Sharon D Clarke thinks Doctor Who missed a trick killing off Grace
Clarke starred as Grace O'Brien in the 11th season of Doctor Who.
Sharon D Clarke has admitted that Doctor Who "missed a trick" by killing off her season 11 character Grace O'Brien.
In an interview with Radio Times magazine, Clarke said that she couldn't believe her character was brought to an end.
She continued: "I was like, 'People, you’ve missed a trick here!' To have those different generations of women in the TARDIS was glorious. A Black woman, a white woman and a brown woman.
"The flack that Jodie [Whittaker] took for being the first female Doctor was ridiculous. Someone said little boys no longer had a role model! What the hell!
"And now Ncuti Gatwa is a funky, funny, charming, cheeky, sexy Black Doctor. We’re on the frontier of time, right here, right now, and we should always be pushing those boundaries."
While she appeared in various episodes of season 11, Clarke also reprised her role as Grace in the season 12 episode Can You Hear Me?, as well as in the 2021 festive special Revolution of the Daleks.
Of course, Clarke is majorly known for her role as Lola Griffin in Holby City, and the actress is set to grace our screens once again in upcoming Channel 5 detective drama Ellis.
The new three-part series sees Ellis take the lead as the titular detective who is placed into towns to help fledgling investigations – but isn't always met with open arms.
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Clarke will be joined in the series by Outlander's Andrew Gower as her right-hand man, DS Harper, with the pair being joined by a cast of guest stars in each episode as we dive into a new place and new case.
The synopsis for episode 1 reads: "When 18-year-old Rowan Edwards is found dead, DCI Ellis is called on by ACC Alison Leighton to take over the investigation.
"Rowan’s girlfriend Maggie has not been seen since Rowan’s death, and they need results fast.
"Rowan’s mother, an ex-MP, has doubts about the capabilities of the local force, but the current senior investigative officer is sure he has the murderer in his sights, and is less than impressed to have been shunted off the case.
"He assigns DS Chet Harper [Gower] to keep an eye on Ellis, not trusting her at all. Ellis starts to dig under the surface of the town, and soon sees that in Hanmore, parents know nothing about the lives of their children."
But that's not all – Clarke is also currently on our screens in BBC One's Mr Loverman, and is also taking to the stage once again in the National Theatre production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.
During a recent interview on The One Show, Clarke spoke of her co-star and the Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa, saying: "He is gorgeousness personified.
"He's just a beautiful man, he's very generous, he's very funny, he's beautiful inside, he's beautiful outside."
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Ellis premieres on Channel 5 at 8pm on Thursday 31st October 2024.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
