Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies hits back at 'woke' claims

Doctor Who screenwriter Russell T Davies has hit out at critics who claim he has made the show “woke”.

Davies, who is also behind the hit series It’s a Sin, spoke to BBC Radio 2 about the “online warriors” who have suggested that Davies’ casting of Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa as the Time Lord in 2023 has contributed to making the show woke.

With Varada Sethu playing the Doctor’s companion, Belinda Chandra, it marks the first time the roles have been played by two actors of colour. Gatwa told the Radio Times it demonstrates “progress, in terms of how we reflect the societies that we live in”.

“Someone always brings up matters of diversity,” Davies explained to Radio 2 programme Doctor Who: 20 Secrets from 20 Years. “And there are online warriors accusing us of diversity and wokeness and involving messages and issues.

“And I have no time for this. I don’t have a second to bear [it]. Because what you might call diversity, I just call an open door.”

Asked whether he consciously realised he was writing diverse themes into the show, Davies responded: “I don’t even know if it’s conscious. That’s life, and I think it’s the only way to write.”

“Why limit yourself? Why breathe in the exhaust fumes? Why be toxic?” he added. “Come over here where the life and light and air and sound is.”

Actor Sethu spoke to Radio Times about similar themes.

“I just think we’re doing the right thing if we’re getting comments like that,” she said. “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.”

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