RTD & Moffat on that Surprise Doctor Who Appearance in “Boom”

Warning: the following contains spoilers for Series 14, episode 3.

Doctor Who fans got an unexpected first glimpse of Varada Sethu in the latest episode “Boom”, playing a character called Mundy Flynn.

For those who might have missed the previous announcement, Sethu was announced as the new companion. She was expected to first appear next year in Series 15, so something interesting is going on. That, or it is yet another case of Doctor Who reusing actors for different roles!

The Hollywood Reporter quizzed Moffat and likened the situation to how Jenna Coleman first debuted in the show. He responded: “Yeah. Well, no, we’re just doing it again. (laughs) I mean, I was talking to Russell [T Davies, showrunner] about what we’re going to do, but she’s there! We’re just going to do Clara again. So it’s fun, isn’t it? It wakes you up. You think, “Ah, there she is!”

Asked who came up with the character’s name, Moffat said: “And I think I’m going to say nothing about that. (laughs) I’m going to say nothing about what’s going on there. You’re not going to get nothing. It’s Russell’s plan and he will release the details of how that works in his own time, I’m certain.”

Grilled further, Moffat said: “You’re just going to have to wait and see. That would be a waste of time. There is a plan. That’s all I’m telling. (laughs)”

On Doctor Who companion show Unleashed, Russell T Davies was equally evasive: “She’s coming in, into Season 2. But quite how that happens, what happens, why it happens is very much knitted into the story of the Doctor and the story of Ruby Sunday. So come back and find out.”