This week’s promo photos have included a look at Jinkx Monsoon’s new villain, while the Doctor and Ruby head to the swinging sixties
It’s been quite the week for Doctor Who promo photos from the BBC/Bad Wolf team! Not only a new sneaky peak at David Tennant’s 60th Anniversary Time Lord, but some simply gorgeous photos of guest star Jinkx Monsoon, and of our stars Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson.
In line what seems to be the current, and very successful, media policy from the Doctor Who team, the photos provide blissful teases of what to expect next year, while spoiling absolutely nothing at all. They do reveal, however, that Monsoon’s still unnamed character is a villain. More than that – “the most powerful enemy” the Doctor has ever faced apparently! While the musical motif of her witchy attire: half witch’s robe, half tuxedo, half grand piano, has speculation buzzing about the potential for a musical episode.
Yet another new costume for the new Doctor as he and Ruby go full mod
Other sets of photos unveiled this week feature the Doctor and Ruby Sunday quite literally suited and booted, ready to hit the swinging streets of the 1960s. It’s probably the grooviest the Doctor and a companion have looked since Jo Grant hung up her platform boots to head up the Amazon. But with photos often released to pre-empt unofficial leaks during filming, and the Jinkx Monsoon and sixties photos arriving within days of each other, it does lead to an obvious question. Is Monsoon’s mysterious maestra of mayhem the villain of the 1960s story? It seems likely, but we’ll have to wait to find out for sure.
Much of the credit for how well this approach is working must surely go to Doctor Who’s resident photographer James Pardon. He’s a familiar name in the image descriptions for publicity photos for a few years. And his tactic, as described last year by guest star Crystal Yu of seeking out various interesting corners and elements of sets and locations have resulted in some of Who’s most visually appealing promo photos in years. Moreover, because these photos typically eschew the traditional approach of highlighting a significant prop or recreating a moment from the episode, they emphasize the lushness and complexity of costumes and sets without actually giving anything away.
It’s certainly a strategy that seems set to provide the perfect cocktail of dizzying excitement and complete surprise when Series Fourteen arrives on screens.
You can also see more photos from the photoshoot on the official Doctor Who twitter account.
The Doctor and Ruby 💙💙 #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/tGzKR013s9
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) April 20, 2023
