Doctor Who spin-off revealed to have major climate change element as star Russell Tovey confirms new plot details
Russell Tovey gave some insight into the highly-anticipated spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea.
Russell Tovey, star of The War Between the Land and the Sea, has teased what we can expect from the Doctor Who spin-off – including a major plot element.
The upcoming spin-off will follow Tovey's character Barclay, a man who gets drawn into attempting to stop a conflict between humans and legendary Doctor Who monsters, the Sea Devils.
Speaking to Rylan Clark at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Tovey gave some insight into the show, saying: "It's set in our world. Climate change is a huge factor, again it needs to be factored more into art so we really get an understanding of it."
Tovey added of his character: "It's this narrative of this guy who, basically, as Jane [Tranter, executive producer] said in the introduction, he's someone who works in the offices and books people's taxis, but by some series of events, he ends up becoming a very important figure in the world, and having to understand that role and what that entails.
"And, in true Doctor Who [fashion, he's] saving the planet. It was just a total joy to play this everyman who's the sort of a guy that's drifted into his late 30s, early 40s and, unbeknownst to him, just thought, 'This is what life was going to be.'
"I love that, hopefully, it's inspiring and people feel like it's not over, that things can shift any moment. I'm really proud of it, and I'm terrified of it and excited by it – all of those things. But working on it was brilliant, and the scripts were fab."
The War Between the Land and the Sea will see Tovey star alongside Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who's playing a Sea Devil named Salt, with Doctor Who stars including Jemma Redgrave (Kate Stewart), Alexander Devrient (Colonel Ibrahim), and Ruth Madeley (Shirley Bingham) reprising their roles from the main series.
Showrunner Davies recently said of the five-part series: “I’m immensely proud of it. I think it’s absolutely brilliant. It’s like we had a good idea.”
He added on the Pilot TV podcast: “Sometimes you finish a show and they’re like, ‘Great, good, we did a really good job.’
"Sometimes they go through post-production where everything comes in. You work on the effects, on the music and the grading of it.
"Sometimes magic happens — and it’s happening with this. It’s even better than we thought it was! I’m delighted with it.”
The War Between the Land and the Sea will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
