‘Doctor Who’: Ncuti Gatwa & Varada Sethu on Belinda’s Motivation & Season 2 Adventures (VIDEO)
Time’s a-ticking in the sophomore season of Disney+’s Doctor Who, the beloved time-traveling sci-fi series starring Ncuti Gatwa as the heroic Fifteenth Doctor. While Season 1 companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson, who is set to return to her role later this year) gets to know her mum back on Earth, a new human comrade — eventually — joins the Time Lord in the TARDIS.
First, however, the newcomer, steadfast nurse Belinda Chandra (a returning Varada Sethu), is abducted and taken to a war-torn alien planet with menacing robot overlords. The Doctor is there to save her, of course, but Belinda is anything but starry-eyed over meeting the two-hearted alien, and she won’t make things so easy in this installment with classic Who vibes. “[Belinda] has no interest in traveling through time and space,” Sethu tells TV Insider. “Her motivation is to go home.”
But for some reason, getting Belinda home is a lot easier said than done. Will the Doctor be able to get her back to her time? Gatwa later quips: “Destiny is a big theme this season.”
In the meantime, Belinda will warm up to the Doctor. “What’s so beautiful about the evolution of [Belinda and the Doctor’s] relationship is that they become like team members and they’re very equal,” Sethu notes. Sounds about right for the Doctor and the nurse.
And as they work to get Belinda home, they’ll have a grand adventure or two, as seen in photos released from the upcoming eight episodes, dropping weekly on the streamer. That includes meeting Mr. Ring-a-Ding, an animated singalong character from Sunny Town, voiced by guest star Alan Cumming (The Traitors), who appears in the second episode.
Check out the full video interview above for more with Gatwa and Sethu on Belinda’s arrival, the return of Ruby, working (sort of!) with Cumming, and more on the upcoming Who episodes.
Doctor Who, Season 2 Premiere, Saturday, April 12, 3a/2c, Disney+
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