Doctor Who: Iconic Character Returns in Children In Need Special
The Fourteenth Doctor arrives with a bang! And there’s a surprise appearance from a familiar face…
With the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials just around the corner, all eyes were on the BBC’s annual Children In Need TV fundraiser when it was announced we’d be getting a special scene featuring the first proper look at David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor, alongside comedian Mawaan Rizwan.
Written by showrunner Russell T Davies, the scene promised the Doctor will uncover “an age old mystery involving one of his oldest foes”, and – as Rizwan’s uniform suggested in the preview photo – it was the Daleks.
Except, as we quickly discovered, they weren’t called the Daleks yet! Watch the clip below:
There was one particular detail in the five-minute scene which made Whovians lose their minds, as an iconic character returned:
Julian Bleach Is Back As Davros!
Bleach played Davros, creator of the Daleks, back in both 2008 and 2015, and he returned in humanoid form to witness his underling Mr Castavillan (Rizwan) introduce his prototype for the Dalek race:
The Fourteenth Doctor Arrived – And He’s Only Just Regenerated
When The Doctor crash-landed on the scene, accidentally damaging the as-yet-unnamed Dalek prototype as he does so, some of his first words reveal just how recent this scene occurs after the end of The Power of The Doctor: “60 minutes ago, I was this really brilliant woman”.
The Doctor Had a Hand in Creating – And Naming – The Daleks
To make up for damaging the prototype’s “multi-dextrous claw”, The Doctor gives Castavillain a plunger to use, creating the Dalek’s iconic arm stick:
And, after Castavillain struggled to think of a suitable anagram of Kaled to name his new prototype (“Lekad, Adlek, Klaed…”) The Doctor accidentally named them himself after recognising they were Daleks:
There Was A Distinctly RTD Style To The Scene
Many fans saw this as a welcome return to the mad stylings of showrunner Russell T Davies:
David Tennant Is Back In Style
There was widespread praise for Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor, and a feeling that he still possesses his special brand of Doctor Who magic:
Go Behind The Scenes of The Children In Need Special With Doctor Who Unleashed
There’s also going to be a fifteen-minute long episode of Doctor Who Unleashed, which will see presenter Steffan Powell go behind the scenes with David Tennant and Mawaan Rizwan, broadcast on Children In Need and available shortly afterwards on BBC iPlayer.
Donate to Children In Need
For all details of how to donate, visit the Children In Need website.
Doctor Who returns to BBC One on Saturday 25th November at 6.30pm for the first of its three 60th Anniversary Specials, with episodes streaming afterwards on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ in the rest of the world
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Laura is a freelance writer and social media pro specialising in entertainment, food and drink and charities. She also writes novels, sometimes badly. She's a huge…