disney+ outside of the UK.
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Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
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