{"id":51244,"date":"2024-05-11T21:00:09","date_gmt":"2024-05-11T19:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2032424"},"modified":"2024-05-11T22:14:58","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T20:14:58","slug":"doctor-who-70s-legend-returns-for-cameo-and-breaks-down-gruesome-fate","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/doctor-who-70s-legend-returns-for-cameo-and-breaks-down-gruesome-fate\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who \u201970s legend returns for cameo \u2013 and breaks down \u201cgruesome\u201d fate"},"content":{"rendered":"

June Hudson makes an incredible return to Doctor Who in The Devil’s Chord. <\/p>

By Patrick Mulkern\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 11 May 2024 at 19:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

*Warning: Spoilers for Doctor Who season 14 episode 2, The Devil\u2019s Chord, ahead.*<\/strong><\/p>\n

A frisson of recognition rocked around Doctor Who<\/a> fandom when June Hudson popped up in the trailer for the new season \u2013 screaming at some unseen horror.<\/p>\n

In episode two, The Devil\u2019s Chord<\/a>, she plays a lonely old woman menaced by the new villain Maestro<\/a> (Jinkx Monsoon<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Hudson was already Doctor Who royalty for her time as a BBC costume designer<\/a>. In the 1970s and \u201980s, she created clothes for Tom Baker\u2019s<\/a> Doctor as well as his companions, Time Lady Romana (played by Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward) and air-hostess Tegan (Janet Fielding).<\/p>\n

In 2003, she designed a brand-new costume for Baker commissioned by Radio Times<\/strong>. \u201cTom still emails me,\u201d she says fondly.<\/p>\n

\"Tom\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Tom Baker and June Hudson at a Radio Times photoshoot in 2003.<\/span><\/figcaption> Andy Earl \u00a9 Radio Times Archive<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

But in recent decades, Hudson, aged 91, has taken on acting roles, in BBC sitcom This Country, Ricky Gervais\u2019s Derek, Class<\/a>, and the 2024 comedy film Wicked Little Letters. Now she\u2019s fulfilling her ambition<\/a> to act in Doctor Who.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d gone for various auditions on Doctor Who,\u201d she tells RadioTimes.com<\/a>, \u201cincluding the awful mother on the train in the Egyptian one [Mummy on the Orient Express<\/a>], but I couldn\u2019t make that because I was lecturing in California\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"June\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
June Hudson with director Ben Chessell and co-star Jinkx Monsoon on the set of The Devil\u2019s Chord<\/span><\/figcaption> June Hudson<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Hudson reveals she was offered this latest part without an audition, but her agent nearly turned it down because there was no dialogue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe casting director Andy Pryor replied, \u2018Well, dialogue isn\u2019t appropriate in this case because it\u2019s about a lonely old woman living on her own. It\u2019s a good part and requires a lot of acting. It\u2019s not a walk-on,’\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

\"June\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
June Hudson with costume designer Pam Downe in her workroom with Maestro\u2019s gowns<\/span><\/figcaption> June Hudson<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

She filmed her scene in Cardiff in April 2023. \u201cI can never walk into a studio without feeling high. It was a very big studio with lots of little sets, and mine was my living room where I had a piano.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy character is transfixed by this strange music, raises the piano lid and this frightful monster leaps out. Jinkx Monsoon looking absolutely fabulous as Maestro!<\/p>\n

\"June\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
June Hudson at TV Centre in 1987<\/span><\/figcaption> Patrick Mulkern<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cI get murdered, of course,\u201d says Hudson, with delight. \u201cA very gruesome demise. I\u2019m torn to pieces, though you don\u2019t see it on screen. In fact, the role itself required a lot of screaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

She enjoyed meeting her modern counterpart, costume designer Pam Downe. \u201cI had the honour of being personally fitted by Pam. She took the time to show me her workroom and all the costumes for Jinkx. Wow, what exquisite clothes! I was lost in admiration.<\/p>

\u201cIt was a very happy day,\u201d says Hudson. \u201cI even had my own trailer, and was introduced to the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, and Millie Gibson<\/a> [Ruby]. Both so lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last October, she was invited to a sound studio in London to rerecord her wailing in sync with the edited sequence: \u201cThey wanted much, much louder screams! It was overwhelming, really, to be trusted on the show as an actor. I thought, \u2018I do not want to regret not giving my all\u2019 \u2013 to Doctor Who above all.\u201d<\/p>\n