Former Miss Newcastle Varada Sethu battled to become an actress and says that she and Ncuti Gatwa play time-travellers who ‘really are equals’
When Doctor Who fans get their first glimpse of new companion Belinda Chandra in action this month, they’ll find her looking confused and stressed – feelings which Varada Sethu says required no acting skills.
The emotions were caused by the breakneck speed between landing the job and being needed on set just a fortnight later.
“The turnaround was like whiplash,” she says. “I was dropped into filming within two weeks of being told I had it. So a lot of the confusion and stress that she’s going through is the confusion and stress that I was going through.”
The actress, who previously appeared in Disney+’s Star Wars spin-off Andor, was exclusively revealed by the Mirror as the replacement for Millie Gibson, who plays he outgoing Ruby Sunday, in January 2024.
She was chosen for the role because of the “great chemistry” she’d had with Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor during her guest role in the last series, which saw her play the entirely different character of Mundy in the episode Boom.
Showrunner Russell T Davies was blown away with how good she was at dealing with Ncuti’s Doctor. “We really are equals in the way that we interact with each other.,” she tells Radio Times. “Russell wanted someone who can push back and not be in awe of this all-powerful being.”
Varada, 36, says the significance of a TARDIS containing two people of colour – a first for Doctor Who – was not lost on either of them. “Ncuti was like, ‘Look at us. We get to be in the Tardis. We’re going to p*** off so many people.’”
She says her aim is to ignore those making ‘Doctor Woke’ references, and the haters in general. “I just think we’re doing the right thing if we’re getting comments like that. Woke just means inclusive, progressive, and that you care about people. And, as far as I know, the core of Doctor Who is kindness, love and doing the right thing.”
New Doctor Who actress Varada Sethu says her character Belinda is the Doctor’s equal(Image: BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf/James Pardon)
She is already nervous, however, about the reaction from the show’s huge army of fans. “I’m really excited about it because the show has been this intangible, beautiful thing in my head. But the moment it comes out, I’ll have to deal with people’s opinions.”
Born in Kerala, India, Varada’s doctor parents brought their twin daughters to the UK when they were six, and she said there was a big adjustment to be made as they settled into life near Newcastle.
“India was a sun-soaked world of tropical plants and fruit, family, love and warmth, and then we came to the UK. Obviously, I’m very happy that they came here, but there were definitely two versions of myself.”
Varada is the replacment for Millie Gibson, who has left the series – as revealed by the Mirror last january(Image: PA)
Varada says she decided to “tuck away and hide” her Indian side in order to fit in. “I wouldn’t have taken curry in for lunch because there would have been comments. There would have been jokes that I would have to then deal with.” She got the confidence to throw herself into action after winning the Miss Newcastle title in 2010, having entered the beauty pageant to “p*** off” her mother.
Later she started training to be a vet, but soon realised it wasn’t what she wanted and had to tell her parents. “I was really unhappy. And so I said, ‘This doesn’t feel like my calling. My calling is acting.’ The new series starts on BBC1 on April 12.
