The Chuldur were a species of avian humanoids who could shapeshift into any humanoids they encountered, killing the victim in the process. They have an average life span of 600 years. There were many different variations of individual chuldur in terms of appearance, such as one resembling an owl, or another a bird with very long whiskers. They had a strong collective interest in cosplay; disguising themselves as real-life individuals of interest or status such as lords and ladies, all for the purpose of having fun. (TV: Rogue [+]Kate Herron and Briony Redman, Doctor Who series 14 (BBC One and Disney+, 2024).)
History[]
One particular Chuldur family was discovered in 1813 in Bath, England, during the Regency era. They shapeshifted and cosplayed among the guests and staff at a ball hosted by the Duchess of Pemberton, who herself was killed and taken over by a member of the family. The bounty hunter Rogue was hired to kill an individual Chuldur at the ball, not knowing that it was, in reality, an entire family. Concurrently, the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday became embroiled in Rogue's efforts to apprehend them. The Doctor had previously been aware of them, but had never encountered them. They were eventually defeated by Rogue sacrificing himself to banish the family to one of an infinite number of dimensions for their remaining life. (TV: Rogue [+]Kate Herron and Briony Redman, Doctor Who series 14 (BBC One and Disney+, 2024).)
Behind the scenes[]
- The Chuldur were originally scripted to appear more "alien", the idea for an avian appearance being that of showrunner Russell T Davies. Neill Gorton, creature & prosthetics designer, stated that there was something about bird faces which sits well in the world of Doctor Who. (DOC: Rogue)
