‘Doctor Who’ is going to continue its trend of tackling serious issues in its current series, with this week’s episode lampooning the housing crisis in the UK.
The latest instalment of the sci-fi show will see the Time Lord moving in to a cramped old house with a bunch of students, as he and companion Bill are unable to afford anything better.
As reported by the Daily Star, when asked how others manage to avoid living in squalid conditions, Bill laments: “Other people have money.”
Open Image Modal
Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie in 'Doctor Who'
BBC
Mike Bartlett, who wrote the episode, told the official ‘Doctor Who’ magazine: “‘Knock Knock’ is a little bit based on the housing crisis. More and more of us have to live with people we don’t know very well, in shared places.
“When you’re renting, you don’t always have a say over the conditions that you’re living in.”
One scene saw the Time Lord and Bill travelling back in time to Victorian London, which Pearl Mackie’s character remarked was more diverse than she had anticipated.
The Doctor then told her simply: “History’s a whitewash.”
Current showrunner Steven Moffat added at the time: “History is always whitewashed. How do we manage to have a diverse cast despite that?
“The way that we did it was... [to just] say that you will see people of different colours there. In fact, there were. People all didn’t arrive in the twinkle of an eye. It is bending history slightly, but in a progressive and useful way.
“Also, it wouldn’t be a pleasant place for [Bill] in several respects. Taking that on is just respectful of the audience really.”
‘Doctor Who’ continues on Saturday night (6 May), at 7.20pm on BBC One.
'Doctor Who' Celebrity Appearances
Anne Robinson(01 of11)
Open Image Modal
Anne voiced a robot version of herself, the hillarious Anne Droid, in the episode 'Bad Wolf'. The Anne Droid fronts a dystopian version of 'The Weakest Link', who obliterates contestants with a laser, rather than the 21st century Anne's acidic putdowns.The episode also saw Davina McCall playing a Davinadroid, who hosted a futuristic version of 'Big Brother' (we suppose that would be an Emmadroid now...). (credit:BBC)
Peter Kay(02 of11)
Open Image Modal
Beneath those alarming prosthetics sits Peter Kay, who went all out for his appearance in the episode 'Love & Monsters'.The Northern comedian played The Abzorbaloff, who masqueraded as a human being, in an episode in which The Doctor and his companion featured only briefly.We suppose if you'd splashed out on that costume you'd want it to be seen as much as possible... (credit:BBC)
Kylie Minogue(03 of11)
Open Image Modal
Kylie played Astrid Peth, companion to David Tennant's Doctor in the 2007 Christmas special, 'Voyage Of The Damned'.She received a mixed reception for the part, which was created especially for her by producer Russell T Davies, with most of the action taking place on a re-imagined futuristic Titanic.Good boots, too. (credit:WENN)
David Walliams(04 of11)
Open Image Modal
Another British comedian who underwent quite the makeover for his 'Who' role.David played the Gibbis in the episode 'The God Complex', a rodent-like alien who encounters Matt Smith's Doctor when he crash-lands in what appears to be an 80s hotel.And you thought 'The Shining' was weird... (credit:BBC)
Suranne Jones(05 of11)
Open Image Modal
Suranne had the honour of playing a new incarnation of a 'Doctor Who' staple in 2011, when she took on the role of a humanoid version of the TARDIS.In 'The Doctor's Wife', Surrane plays Idris, a human who takes on the personality of the TARDIS, with Michael Sheen also making a voice appearance in the episode. (credit:BBC)
James Corden(06 of11)
Open Image Modal
James played The Doctor's temporary housemate, Craig Owens, in the episode 'The Lodger', which sees The Doctor stranded on Earth, and forced to fit in with everyday humans.He reprised the role in the following series, during which he's married to Sophie (Daisy Haggard), who Matt Smith's Doctor helped him get together with, and they have a baby son. (credit:BBC)
Olivia Colman(07 of11)
Open Image Modal
Olivia's 'Doctor Who' role was a fairly ordinary one... oh, unless you count those terrifying gnashers, that is. (credit:BBC)
Keeley Hawes(08 of11)
Open Image Modal
Like several guest stars before her, Keeley's appearance in the last series of 'Doctor Who' was only meant to be a one-off stint.However, her appearance as the villainous Ms Delphox was so well-received by Whovians that they can look forward to her reprising the role in the latest series. (credit:BBC)
Derek Acorah(09 of11)
Open Image Modal
In a rare moment of self-awareness from Derek Acorah, he appeared in a brief cameo role during the episode 'Army Of Ghosts', joking that he'd no longer be of use once ghosts began to roam the earth.It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance on a TV screen, but we enjoyed it nontheless. (credit:BBC)
Catherine Tate(10 of11)
Open Image Modal
Viewers were so taken with Catherine Tate's portrayal of Donna Noble that she eventually wound up as the Doctor's companion, and went on to become one of the most popular characters of the modern era of 'Doctor Who'. (credit:BBC)
Peter Capaldi(11 of11)
Open Image Modal
Does he look a bit familiar to you?Long before he was cast as the Twelfth Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi made an appearance during David Tennant's time as Time Lord, playing Caecillius in an episode set in ancient Pompeii. (credit:BBC)