{"id":17508,"date":"2022-06-26T10:54:01","date_gmt":"2022-06-26T08:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1668930"},"modified":"2022-06-26T11:16:11","modified_gmt":"2022-06-26T09:16:11","slug":"is-k9-returning-to-doctor-who","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/is-k9-returning-to-doctor-who\/","title":{"rendered":"Is K9 returning to Doctor Who?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Huw Fullerton\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 26 June 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

At the moment, if you\u2019re an iconic Doctor Who<\/a> favourite who\u2019s NOT returning to the show soon, you\u2019re probably in the minority. This autumn Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred<\/a> are set to reprise their roles as Tegan and Ace for Who\u2019s centenary special alongside returning Master Sacha Dhawan, David Tennant and Catherine Tate<\/a> are back for the 60th next year, and even Beep the Meep<\/a> is apparently making a comeback.<\/p>\n

Now, a new clue suggests that the biggest return yet could be in the cards. Could we be in for\u2026drum roll\u2026a new dawn of K9?<\/p>\n

Yes, the Doctor\u2019s legendary \u201ctin dog\u201d could be next in line for a comeback, at least based on new details recently revealed in Doctor Who Magazine. Strap in, because this is a little bit complicated.<\/p>

The latest magazine included a feature on Doctor Who podcast drama Redacted, which included several well-known Doctor Who stars including Jemma Redgrave, Ingrid Oliver, Anjli Mohindra and Jodie Whittaker herself among others reprising their roles from the BBC sci-fi series (and adding to the tally of returning actors).<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, Doctor Who: Redacted creator Juno Dawson hinted to RadioTimes.com<\/strong><\/a> that she\u2019d been asked to hold back some characters planned to be involved in the story, with the implication that the main TV series had plans for them. And now she\u2019s revealed that one of those characters was Catherine Tate\u2019s Donna Noble, who had to be cut due to showrunner Russell T Davies\u2019 plans for the character in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitially, Donna was supposed to be in episode seven,\u201d Dawson explained. \u201cBut we were told \u2018absolutely not\u2019, for obvious reasons now.\u201d<\/p>\n\nBut alongside Donna on the banned list? K9, whose role in the story was replaced with a new alien character called Floater. \u201cI\u2019m so glad we couldn\u2019t use K9 in the end, because I adore Floater!\u201d Dawson said.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s easy to draw a conclusion here that K9 was held back from Redacted for the same reason as Donna \u2013 that the BBC had imminent plans for him. And a comeback for K9 could make a lot of sense anyway.<\/p>\nFor one thing, you could imagine K9 slotting into this autumn\u2019s centenary special, alongside Fielding and Aldred and any other surprise returning companions, paying tribute to the long life of the BBC and Doctor Who in general. In fact, Aldred\u2019s character could be a clue in of itself \u2013 in an online video made during lockdown, Davies suggested that Ace had taken in K9 following the sad death of former owner Sarah-Jane Smith (in tribute to the late great actor who played Sarah-Jane, Elisabeth Sladen).<\/p>\nAlternatively, it could be that K9 is set to make an appearance alongside David Tennant\u2019s returning Doctor, having appeared with him in the revived Doctor Who before. Assuming, of course, that we\u2019re not reading too much into Dawson\u2019s innocent comment.<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--full=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=300%2C200,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?quality=90&resize=300%2C200,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=355%2C237,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?quality=90&resize=355%2C237,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=405%2C270"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?quality=90&resize=405%2C270"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=554%2C369"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?quality=90&resize=554%2C369"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=408%2C272"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?quality=90&resize=408%2C272"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=556%2C370"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C370"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-1623517\" align=\"\" size-full=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--full=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/RT-Juno-Dawson_Jodie-Whittaker_Charlie-Craggs_104-d7cd3a4.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" width=\""800"\" height=\""533"\" alt=\"""\" title=\"""\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"> Doctor Who: Redacted writer Juno Dawson with stars Jodie Whittaker and Charlie Craggs<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nBecause there could be another very good reason that she couldn\u2019t include K9 in Doctor Who: Redacted. Famously, unlike some other monsters and characters the rights to K9 don\u2019t fully belong to the BBC, with the heirs of original creators Bob Baker and Dave Martin (Baker sadly passed away just last year) holding rights to the character separately.<\/p>\nOver the years, this has meant that K9 has occasionally appeared in TV shows separate from Doctor Who \u2013 including a 2010 Australian sci-fi series \u2013 and apparently there\u2019s even an upcoming movie planned. Confusingly, the BBC do own the rights to K9\u2019s original design, just not the character himself \u2013 so Baker also had to make K9 look different for the 2010 TV series.<\/p>\nAll of this is to say that putting K9 in your Doctor Who spin-off could be a bit of a headache, and it might just be that rights issues prevented Dawson from incorporating him into Redacted, rather than any planned storylines. Still, you never know \u2013 K9 has appeared in Doctor Who audio spin-offs before for Big Finish without too much bother, so you do have to wonder what\u2019s different this time.<\/p>\nOverall, we hold out hope \u2013 because it could still happen, no matter how unlikely. And if you ask us, \u2018are we really going to build a flimsy house of cards that K9\u2019s return is imminent, whether this or next autumn, based on a half-quoted comment about a podcast in a magazine interview?\u2019<\/p>\nThe answer has to be\u2026 \u2018Affirmative!\u2019<\/p>\nDoctor Who is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.\u00a0<\/strong>Check out more of our\u00a0<a href=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/sci-fi\/"\">Sci-Fi<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0<a href=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/"\">TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0<a href=\""http:\/\/radiotimes.com\/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article"\" data-auth=\""NotApplicable"\" data-linkindex=\""0"\">subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0<a href=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/podcasts\/"\" data-auth=\""NotApplicable"\" data-linkindex=\""1"\">Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Huw Fullerton Published: Sunday, 26 June 2022 at 12:00 am At the moment, if you\u2019re an iconic Doctor Who favourite who\u2019s NOT returning to the show soon, you\u2019re probably in the minority. This autumn Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred are set to reprise their roles as Tegan and Ace for Who\u2019s centenary special alongside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":17509,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/is-k9-returning-to-doctor-who.jpg",2050,1367,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/is-k9-returning-to-doctor-who-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/is-k9-returning-to-doctor-who-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/is-k9-returning-to-doctor-who-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/is-k9-returning-to-doctor-who-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/is-k9-returning-to-doctor-who-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/is-k9-returning-to-doctor-who-2048x1366.jpg",2048,1366,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Huw Fullerton Published: Sunday, 26 June 2022 at 12:00 am At the moment, if you\u2019re an iconic Doctor Who favourite who\u2019s NOT returning to the show soon, you\u2019re probably in the minority. This autumn Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred are set to reprise their roles as Tegan and Ace for Who\u2019s centenary special alongside…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/17508"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}