Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: , , ,

Doctor Who: RTD Honors Influential EastEnders Character in New Series

Russell T. Davies has a new Doctor Who character coming up who is a nod to an influential EastEnders character. Maybe... same universe?

Published
by
|
Comments

Returning Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies sure loves his homages, deep cuts, and easter eggs. In a days-old Zoom chat with playwright (and current key writer for Coronation Street) Jonathan Harvey, who wrote the hit Beautiful Thing, Davies said, "I've just put a social worker into an episode of 'Doctor Who.' I've called her Ruth Lyons." Ruth Lyons was a character who appeared on EastEnders back in the 1980s. She was a social worker and the first LGBTQ character to appear in the popular soap opera series, played by Judy Liebert. At a time when homophobia was still rife, Davies considers the character a milestone in LGBTQ representation in British television.

Doctor Who: What Does Russell T. Davies' Return Mean for the Show?
Russell T. Davies returns to run "Doctor Who", photo courtesy of BBC

"I can remember 'EastEnders' then referring to a social worker called Ruth Lyons, and Dr Legg just talked all 'she lives with another woman.'" Davies said. "She was only in like two episodes." Davies wanted to reference the character in his own run of Doctor Who, especially since he has said that he was going to go deeper in casting diverse LGBTQ actors and characters in all his projects since he last left Doctor Who. Now he's bringing that policy to the show again.

The Ruth Lyons who appears in Davies' upcoming season of Doctor Who will also be LGBTQ, but probably not the same character from EastEnders, but what if she was? Does this mean the two shows take place in the same universe? If nothing else, it's great for some fun speculation, right?

Doctor Who: Does a New LGBTQ Character Link the Series to Eastenders?
"Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time" still, BBC

This wouldn't be the first "crossover" Doctor Who has had with EastEnders, by the way. While the series was on "hiatus," the BBC shot a Children in Need charity event special, Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time, where multiple Doctors and their companions, including Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Louise Jameson, Caroline John, Bonnie Langford, Nicola Bryant, showed up in Albert Square, the setting of EastEnders, and interacted with various cast members as they try to untangle a plot by the Rani (Kate Mara). "Dimensions in Time" is not considered part of the canon – which is a good thing since it is quite possibly the worst "episode" of Doctor Who ever made. Nobody who watches it can unsee it, and they often desperately wish they could. You can find it on YouTube if you want to subject yourself to it.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!

Adi TantimedhAbout Adi Tantimedh

Adi Tantimedh is a filmmaker, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote radio plays for the BBC Radio, “JLA: Age of Wonder” for DC Comics, “Blackshirt” for Moonstone Books, and “La Muse” for Big Head Press. Most recently, he wrote “Her Nightly Embrace”, “Her Beautiful Monster” and “Her Fugitive Heart”, a trilogy of novels featuring a British-Indian private eye published by Atria Books, a division Simon & Schuster.
twitter
Comments will load 20 seconds after page. Click here to load them now.