Doctor Who fans spot strange Torchwood link in Series 12 Episode 1

Warning: Doctor Who Series 12 spoilers ahead! Doctor Who fans have been left questioning everything after the latest episode’s references to its sister show Torchwood. How else would we start 2020 other than with a good old touch of nostalgia? In the action-packed first episode of series 12, The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) was faced with saving the planet once again, with fans being treated to some cracking cameos, including Stephen Fry and Sir Lenny Henry. However, some fans are fixated on a weird link to Torchwood in the form of the creepy villain’s voice, which many have pointed out is incredibly similar to the 456 from the Children Of Earth series.

Sounds like 456 #DoctorWho

— Cazie Bouskill (@CazieW) January 1, 2020

Hmmm, am still thinking the 456 are the aliens #DoctorWho #torchwood pic.twitter.com/tgOHuYc2Jq

— Robin Chapman (@robin101962) January 1, 2020

anyone else getting 456 vibes from that voice?#DoctorWho

— jacob saul (@JakeBamEls) January 1, 2020

Getting 456 vibes #doctorwho

— Zoe Welch (@ZoeWelch1) January 1, 2020

For those who don’t know, the 456 was an alien race that used human children as a kind of drug hit, attaching themselves to them over a life support unit. Creepy stuff. While the ambassador of the species was seemingly killed off in the series, the rest of them simply retreated from Earth, meaning they could theoretically return. It would definitely be a pretty niche reference but certainly not beyond Who writers. And the references didn’t end there, with Stephen’s character C actually mentioning the team of alien hunters headed up by Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman).

‘MI6 has never countenanced the possibility of extraterrestrial life,’ he said. ‘The country has other organisations that deal with all that, Unit, even Torchwood.’ ‘They’re all gone, C you took your eye off the horizon,’ the Doctor replied. Consider us intrigued.

Meanwhile, the end of the episode left fans in shock when it was revealed that new character O (Sacha Dhawan) wasn’t actually just an acquaintance of the Doctor’s, but her old enemy The Master. Previously played by the likes of Derek Jacobi and John Simm before a gender-swapped version in the form of Michelle Gomez appeared on screen, The Master is one of the most iconic villains in the series – so this is big for Who fans.

And, of course, we were left on a cliffhanger with our faves facing certain death. We’ve missed this! Doctor Who returns Sunday at 7pm on BBC One.

Spoiler alert for Doctor Who series 12 episode 1

The breathtaking opening episode of Doctor Who series 12 saw The Doctor ( Jodie Whittaker ) delivered a chilling new mystery.

Spyfall Part 1 saw the Thirteenth Doctor and companions Graham ( Bradley Walsh ), Ryan (Tosin Cole), and Yaz (Mandip Gill) thrown into a globetrotting adventure with shock deaths, deadly alien threats and the mother of all twists: The Doctor’s old ally O is actually her fellow Time Lord and arch-nemesis The Master (Sacha Dhawan).

The cliffhanger to the episode saw it revealed that the villain was working with some mysterious aliens and sent The Doctor to an alternate dimension and trap her friends in a plane falling through the sky.

Before zapping The Doctor away, Dhawan’s Master delivers an ominous warning: “One last thing, something you should know in the second before you die.

“Everything you think you know is a lie.”

Natural fans will be wracking their brains to figure out what the threat means.

While the statement could be intended to cause doubt in The Doctor amongst her companions, it could also relate to her own personal history, or the past of hers and The Master’s alien race, the Time Lords, or their home planet of Gallifrey.

Either way, this seems to be a clear set-up for an ongoing mystery that Whovians will be dying to see solved.

Showrunner Chris Chibnall has already hinted at a series arc for the twelfth run, suggesting it will continue to pose a question asked in Jodie Whittaker’s second episode, The Ghost Monument.

The 2018 instalment saw monsters known as The Remnants tell The Doctor: “We see deeper though, further back.

“The Timeless Child… we see what’s hidden, even from yourself. The outcast, abandoned and unknown…”

When questioned about this by the Radio Times , Chibnall said: “I don’t know… OK, I do know.

“You know, these are always good questions to be asking.”

