A Doctor Who writer has opened up about the show’s upcoming Easter special and its queer romance.
Over the last few months, LGBTQ+ fans have been eagerly awaiting more queer Doctor Who content after the show’s incredible New Year’s special.
During the episode, Yaz (Mandip Gill) finally opened up about her feelings for the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), which resulted in a slightly awkward interaction between the two characters.
With the Easter special set to premiere on 17 April, series co-writer Ella Road opened up to Radio Times about the duo’s upcoming romantic storyline.
“I mean, I guess once those conversations had been opened up, they need to be continued. I think that we were all keen to make sure that we were handling all of that stuff delicately,” she said.
“Basically, there were conversations that needed to be had based on what was happening in the episode before. And so we continued to have them. But, yeah, that’s all I can say.”
Later in the interview, Road revealed that incorporating an alien and pirate adventure alongside the show’s “human relationship conversations” was a challenge.
“For me whatever the project is, I need to believe in what it’s saying at the heart of it. I believe that escapism is desperately important, particularly in the times that we’re living in,” she said.
“I want to work in the space of thrills and spectacle and escapism. But I also can’t lose sight of the fact that the reason I started writing was because I had stuff to say – and I still have stuff to say.”
Road’s comments come a week after Gil shared her thoughts on the beloved Thasmin ship.
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In a separate interview with Radio Times, Gill revealed that the two characters would address their feelings in the forthcoming episode.
“That’s where I think the heart [of the special] is, the understanding, the emotion that [showrunner Chris Chibnall] is so good at writing,” she continued.
“So I won’t tell you which way it goes, but we obviously have to touch upon that again – it wouldn’t make sense not to.”
Gill also said that she wasn’t surprised by the positive fan reaction towards a potential Yaz and Doctor romance.
“It was massive. But you know what, I’d seen a lot of stuff on social media. So I’d seen people’s reaction to that,” she explained.
“I’d seen people building that up way before it was on screen and whatnot. So it kind of… it came naturally. It wasn’t this thing that had been discovered on screen, and then all of a sudden, the fans saw it. It was part and parcel.”
She went on to say that, over time, she saw the numerous Yaz/Doctor fan art and fan-fiction ahead of the popular queer moment in the New Year special.
“I’d seen fan art of that happening, I’d seen people talking about it, I’d seen people had rewritten like storylines and all that stuff,” she explained. “So we’re like, ‘Ok, you asked for it. And here it is.'”
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