The actor says he was “misquoted” in a 2017 controversy.
Peter Davison has clarified comments that he made in 2017 regarding Doctor Who‘s first female Doctor, which caused some controversy among the fanbase at the time.
The actor claims that he was “misquoted” in the reports that emerged, which suggested he had expressed doubts about the milestone casting of Jodie Whittaker, citing a possible “loss of a role model for boys”.
In a new interview with The Telegraph, promoting his current role in a stage production of Kiss Me, Kate, he expanded on what he meant by the remark.
“My point was that the Doctor is a Don Quixote-type figure who rides into situations and the character who always puts him right is his female companion,” he told the publication.
“And if you reverse that, you’ve got the difficult dynamic of a man telling a woman what she can and cannot do. But I do also think the Doctor is a good role model because he is a hero who isn’t beating the s**t out of everyone.”
Doctor Who is currently in the midst of a major reinvention under returning showrunner Russell T Davies, whose second stint on the show is a co-production between the BBC and Disney Plus – with a larger budget to show for it.
However, the show has faced backlash from some corners of the internet over its inclusion of LGBTQ+ themes, while Ncuti Gatwa has been the target of abuse for being the first Black actor to regularly play the lead role.
On this topic, Davison said that Doctor Who has always been “liberal and progressive”, and added that the execution of its messages is important.
“[Doctor Who] would have a go at corporations, at the arms race, whatever,” he said. “But the point was: it never announced that that was what it was doing, As soon as you do that, it changes the optics.”
Doctor Who season 14 is rapidly approaching its end, with next week’s Rogue (co-written by Loki‘s Kate Herron) being the last episode before the two-part finale kicks off with The Legend of Ruby Sunday.
Doctor Who continues Saturdays on BBC One and iPlayer.
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