From Rona Munro writing a lesbian subtext into her script for the <\/span>Seventh Doctor<\/span><\/a> serial<\/span> Survival<\/span><\/a> in 1989 to the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz\u2019s dynamic, gender and sexuality have never been static in the<\/span> TARDIS<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Russell T Davies brought queer themes and characters when his tenure as showrunner began with the \u2018New Who\u2019 revival in 2005. While queerness has remained a part of the programme during the reigns of his successors Steven Moffat and Chris Chibnall, the return of Davies for the 60th anniversary brought high expectations for the placement of queer and trans characters at the fore.<\/span><\/p>\n The Star Beast<\/span><\/a>, the first of the 60th anniversary specials \u2013 aired before this weekend\u2019s<\/span> Wild Blue Yonder<\/span><\/a> \u2013\u00a0meets those expectations with aplomb. During the opening sequence, Donna Noble played by Catherine Tate catches us up on her life, including the introduction of \u201cthe most beautiful daughter in the world\u201d. The smiling face of<\/span> Yasmin Finney as Rose Noble<\/span><\/a> appears in close-up, the first openly trans character in the televised series.<\/span><\/p>\n The groundwork for her appearance was laid by writer<\/span> Juno Dawson<\/span><\/a> and director Ella Watts on official audio series<\/span> Doctor Who: Redacted<\/span><\/a>, which starred the first trans woman as a trans character in Who history, Charlie Craggs as Cleo Proctor. And, as we all know, the Doctor is capable of changing sex, having returned to being played by David Tennant from Jodie Whittaker. This becomes the central question of The Star Beast: how does the Doctor\u2019s gender presentation impact his (her? their?) character and behaviour?<\/span><\/p>\n When the Fourteenth Doctor introduces himself to Donna\u2019s husband, Shaun Temple, his psychic paper reads \u201cGrand Mistress of the Knowledge\u201d rather than \u201cGrand Master\u201d. \u201cOh, catch up!\u201d he exclaims, hitting the paper on the wing mirror. It is an acknowledgement of how the Doctor\u2019s gender is no longer presumed to be fixed, but instead something wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey itself.<\/span><\/p>\n The same shift was navigated by the Doctor\u2019s enemy, the Master, as portrayed by<\/span> Sacha Dhawan<\/span><\/a> opposite the Thirteenth Doctor, after taking the form of \u2018Missy\u2019 in his previous regeneration.<\/span><\/p> The dialogue Davies inserts into The Star Beast could be considered clunky and heavy-handed, but one could argue it reflects real-life conversations around pronouns or names when someone begins their transition. When The Doctor is talking about the Meep<\/a>, Rose says, \u201cYou\u2019re assuming \u2018He\u2019 as a pronoun?\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s an amusing interruption, grounded in the absurdity of attempting to gender creatures from other planets as is so brilliantly explored in such science-fiction as the works of Ursula K Le Guin.<\/p>\n The Doctor is ready to learn and accept his mistake, proceeding to ask the Meep for their chosen pronoun. \u201cMy chosen pronoun is the definite article. I am always \u2018The Meep\u2019.\u201d \u201cOh, I do that,\u201d the Doctor replies. It\u2019s not preachy but playful, a fun attempt to show the ease of using people\u2019s preferred pronouns.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/11\/451352-2-a6bd5c7.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"451352,Doctor")
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