Doctor Who's Millie Gibson confirms "special" dance sequence with Strictly stars
Shirley Ballas and Johannes Radebe both make cameo appearances in The Devil's Chord.
The new season of Doctor Who will feature a Strictly Come Dancing crossover, with series leads Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson revealing new details of a "special" musical sequence.
Late last year, Strictly judge Shirley Ballas let slip that she and professional dancer Johannes Radebe would appear in an upcoming episode, with fans getting a first glimpse at a dance sequence from The Devil's Chord in recent trailers.
Speaking at the London launch of the new season, Gibson – who plays Doctor Who companion Ruby Sunday – described the 1960s-set instalment as "an incredible episode".
Speaking about the dance sequence, which sees the Doctor (Gatwa) and Ruby perform alongside Shirley and Johannes, Gibson added: "It was just, like, the craziest thing – and it was crazy to film it, but equally as special. That day we were dancing with them, we had a ball – we had so much fun."
Gibson joked that performing a musical number "wasn't included in the audition process", with her co-star Gatwa explaining that the pair worked intensely with choreographer Jack Murphy to nail the sequence.
"We had an amazing choreographer named Jack Murphy that whipped us into shape with such kindness and such acting intention – he made the choreography accessible to us through an acting standpoint, so that was really cool," said Gatwa.
"We've had a lot of help to help us look like we can sing and dance, that's what I'll say about that!"
Read more:
- Doctor Who boss teases epic finale: "You will be screaming"
- Ncuti Gatwa on his Doctor Who future: "I’ll be around for a while"
Details of exactly how the musical number comes to be are under wraps until the episode is released on 11th May.
A synopsis for The Devil's Chord reads: "The Doctor and Ruby meet the Beatles, but discover that the all-powerful Maestro is changing history. London becomes a battleground with the future of humanity at stake."
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has confirmed that Maestro, played by Jinkx Monsoon, is part of a "pantheon of gods" and is not connected – as some fans had speculated – to iconic Doctor Who foe, the Master.
"I did think when I named them Maestro that there was a chance that that might overlap," Davies told RadioTimes.com. "It causes speculation, which is fun, but the Master is kind of parked for the moment.
"There’s been a lot of the Master recently, so it’s time to start again and have a fresh start to the show."
Doctor Who will return on Saturday 11th May on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Previous seasons are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
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.
