Doctor Who has a third epic villain incoming, Russell T Davies confirms
The Unholy Trinity is in need of another member.
The return of the Rani would have been more than enough to set up an epic Doctor Who finale – but showrunner Russell T Davies has teased that one more villain is on their way to haunt us.
The latest instalment, The Interstellar Song Contest, saw Archie Panjabi introduced as the newest incarnation of the classic Doctor Who villain known as the Rani, after she and Anita Dobson's Mrs Flood bi-generated.
After that jaw-dropping reveal, Doctor Who's social media channels shared an image of the "Unholy Trinity", consisting of Mrs Flood, the Rani, and returning villain Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King) – or so we thought!
Showrunner Russell T Davies has confirmed that the Rani only counts as one part of the Unholy Trinity, meaning there's another villain still set to join the ranks.
Teasing the new episode, Wish World, on Instagram, he said: "Enemies old and new unite as the Doctor faces the Unholy Trinity."
He added: "This is only two thirds of the Trinity, the two Ranis count as one, cos I say so 😑 The third is lying in wait, exactly 160 years away 🤔 So stand by! This is the big one! First of a two-part finale!"
The showrunner went on: "The Pantheon is stirring. Old friends are helpless. And the whole of reality is in danger as we hurtle towards May 24, in the Ranis’ most terrifying experiment yet.
"Pity the fate of poor Frau Zufall! And remember, a message is calling across time and space… 'Tables don’t do that.'"
But who could it be? Could we expect another classic villain to return, after the likes of the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) and Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf) last season and now the Rani? Or someone completely new?
New images of Wish World have also been unveiled, marking a return for Susan Triad (Susan Twist) and Bonnie Langford (Mel Bush), as well as another meta moment, with Conrad reading a book titled "Doctor Who".
It remains to be seen how Mel is going to react to the return of her enemy, the Rani, with the pair last coming face-to-face in the 1987 story Time and the Rani.
Either way, the Interstellar Song Contest marked a big moment for Doctor Who fans, with the identity of Mrs Flood finally being revealed.
Speaking on Doctor Who: Unleashed, showrunner Russell T Davies said: "Finally we found out who Mrs Flood is. I think ever since Mrs Flood appeared people have been saying she’s the Rani, and sometimes you just want to deliver what people expect.
"I mean, yes, she’s a Time Lady. Yes, she is the Rani. And yes, she’s bi-generated, and now she’s Mrs Flood, and Archie Panjabi as the Rani, which is so exciting.
"It was kind of the plan almost from the beginning. I always thought she was the Rani. Which actually is a very old Doctor Who villain who’s never been brought back since the show came back in 2005. She’s kind of been waiting in the wings, and the time has come."
Doctor Who continues on Saturday 24th 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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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.
