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Doctor Who Dir. Alex Sanjiv Pillai on What "Wish World" Has to Offer

Doctor Who Director Alex Sanjiv Pillai discusses the return of The Rani, directing two of them, what "Wish World" has to offer, and more.

Published Fri, 23 May 2025 07:37:07 -0500

by Adi Tantimedh

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Article Summary

Director Alex Sanjiv Pillai discusses helming the first part of the epic two-part Doctor Who season two finale.
The Rani returns to Doctor Who, with Archie Panjabi and Anita Dobson both taking on the role.
Pillai reveals details about bold set designs and an updated, punk-inspired Rani costume.
Keeping the Rani's comeback secret was crucial for fans and the integrity of Doctor Who's story.

Director Alex Sanjiv Pillai is a new name to Doctor Who, but he directed last year's Christmas special, "Joy to the World," and has directed season two's two-part finale. Like the other directors of season two, his style is grand and dynamically cinematic, and he gets to bring back two Ranis (Anita Dobson and Archie Punjabi). The BBC released an interview in which he talks about the season finale – here are some of the highlights:

What's it like to come back and direct the two-part finale of season two of Doctor Who?

Russell T Davies asked me to come back while I was filming the Christmas episode (Joy to the World – 2024). I was overjoyed to be able to stay with the Doctor Who family. I finished the editing of the Christmas special, had a couple of weeks off, and then I was straight back into it. It really felt like I had never left.

What can you tease us about the sets and the costumes that we'll be seeing in this episode?

At the heart of it is the Rani, who is played by the incredible, Emmy award-winning Archie Panjabi. Her costume was a subject of many meetings with our incredible costume designer, Pam Downe. The idea was to make something that made her look powerful. One of the executive producers was talking about the original eighties look of the Rani and suggested giving it a bit of a punky spin. This developed into the spiky leather look for Archie, and it fitted her like a glove. She swaggers about in the costume like a woman in charge of the entire universe, which is, of course, what she is.

We give her one of the largest sets I've worked on. The unusual thing about the set is that it has a ceiling. Phil Simms, our production designer, created a huge dome above, very much like you're walking onto a James Bond set. At one point, we had four cameras on the set, one on a crane, as there was room for it, and that's important because the action in there is huge. We're talking about universe-spanning cosmos-defining action between the Doctor and the Rani, and we really had to show the scale.

This episode will go down in history with the re-introduction of the Rani. What was it like keeping this secret?

It's easy to keep secrets on Doctor Who because we know how much it means. I don't want to let anyone down on the creative side or on the fan side by giving away story points. I've been a Doctor Who fan all of my life, and I'm very privileged to be part of that team, and it's therefore very easy to know the importance of the story material. I was thrilled to know that the Rani was coming back. I was more thrilled when Archie came on board. I've known her for a number of years, and I've worked with her before. And wow, she embodies the part.

Doctor Who is streaming on Disney+ outside the UK.

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