Doctor Who sees the Doctor and Belinda confront racist attitudes in powerful scenes

He and Belinda stepped inside the TARDIS wardrobe and got all dressed up, only to find the immediate area surrounding the local picture-house deserted.

Though the Doctor at first laments that there's "no-one to see" his and Belinda's sartorial efforts, a quick glimpse at his hand reminds him that, in 1952, it "might be wise" for them to keep a low profile.

The pair investigate the mystery of the picture-house, which has its doors locked with chains "like they are locking up a wild beast", and seek answers at the local diner.

There, the mother of a boy who went missing from the cinema is willing to speak to our duo – but first asks diner worker Logan (Lewis Cornay) if he'll "bend the rules" and allow the conversation. "I got no problem," Logan replies. "This time of night… who’s looking?"

Belinda is baffled by this exchange, until the Doctor explains that in 1952 Miami, "the diner’s segregated – no Blacks, which includes you. We’re breaking the law just by being in here".

The pair face further prejudice once their investigation takes them inside the cinema – another segregated space – as a police officer (albeit one who doesn't really exist, conjured up by the power of Lux Imperator) tells them: "You’re inside a space reserved for white folk – now I don’t know how things are done in the Caribbean, but they’re different here."

Belinda is appalled by both instances of racism – and by the Doctor's suggestion that she put her outrage aside and "save it for later".

"I have toppled worlds," he tells her. "Sometimes, I wait for people to topple their world."

With a grin, he adds: "Until then, I live in it and I shine."

Doctor Who previously explored discrimination in last year's episode Dot and Bubble, which ended with Lindy Pepper-Bean (Callie Cooke) and her bigoted allies opt to face almost certain death rather than accept help from the Doctor.

However, Lux marks the first time that the show has interrogated the prejudiced attitudes that exist on Earth, specifically as it relates to the Fifteenth Doctor's appearance.

As the Doctor and Belinda, Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu are the show's first non-white lead duo in 62 years.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com at the launch of the new season, both Gatwa and Sethu addressed their casting and its importance in the context of Doctor Who's past.

"It means... I guess progress, in terms of how we reflect the societies that we live in," Gatwa said.

"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."

Sethu echoed her co-star's comments, saying: "[When] it's not something that we have to talk about – and every single thing that we do that gets us a step closer to that day I think is amazing."

Russell T Davies – Doctor Who showrunner and writer of Lux – has also suggested that inclusive portrayals on-screen are not something the production team consciously thinks about – it's simply reflecting the world we all live in.

"It's just like breathing – that's just life," he said. "It's like opening your front door and there is the world. There's nothing special or unique about that, although there is something important about that, to open that door and show the world, and then you see yourself on television...

"You feel visible, you feel seen. And that's a better day. That's a wonderful thing to do."

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Doctor Who continues next Saturday (26th April) at 7:20pm 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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