Doctor Who's Russell T Davies addresses important change to classic villain

Doctor Who spoilers follow.

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has addressed the important change made to classic villain Davros in the show's Children In Need special.

As part of the fundraising effort for the charity last night (November 17), Doctor Who aired a minisode featuring David Tennant's return as the titular Time Lord – and the return of one of his most iconic villains, Davros.

A "brilliant scientist" from Skaro, Davros first appeared in 1975's Genesis of the Daleks – aptly named, as he is the creator of the xenophobic mutants.

When Davros has previously appeared in the Whoniverse, he has been heavily scarred and mutated – but that's not the case here, and Davies has explained why in the first episode of behind-the-scenes spinoff, Doctor Who Unleashed.

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"We had long conversations about bringing Davros back because he's a fantastic character," Davies began, but added that "time, society, culture and taste has moved on, and there's a problem with Davros of old, in that he's a wheelchair user, who is evil."

Continuing, Davies said: "I had problems with that, and a lot of people on the production team had problems with that; associating disability with evil – and trust me, there's a very long tradition of this.

"The world changes, and when the world changes, Doctor Who has to change as well."

The showrunner, who last worked on Who in 2010, also pointed out that, given the special was for charity Children In Need, it was "vital" to have a "2023 lens" for the minisode.

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"I say: 'This is how we see Davros now'," he explained.

"Because it's Children In Need night... where issues of disability and otherness come right to the front of the conversation."

The minisode saw Tennant's returning Doctor accidentally crash the Genesis of the Daleks storyline. It also starred Julian Bleach as Davros and comedian Mawaan Rizwan as a scientist named Mr Castavillian.

Doctor Who returns for three 60th anniversary specials, beginning with 'The Star Beast' on November 25. The show airs on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere.

Classic episodes of Doctor Who are now made available via BBC iPlayer in the UK as well.

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