'You don't see Doctor Who like this': The Story and the Engine star celebrates groundbreaking new episode

It's a big moment for the show, especially considering the episode is written by lauded Nigerian playwright Inua Ellams.

Following criticism last season, showrunner Russell T Davies previously promised a more diverse writing team for season 15 - and The Story and the Engine is set to show just why that's crucial.

Bakare, who's known for roles in Good Omens and His Dark Materials, and who's also an ambassador for WaterAid, is taking on the role of the mysterious Barber - and he tells RadioTimes.com exactly what it means to see Lagos brought to life in Doctor Who.

"It's exciting to watch something so new and fresh," Bakare explains.

"And these are the stories that are unusual. We don't see Doctor Who like this. I've not seen one that's done in such a way - with so much culture in it, and yet, the culture is not so far away, which we're always scared of. Actually, it's so near to us - they're just bedtime stories."

He adds: "I was so excited to see that [Inua Ellams] made that jump into TV and film, and when I read the story, I thought, 'Wow, he's so steeped in his culture.'

"You feel so much of him jumping off the page - a Nigerian immigrant, who's come over here, you feel he's lost his way [but also] you feel he's found his way through the stories for his writing.

"You feel that he kind of feels freer and more explorative in his writing, and being able to explore his Nigerian-ness and Nigerian culture, and being able to see it through fables, and you just see the richness of his knowledge of Africanness - African culture, African eccentricity."

Doctor Who may often be criticised for being "too woke", but Bakare points out the incredible value in seeing a better world represented on screen.

"It's all about regeneration. It's all about the future. We're in a world in this present moment where we're walking forward and we've done such great things, but we're being told to look backwards to things that really are not our world.

"We don't know what the future is, and Doctor Who, it gives you an idea of what the future can be. And I think we should keep up with that. We should keep up with the diversity, we should keep up with pushing boundaries.

"I think that's what I liked about Doctor Who when I was younger - it was the future. This is what the future could be. So why not create a future where there is a sense of belonging, where there is a sense of anticipation and joy that the future is going to be a harmonious one?

"Or even if it is disharmonious, good’s always going to overcome evil - and that should be whatever colour, race, creed, sexuality, gender. It shouldn't be a problem. It should be something that we should always be looking at."

Ellams himself has described the episode as a "companion piece" to last season's Dot and Bubble in the understated way in which he wanted to treat the script.

"I highly recommend people should watch it," he tells RadioTimes.com. "It was gorgeous, beautifully written, so emotional, so emotive in a very understated kind of way, and that understatement is what guided my hand in writing this."

Ellams adds: "I just want to see more stories like that, that are deeply nuanced and personable and rich, but don't get in the way of the Doctor’s primary objectives, which is to save the day, regardless of who's in front of him."

The Doctor's destination in The Story and the Engine is particularly poignant for Bakare because he recently travelled to Lagos as a WaterAid ambassador.

Explaining why the cause means so much to him, he said: "One of the first trips we went on was to Nigeria, Lagos, and I visited schools there, and also visited a maternity hospital.

"I was just shocked at how there's such a big infrastructure there, but the lack of access to clean water was so far removed to what we know - it was a very moving and touching experience.

"WaterAid does such an amazing job there, so it was something I was really proud to be part of."

To support WaterAid, visit wateraid.org.

Doctor Who continues next Saturday (10th May), with new episodes available from 8am on Saturdays on BBC iPlayer in the UK and later the same day on BBC One. The series is available on Disney+ outside of the UK.

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