Doctor Who boss teases next ep is "step into Black Mirror territory"

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Doctor Who's next ep is "Black Mirror territory"James Pardon - BBC

Doctor Who boss Russell T Davies has said that upcoming episode 'Dot and Bubble' takes the show into "Black Mirror territory".

Premiering next weekend, the episode will see the Time Lord and his companion Ruby Sunday landing in the city of Finetime, where a vicious terror haunts its citizens.

In the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, Davies claimed: "This is probably our clearest step into Black Mirror territory, which I love.

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BBC

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"I'm a huge fan of Charlie Brooker. He's immensely brilliant. But there's a little bit more freedom and Doctor Who madness in 'Dot and Bubble'. There's a sense of fun. And monsters in the middle of it.

"So although it's Black Mirror-like, it's more Doctor Who. It's got the bones and the blood of our favourite show. I hoot a lot when I watch it."

Although Davies didn't go into the finer details, it is possible that the next villain has a technological aspect reminiscent of Black Mirror.

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Eamonn M. McCormack - Getty Images

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The Doctor Who showrunner then revealed that he originally pitched 'Dot and Bubble' during Steven Moffat's time in charge around 15 years ago.

"He was saying, 'Would you come back and write for the programme?' Every year, he'd ask me. How lovely," he recalled. "So I pitched this episode in a restaurant called Hal's on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

"Karen Gillan (who played Amy Pond on Doctor Who) was there. They were in LA to launch their first series, and I remember pitching – I used to call this – 'visible Twitter'. We didn't go very far with the conversation, because the idea was literally too expensive. But you wait 15 years and here we are."

Doctor Who debuts new episodes at midnight on Saturday, airing on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.

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