There's only a few more days to go until Doctor Who returns to our screens for the Easter special, Legend of the Sea Devils, where the thirteenth doctor will once again come face to face with an old enemy. The second in a trio of specials leading up to Jodie Whittaker's departure will air on Sunday, April 17.
The swashbuckling and sword fighting adventure will welcome some new faces including Crystal Yu join the cast as Madam Ching, Marlow Chan-Reeves as Ying Ki, Craige Els as Chief Sea Devil and Arthur Lee as Ji-Hun. John Bishop and Mandip Gill will, of course, be returning as The Doctor's trusty companions.
But the new episode also means the penultimate appearance from Jodie as the Doctor and the cast have revealed there is a "change in dynamic" in this latest instalment, as time starts to run out for the Doctor ahead of the regeneration later this year.
"We definitely get a sense that something is coming because there always is something coming when the Doctor is around!" Mandip Gill, who plays Yaz, explains in an interview with the BBC ahead of the release: "Things have not been resolved by the end of the episode and I think that can be said for the relationship between Yaz and the Doctor but also the Doctor’s history and future."
Comedian John Bishop, who plays fellow Doctor Who companion Dan, added: "You know there’s something big about to happen. You can see the change in the Doctor and change in the dynamic and you just know there’s something big around the corner."
At the end of the New Year's Day special Eve of the Daleks, viewers saw Dan tell Yaz and the Doctor that he knew they had feelings for each other. "I think it was probably a surprise to both the Doctor and Yaz that it was so obvious to him that there was feelings between them," Bishop explained: "And I think as a character he is probably not the most obvious persons to be the matchmaker... But because the bond between them is so clear".
But fans are eager to see what happens next and Mandip Gill explained: "The relationship between the Doctor and Yaz has definitely developed further. There’s not an awful lot I can say about it but there's a lot of bravery, there's a lot of emotion and a lot of understanding, and openness. Conversations are not concluded in this episode, but they still definitely have advanced from where they were at the New Year’s episode. There’s a lot of open and honest conversations."
Speaking about her impending departure from the hit sci-fi series, Jodie explained: "It’s interesting because time wise, it’s such a long time off (before they air). They are great standalone individuals stories, that obviously marry all of my seasons together, build on relationships and things like that. But they are also these individual set pieces that can be dipped into and watched without the context of the rest of the show, which I think is really important."
There's plenty of high action moments in this latest episode and Jodie explained how she got on with stunts and action scenes: "There was a scene where I needed to slide down the ship but the thing was the ship didn't have a side on it, it was really high! The team’s issue was the fact that there was no other side so if I did topple over the other side it would have probably been quite a dramatic day at work, but I was absolutely adamant (to do it).
"When I did it was actually really controlled but I didn’t know if it looked as good as I really thought it was going to but I was really proud of it With sword fighting I was really nervous as I had not done it since drama school and then when we ended up rehearsing it, it was just like choreographing a dance and as soon as it was like that I could do it and I really enjoyed it."
Jodie Whittaker’s final feature-length special will transmit in Autumn 2022 as part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations. Doctor Who 'Legend of the Sea Devils' will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday April 17 at 7.10pm.