Either way, we are sure the new Master has a nefarious part to play.

Dhawan takes on the role of The Master following the deaths of previous iterations played by Michelle Gomez and John Simm during Peter Capaldi’s final episodes.

So, what are the lies in the Doctor’s past and what is the Timeless Child?

Doctor Who continues on Sunday at 7pm on BBC One.

Jodie Whittaker’s return delivers big blow for BBC after iconic foe’s comeback.

DOCTOR WHO star Jodie Whittaker made her long-awaited return to the screen last night as she took on the role of the iconic Time Lord for a second season. However, after a 12 month hiatus, it seems the BBC suffered a bit of a knock as a result of the sci-fi series making a comeback.

WARNING: This article contains huge spoilers for Doctor Who season 12, Episode One.

Doctor Who (played by Jodie Whittaker) hadn’t been seen on screens since New Year’s Day 2019, when the Gallifreyan battled a lone and sinister Dalek. Although the Time Lord saved the world, it wasn’t until last night the dual-hearted alien returned for a new season on the BBC and came face-to-face with her arch nemesis, who she believed to be dead. The action-packed scenes took viewers across the world and to far-reaching extraterrestrial planets, however, it didn’t seem to pack a punch with the show’s huge fan base. In fact, actress Jodie’s, 37, second outing as the iconic sci-fi character didn’t draw in as many viewers as her debut back in 2018.

The former Broadchurch star took on the role of the Time Lord from Peter Capaldi, 61, at the end of the show’s Christmas Special in 2017.

Jodie became the first woman to portray the Gallifreyan in the sci-fi series’ 67 year history, making her debut episode one to remember.

Joined by a new trio of companions, the Doctor faced a brand new foe and the premiere of season 11 drew in an impressive 8.2 million viewers.

Alas, having been off air for 12 months, it might have been thought the season 12 opener could have replicated the same success but in reality, the BBC viewing figures suffered a loss.

Only 4.9 million tuned in to watch Jodie return as The Doctor in the first of a two parter which also saw The Master (Sacha Dhawan) rise from the dead.

These ratings are from overnight figures, with more fans likely to watch the episode on the BBC’s iPlayer catch up service.

The most watched drama on television for New Year’s Day was ITV soap Emmerdale, with five million tuning in to watch the latest goings on in the village.

With the Time Lord blasted to an unknown world in the closing moments of the premiere of season 12 and her companions plunging to their death, will more viewers tune in on Sunday to find out what happened?

Despite viewing figures taking a knock, fans of the sci-fi series quickly took to Twitter to discuss the reveal of The Master being alive and even more powerful than ever.

One wrote: “”I am still shocked at that twist. I didn’t honestly expect it. Fantastic stuff! Hook me up to Sunday now please.”

Another added: “I am so SHOOK after #DoctorWho WHAT AN EPISODE! WHAT A SHOCK! WHAT A REVEAL!!!”

Whilst a third wrote: “That was SUCH a great Master reveal. I just wasn’t expecting him to return yet!”

The last time the Time Lord’s longtime nemesis was seen was just before Capaldi’s incarnation of The Doctor regenerated.

In the concluding chapter of season 10, The Master (then John Simm) came face-to-face with a future version of themselves.

He joined forces with Missy (Michelle Gomez) to take over the world with yet another army of sinister Cybermen.

Although they seemed to be in cahoots, the female incarnation of found herself pledging allegiance to her fellow Gallifreyan and ended up killing her predecessor, though he later murdered her.

Speaking of actor Sacha, 35, taking on the iconic role, Jodie told press, including Express.co.uk of trying to keep the secret: “We were sat waiting and obviously the sprinting [line comes] and then the reveal.

“And as the facade starts to disintegrate… and then the Master appears with his brilliant line and a brilliant use of a pause.

“I heard you go and that was just… that’s why it’s so ace to watch it for the first time with an audience,” she said of watching the season opener with a live crowd.

“But yeah, it’s massive and I suppose the questions will keep coming!” she remarked, so what has The Master got planned up his sleeve?

Doctor Who continues Sunday at 7pm on BBC One.

