| The Interstellar Song Contest | Talk |
The Interstellar Song Contest was the sixth episode of Series 15 of Doctor Who. It premiered on 17 May 2025.
The Interstellar Song Contest concluded the story arc of the Doctor attempting to get Belinda back to 24 May 2025, his latest attempt landing them both in 2925 during a song contest hosted by Rylan Clark, cryogenically frozen until the contest was about to start. After hearing about Earth's non-existence in The Well [+]Russell T Davies and Sharma Angel-Walfall, Doctor Who series 15 (BBC One and Disney+, 2025)., The Interstellar Song Contest saw the Doctor and Belinda learn why they had been unsuccessful in returning to Earth on the 24 May 2025: the planet and humanity had both been wiped out on that day by disintegration from an unknown incident. The cliffhanger saw the Doctor and Belinda finding themselves on the date they had been trying to return to since The Robot Revolution [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 15 (BBC One and Disney+, 2025)., just as the doors to the TARDIS were violently blown apart by whatever was behind the destruction of Earth.
The Interstellar Song Contest also notably featured a cameo appearance from Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman, marking her first on-screen appearance in a mainline story of the series since The Five Doctors [+]Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special (Public Broadcasting Service, 1983). and after her last on-screen appearance in Susan and the Daleks [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.. While the show had previously mentioned the Doctor having lost their family by the end of the Last Great Time War, Susan herself was used as a red herring in the Series 14 story The Legend of Ruby Sunday [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 14 (BBC One and Disney+, 2024). when the Doctor initially believed that Susan Triad was actually an incarnation of his granddaughter as part of a trap set by Sutekh.
The Interstellar Song Contest resolved the mystery surrounding Mrs Flood, revealing that she had been an incarnation of the Rani, a Time Lord villainess introduced during the Sixth Doctor era when Kate O'Mara portrayed the First Rani in The Mark of the Rani [+]Pip & Jane Baker, Doctor Who season 22 (BBC1, 1985)., with her last appearance being in the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time [+]John Nathan-Turner and David Roden, Doctor Who 30th anniversary special (BBC1, 1993).. The reveal of Mrs Flood's identity would make Anita Dobson's first appearance in The Church on Ruby Road the Rani's return to the series after 32 years, and was the first time the Rani hadn't been portrayed by her original actress onscreen following the death of O'Mara in 2014. With her nature as a Time Lady revealed, though before her identity as the Rani would be revealed, The Interstellar Song Contest concluded with Mrs Flood undergoing a bi-generation, the first seen since the Fourteenth Doctor's bi-generation in The Giggle [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who 2023 specials (BBC One and Disney+, 2023)., and introduced Archie Panjabi as her new incarnation.
Synopsis[]
On the Doctor's quest to get Belinda home, a night of fun becomes a battle to the death.
Plot[]
At the Harmony Arena in 2925, Rylan Clark is released from cryogenic suspension to host the 803rd Interstellar Song Contest, a futuristic version of the Eurovision Song Contest. The Doctor's TARDIS materialises in one of the VIP pods and the Fifteenth Doctor sets up the vindicator, telling Belinda Chandra that they only need two minutes to get the vindicator aligned and Belinda back to Earth. Belinda notices Rylan on stage and she and the Doctor are left in awe as the show opens. The two decide to stay and enjoy the show rather than leaving. On direction from the gallery, Rylan describes how the contest is transmitted live across the western galactic arm, and it has an audience of three trillion life forms to find one winner.
In the audience, Mrs Flood watches the Doctor and Belinda through a small pair of binoculars. Belinda concludes that they were wrong to be worried as this proves that the Earth survives. The Doctor recalls that he was at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 when ABBA won and Olivia Newton-John came in fourth. Belinda remarks that she'd watch it with her parents when she was little and they would allow Belinda to stay up late for the voting as long as she brushed her teeth and got into her pyjamas first. Belinda asks where they are and is amazed when the Doctor reveals that the Harmony Arena is a space station. Belinda has finally started to enjoy being the Doctor's companion and the Vindicator finishes taking its readings. Watching from the audience, Mrs Flood comments that the device is "ready and primed" and makes a copy of the readings with a small device. The vindicator has found the final link, but Mrs Flood decides to stay and enjoy the show as she's in no rush.
The Doctor and Belinda briefly wonder whose seats they're in before dismissing it. Outside, Gary and Mike Gabbastone attempt to get into the pod, arguing about Mike's inability to support Gary's music. Gary tries to get a Droneguard to get the Doctor and Belinda out, but it ominously tells him that phase one has been activated. The Droneguard walks off as Droneguards in the control repeat the same thing. An armed Hellion named Kid breaks into the control room, calling himself phase one and revealing that he has control of the drones. Having lost his instructions with the gallery being taken over, Rylan improvises, introducing the contestant Cora Saint Bavier from Trion.
