Fans rejoiced when it was confirmed that Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor would be picking up his sonic screwdriver and stepping back into the TARDIS for a series of Doctor Who audio dramas. Eccleston’s Doctor was the centrepiece of the 2005 relaunch, though left the show after just one season due to conflicts with the production staff. That speed bump was quickly solved by regenerating him into David Tennant’s Tenth, one of the most popular Doctors of all time. Still, the actor has been missed, particularly as unlike other stars, he hasn’t reprised the role.
Eccleston’s return will be in a three-part adventure called Ravagers, which is set to arrive sometime later this month. And to mark the comeback, he’s given an interview with Doctor Who Magazine in which he provided his opinions on where he’d like the show to go next. For one, he reiterated his call for another Cyberwoman, saying:
“I think it’s high time we had a Cyberwoman, I must say that. I think we really need to address that. The Doctor with a Cyberwoman… that dynamic, feminine element of himself, which he uses so well, his flirtatious nature, his admiration for Gaia and the female would be great with a Cyberwoman. A malign Cyberwoman.”
He also went on to talk about his desire to see the Doctor meeting famous suffragettes, stating:
“I would very much like the Doctor to meet Emily Davison, who threw herself in front of the Epsom Derby winner and was one of the forerunners of the feminist movement and a martyr for it. I think that’d be extraordinary for him to mix with her and Emmeline Pankhurst, and explore that. He is very drawn to the feminine.”
Eccleston praised Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor as well, but said the show should go further when it comes to feminism.
“You know, it’s great that we now have a female Doctor, and I think we should take that further in the way we look at history. Look at it through a female lens. Russell T Davies writes the Doctor as one Doctor; Steven Moffat writes him as another; Rob Shearman writes him, he’s another. Bit of a boys’ club, though. We need to address that. We need some more Cyberwomen, we need female writers. It needs to be addressed, particularly as the Doctor has such a pronounced, for want of a better phrase, feminine side, and such an enthusiastic engagement with the female.”
As fans will know, we’ve already seen a Cyberwoman in the Doctor Who universe. Spinoff show Torchwood‘s first season episode “Cyberwoman” (written by current showrunner Chris Chibnall) revealed that previous Torchwood member Lisa had been partially converted into a Cyberman during an invasion of Earth. The team were trying to reverse the process, but the Cyberman influence took over and it all ended tragically. The concept was good, but the execution wasn’t and the episode is generally considered among the worst outings of any Doctor Who-related series.
I can see Eccleston’s point, though, as the whole Cyberman/Cyberwoman thing is a bit gender normative in this day and age and they could use a rebrand. An inclusive name might be Cyberpeople or, if the BBC really wanted to push the boat out for inclusivity, Cyberfolx. Come on Chibbers, let’s make it happen.
Published: May 11, 2021 08:41 am