Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks star drops hints about ‘challenging’ and ‘interesting’ festive special
Exclusive: Dalek voice artist Nicholas Briggs gives us a brief tease about what we can expect from Jodie Whittaker’s next adventure
While we don’t know much about the upcoming Doctor Who festive special, we have been told its title – Revolution of the Daleks – suggesting a big presence for the Doctor’s deadliest foes.
And now the man behind the pernicious alien pepperpots has dropped a few hints about what we can expect from the next episode, with Nicholas Briggs (who has provided the voice of the Daleks since 2005) suggesting that the episode (which he filmed last year) will have some interesting surprises for viewers at home.
“I'm having to be very cagey,” Briggs told RadioTimes.com, noting that his role in the new special was more extensive than his last Dalek appearance in 2019 special Resolution or the Cybermen and Judoon voices he performed in Doctor Who’s most recent series.
“It's already been filmed and I was on set for it. It certainly wasn't a single Dalek. And there were quite a few interesting challenges, and some interesting location work as well.”
While Briggs wasn’t giving much away, his answers could hint that we’ll be in for some different types of Dalek – with different voices – in the special, as rumoured after fans filmed a Dalek battle being filmed on Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge in 2019.
And he also hinted that the special’s title – which seems to hint at some uprising within Dalek society – may not be all that it seems, reflecting on some unusual story twists within the episode.
“All I can tell you is when the caption came up at the end of the last episode saying it was Revolution of the Daleks that was news to me, because when I read it it just had a code number on it so I didn't know what it was called,” he told us.
“But it is a very apposite title. It fits perfectly – but not in the way that you’d think. I can see why they’ve called it that.”
And Briggs’ work on Revolution of the Daleks isn’t done yet, with the actor expecting to return to perform Additional Dialogue Recording soon.
“I am doing some ADR this week, actually,” he said. “But that's standard for the Daleks. They use as much as they can from the set, but sometimes when they do the editing on Doctor Who, and this has been right since the beginning in 2005, they realise that they want to sort of tweak the story.
“They get actors in to record other lines, over the shoulder. But the Daleks are perfect for it, because you can make them say anything later on.
“If there's anything you need to clarify, the Daleks are renowned for stating the bleeding obvious, aren't they?” he laughed. “You can just have a Dalek come in and say ‘THIS IS NOW HAPPENING.’
“I look forward to seeing what they've got for me in ADR,” he added.
Sadly, fans will have to wait even longer to see what’s in store – but if they really can’t stand the months until their next Dalek fix they could always sample Briggs’ most recent performance as the alien baddies, which is a part of Escape Hunt UK’s new escape room A Dalek Awakens.
“I've done the voice of the Dalek that's in the escape room, is my involvement,” Briggs told RadioTimes.com.
“It's a spaceship that has various problems, and there's a Dalek in it as well, which is one of the biggest problems.
“You have to solve all these rather clever puzzles to make sure there's enough oxygen, and feed the space plankton and things like that, in order to save everyone on the ship and escape without being shot by a Dalek.”
And who knows? If there really is a Dalek revolution on the way, maybe we’ll be hearing a lot more of Briggs’ dulcet tones in the Doctor Who universe.
To coin a phrase, you’ve got to exterminate to accumulate.
Escape Hunt’s Doctor Who: A Dalek Awakens is available to play at various UK sites now
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks comes to BBC One in late 2020/early 2021
