RTD Indicates Davros’ Classic Look is Being Retired as it “Associated Disability With Evil”

The 2023 Doctor Who Children in Need special featured a noticeably different Davros. Portrayed again by Julian Bleach, the iconic creator of the Daleks was missing his support unit and facial scarring.

Long-time fans attributed this to the scene taking place before the Daleks’ creator became the version we know. However, it seems that Davros’ latest look will stick when the character inevitably reappears.

In new behind-the-scenes show Doctor Who Unleashed, showrunner Russell T Davies indicated that Davros’ classic look will not return, as it ‘associated disability with evil.’

Davies explained: ‘We had long conversations about bringing Davros back, because he’s a fantastic character. Time and society and culture and taste have moved on, and there’s a problem with the old Davros: he’s a wheelchair user who is evil. I had problems with that. A lot of us on the production team did too, associating disability with evil. Trust me, there’s a very long tradition of this.

‘I’m not blaming people in the past at all, but the world changes. And when the world changes, Doctor Who has to change as well. So we made the choice to bring back Davros without the facial scarring and without the wheelchair – or his support unit, which functions as a wheelchair.

‘I say, this is how we see Davros now. This is what he looks like. This is 2023. This is our lens. This is our eye. Things used to be black and white; they’re not anymore. Davros used to look like that, and now he looks like this. We are absolutely standing by that.’