‘Doctor Who’ is going back to its roots with a TARDIS team of three companions joining Jodie Whittaker’s Time Lord.
New showrunner Chris Chibnall has revealed the decision to have a trio of friends for the Doctor was designed to ensure that "every member of the audience" would have someone they can relate to.
He told Digital Spy: "I love ‘Doctor Who’ as a big, popular, mainstream, accessible show. So I wanted to make sure that every member of the audience felt they had a relatable character, an access point. Hopefully it means that the show can resonate with the broadest possible audience.
"And of course, three companions with the Doctor … we’re really going back to 1963 – that’s the format of the show! You’re not changing the format, that’s how it started, really – which I only realised afterwards."
For the upcoming series, the new Doctor will be joined by awestruck Yaz (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole) – who "challenges the Doctor from time to time" – and Bradley Walsh as Graham.
Tosin explained: "Ryan’s 19, Yaz is 19, and then you’ve got Graham who’s the oldest of the bunch, so we’ve got different generations, different genders."
Tosin added: "We all bring something different to the group, with gender, race, everything. And just the personalities of the three characters are very different.
"They each have a very individual voice, where I think certain people will be able to instantly relate to Bradley Walsh’s character, instantly relate to Tosin’s … and hopefully just love us all!"
Doctor Who returns to its roots with TARDIS team