Doctor Who recap: series 38, episode one – Spyfall

What tremendous crowd-pleasing fun! Spyfall is easily more spectacular and more assured than Jodie Whittaker’s last run-out. Going full Bond suits her.

‘Remember the first rule of espionage – trust nobody.’

And we’re off again! Doctor Who can and should lend itself to every possible type of drama, from horror to space travel to romantic comedy and everything in between. So there’s absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t do the same with the spy genre. In fact, it’s a fine choice for a New Year spectacular. But … it’s a genre I’ve never really got along with. I’m not a James Bond fan, I’m a Doctor Who fan and I know I’m not the only person who feels this way. That said, showrunner Chris Chibnall has tremendous crowdpleasing fun here with the genre’s tropes, and Spyfall is far more spectacular and more assured than anything from the new team’s first run-out.

To recap: intelligence people from around the world are being assassinated for inexplicable reasons. So the fabled champion of the unknown, known to security services as The Doctor, is kidnapped along with her friends by the Men in Black via an exhilarating car chase. A charming cameo ensues in which Stephen Fry portrays Stephen Fry portraying “C”, the head of MI6, who recruits them to investigate the spate of killings, equips them with a Bond geek’s dream cache of gadgets, and is promptly assassinated himself. The Doctor and “fam” go international tag team. Yaz and Ryan are drawn into the murky inner workings of VOR, the world’s largest search engine, and plenty more malevolent activities besides.

Chibnall is hardly subtle in his portrayal of big tech – “Look! This is what you should really be scared of!” he tub-thumps. But there is no denying that dream casting Lenny Henry is marvellous, emanating just the right balance of evil and charming as the company’s founder, Daniel Barton, who turns out to be just 93% human and in league with an alien race of evil nuns made from white light, hellbent on rewriting human DNA. The usual Zuckerberk stuff.

The Doctor and Graham take refuge with “O”, former MI6 expert, now in self-imposed tea-drinking exile in Australia and a man who could help crack the alien conspiracy. O is a lovely, self-conscious chap who idolises the Doctor. Until …

‘Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.’

And the twist! O is no Romford misfit but the Doctor’s evil frenemy the Master, reborn as a hot camp psychopath. My heart will always belong to Michelle Gomez as the Master, but Sacha Dhawan’s Hot Camp Master looks like he will be terrific fun. It remains to be seen whether Chibnall can or will address how he got back from the end of Missy’s journey. But his introduction did feel fairly rushed. Remember how brilliantly put together the reveal of Professor Yana was, as Derek Jacobi regenerated into John Simm? Or the intricate dance to reveal Missy’s true identity? Here, they barely had time to jump on to the speeding aircraft before the Doctor called him out for lying that he couldn’t run and the “mwahahahas” commenced. Still, there’s clearly more to come, as long as they can all get off that exploding aircraft (spoiler, they probably will).

Life aboard the Tardis:

The catchup with the fam was fun and a handy refresher as they explained their recent absences to their nearest and dearest. But it did rather dampen the central conceit that they have a time machine so the companions can return to the point they left as if they never went away. Graham seems to be getting through processing his grief for Grace, while Yaz and Ryan are growing closer. Right now it seems like a sibling dynamic, but romance isn’t off the cards – especially after Yaz’s refusal to give her amorous sister Ryan’s number. Remember what happened last time there was hanky panky in the time vortex?

Fear factor:

Mysteries and questions:

As effervescent as Jodie Whittaker always is, the Doctor almost felt like a bit player in her own adventure here. But there are clearly bigger, darker things coming for Thirteen. “Something’s coming for me,” she warns ominously in the series trailer. And it’s clearly something to do with Hot Camp Master’s warning: “Everything you think you know is wrong…” Yikes.

Deeper into the vortex:

• It’s nice to see the cold opens return. They felt missing last series and really give episodes an extra bit of welly.

• “My name’s Doctor. The Doctor.”

• If there were any awkwardness about Lenny Henry’s recent comments about diversity in the show, you certainly couldn’t tell at the series premiere. He spent most of the Q&A gushing about getting to appear.

• How are we feeling about the demise of Christmas episodes in favour of New Year specials?

Next time!

Will Team Tardis make it off the plane? (Yes.)