The Doctor is headed for Lagos, Nigeria.
Doctor Who writer Inua Ellams has revealed that he sees The Story and the Engine, his forthcoming writing debut in the sci-fi drama, as a “companion piece” to fan-favourite episode Dot and Bubble.
The Nigerian-born poet, playwright, curator and writer, best known for his National Theatre production Barber Shop Chronicles, told RadioTimes.com that Dot and Bubble is one of his “favourite in the previous series” and guided him when writing his upcoming episode.
“I highly recommend people should watch it,” he added. “It was gorgeous, beautifully written, so emotional, so emotive in a very understated kind of way, and that understatement is what guided my hand in writing this.”
In Dot and Bubble, the Doctor is a victim of racism, while in The Story and the Engine, the “colour of his skin is part of how he interacts with people”.
Ellams added: “I just want to see more stories like that, that are deeply nuanced and personable and rich, but don’t get in the way of the Doctor’s primary objectives, which is to save the day, regardless of who’s in front of him.”
The writer also pointed out that, despite the show tackling conversations around racism, the Doctor’s race shouldn’t be a significant thing, saying: “Moving forward, I’d just like to see more interesting stories where the Doctor’s looks aren’t really key to the story.
“Really, we just find him in precarious situations where he has to use the tools available to him to engage with the adventure or the problem before him, you know?
“And here, his colour of his skin is part of how he interacts with the people, but it’s the most reductive part. It doesn’t really matter.”
The episode marks a first for the series, with the TARDIS landing in Lagos, Nigeria – a move Ellams calls a “hug, an olive branch, to the fans that exist in that part of the world”.
Ellams reflected on his childhood, saying: “I thought about who I was when I was a kid as I fell in love with Doctor Who, what it meant to me then, what it means to me now, and trying to write a story that unites all those things.
“The moral of the story is to give credit where it’s due,” he revealed. “I was trying to give credit to the nuance and the racial diversity within Nigeria itself.”
The same nuances can be said of Dot and Bubble, which is as much about race as it is tech dependency, online echo chambers and social media woes.
Dot and Bubble also famously had an incredibly powerful ending with a stunning performance from Gatwa – and Ellams has suggested that The Story and the Engine could have a similarly powerful impact, teasing: “There’s something that echoes beyond the last frame of my episode, which I could not have seen when I wrote it.”
