Epic adventures across space and time beckon
- Publication: TV Times
- Date: 2025-04-12
- Author:
- Page: 12
- Language: English
VARADA SETHU on the wonders of becoming the Doctor's latest time-travelling companion
Epic adventures across space and time beckon as Doctor Who returns to BBC' this week - and Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor has a brand-new companion in the TARDIS.
After a busy hospital shift, nurse Belinda Chandra (Annika and Andor star Varada Sethu) is desperate for a good night's sleep. But there's no chance of that when giant robots from outer space break into her house, and insist on taking her to their home planet!
Belinda has no idea why she's been targeted or where she's going, but upon her arrival, she meets the Doctor for the first time - and he promises that, one way or another, he's going to get her home.
Here, Varada, 32, tells TV Times why the role is out of this world...
What can you reveal about Belinda, Varada?
She's a nurse on modern-day Earth, and I think my favourite thing about her is that she's just so confident in herself. She's got her own values system, and she isn't afraid to stand up to the Doctor. She's very independent, and super-selfless.
Russell T. Davies [Doctor Who's current showrunner] told me it's one of the first times that the Doctor has come looking for the companion. Somebody has told him her name, and he comes crashing into her world!
You previously appeared in the 2024 episode Boom as a different character, Anglican
soldier Mundy Flynn. When did you find out you'd be returning as Belinda? Boom was a three-week shoot in Cardiff [the show's filming base], and I got along so well with the team; everyone was so supportive and lovely. I was really sad to leave, and I didn't think I would get the opportunity to come back.
I finished filming around March lin 2023], and just got on with my life. I went travelling over the summer and then, when I landed back home, I got a call from my agent saying, 'Do you possibly want to go for a meeting to potentially talk about maybe becoming the new companion?' It was so vaguely-worded!
I went in expecting it to be like an audition, so I was ready to pitch myself. But I realised about five or io minutes in that it was actually a pitch to me. It was truly unbelievable.
Fantastic! How have you found working with Ncuti and Millie Gibson, who returns later in the run as companion Ruby Sunday?
They are both such amazing, talented, beautiful people. Ncuti has such a vibrant energy he brings to the Doctor, and they've both got such presence. As an actor, you want to match that, so you level up your own performance. I had the best time - they're both so much fun.
What was it like walking on to the TARDIS set for the very first time?
The best part about Doctor Who is that a lot of the crew have been on it for multiple seasons, so they're very good at guiding you through why something might be special. But I didn't need any help with the classic, 'Oh. it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside' moment!
It made my heart skip a beat the first time I did that take. And the way that the TARDIS is constructed, it really does feel like you're on a spaceship.
Did you get any input into the look of your character?
Yes! There were a couple of things that they had already designed, like the yellow dress [for Episode 2, Lux, set in 1930s Miami], but I fell in love with that and there was nothing I could say to make it any better.
For every episode, Pam Downe, the costume designer. would have a bunch of things on the rail and we'd have a discussion about the kind of stuff Belinda would wear. I always got the feeling that she's super-practical, so I think she's got a real thing for jumpsuits. It's one outfit and you don't waste a lot of time putting trinkets on.
Can you share teasers about some of the monsters you'll meet this series?
Mr Ring-a-Ding, the cartoon [voiced by Alan Cumming] in Episode 2, was probably my favourite. We had to act with this little 3ft cardboard cutout, but afterwards when we did ADR [automated dialogue replacement, a post-production process in which the actors rerecord lines in a quieter setting], we were able to see the animation, and he is terrifying!
There are a couple of the more classic monsters in there, too. But what I also love is when there are slightly more complicated bad guys who surprise you, ones where there's a twist...
Intriguing! Doctor Who always has stellar guest stars. Was there anyone you were particularly excited about?
I loved meeting and working with Rylan Clark [the presenter appears in the Eurovision-themed sixth episode, The Interstellar Song Contest and he was so funny! We were in the same make-up truck for a week before we filmed together and, by the time I was on set with him. it was just so easy. He's so friendly and welcoming, and he brought this real joy to set.
Finally, did you get any advice from other actors who have portrayed the Doctor's companions?
Yes, Mandip Gill [who played Yasmin 'Yaz' Khan, companion to Jodie Whillaker's Thirteenth Doctor, from 2o18 to 2022] reached out. I feel like both Millie and Mandip said the same thing, which is that it's super-intense but to lean in and have as much fun as possible.
I was like, 'Yes, of course I'm going to have fun!' But having experienced it now, you get so swept up and each environment [in the episodes] is so different, so it is quite hard to be able to absorb Ran. I'm so glad both of them gave me that advice, and I would say the same thing to whoever my successor is.
DOCTOR WHO is previewed on pages 36-37
Captions:
Bad trip: The nurse is abducted by robots
New home from home: Belinda in the TARDIS Helping hand: Belinda joins the Fifteenth Doctor on his quests
Musical journey: Rylan guests in a Eurovision-esque episode
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