Most of the gallery staff are escorted out aside from Nina Maxwell and Wynn Aura-Kinn, the latter of whom is Kid's girlfriend and co-conspirator. Moving to phase two, Wynn plays the pre-recorded dress rehearsal, stating that no one will know the difference, but Nina points out that Rylan wasn't a part of it as he was still in deep freeze. However, Kid and Wynn are ready for that and can have the publicity comms claim that Rylan got food poisoning. Kid activates a control, setting off an alarm on the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. The Doctor quickly realises that the footage being shown onscreen in the pod doesn't match what's actually happening due to the absence of Rylan. As the Doctor leaps out of the pod and begins fiddling with the wiring, Kid uses Nina's handprint to access the arena's systems while Wynn stalls the people calling in for answers.
Rylan starts the show with Liz Lizardine's song "I Love You, But My Heart Says No." Kid turns off the safety protocols and introduces himself to Rylan, calling this the greatest song contest in the universe. The Doctor tries to warn the oblivious Belinda that something's wrong before Kid and Wynn "raise the roof" by collapsing the air shield. The Doctor, the TARDIS and the 100,000 people in the stands are ejected into outer space, but Wynn seals the VIP pods, saving Belinda, Cora and everyone else inside of them who watch on in horror. In space, everyone freezes in the vacuum. Wynn reports that the dress rehearsal is still broadcasting and the arena is purged before closing the shield to maintain integrity. Nina calls the two Hellions monsters, but Kid tells her that he's been called that his whole life because of his horns and he's just doing what's expected of him. Kid announces that they're moving on to phase three of the terrorist plot — the final phase — and he orders Wynn to fetch a device. Nina tells the two that the people aren't dead because the mavity shell is still on so they can save everyone, but Kid is uninterested. Droneguards bring in a delta wave device for phase three.
Rushing out of the pod, Belinda finds Cora who has no idea what's going on. Len Kazah, who started off in the tech squad, attempts to hack the door locking the VIP guests out of the rest of the arena. Cora tells Belinda that they can't call for emergency services as the arena is in close-down because of gambling rules: if people could transmit from Harmony Arena, they could hyperstream a bet to the other side of the galaxy before the results get there. As a result, all signals are blocked and closed, and no one knows what's happening or will be able to help them until the show is over. Belinda begins to panic at the thought that she's trapped, and her parents will be waiting forever for a daughter that will never come home. Cora tries to tell Belinda where she is, but it's of no help to the young woman. Introducing herself, Cora reminds Belinda that she's still alive and calms Belinda down. Belinda laments never getting the chance to tell the Doctor how wonderful he was. Len discovers that the computer core is being overridden and that there's something new as if the software is rewriting everything for something.
Kid hooks up the delta wave while Nina continues to try to get Wynn to save everyone, having seen her save Cora by closing the booths. However, Wynn brushes her off, declaring that she and Kid are doing this for Hellia and the people that were ejected can't be saved.
As the Doctor freezes in space, an elderly Susan Foreman, apparently in the TARDIS, appears to him in a vision. "Grandfather, go back. Find me," instructs Susan. Awakening, the Doctor grabs a nearby confetti cannon and uses it to propel himself to the station's airlock, much to the amazement of Gary and Mike who let him in. The Doctor collapses and Mike, who is a nurse, tends to him using a nearby medical kit. Mike is amazed by the Doctor's binary vascular system and his respiratory bypass system while Gary has never seen his husband at work before. Using an injection to one of his hearts, Mike awakens the Doctor who is initially elated about having used a confetti cannon to fly through space.
The Doctor recalls being frozen, but while Mike thinks that everyone outside is dead, the Doctor reveals that they aren't. The Doctor explains that before being ejected into space, he triplicated the mavity field which is holding everyone in mavitic suspension. The freezing temperatures outside also help them, similar to when a body is plunged into freezing water: life signs get suspended, but they can be revived. The Doctor believes that Belinda is one of the people frozen outside and with the TARDIS gone, he tries to figure out what to do. Mike points out that only some kind of an insane genius could reach, catch and revive the 100,000 people who are frozen and floating in space which luckily the Doctor is.
Kid begins the upload of the delta wave which they should be ready to broadcast during song 14 which is Cora's who is the best voice, best act and best song. Accessing the computer, the Doctor finds the new software which is in Hellion script. Mike tells him that the Hellions are from the planet Hellia where his parents used to vacation. Hellia had fields of hell poppies as far as the eye could see, but they are all ruined and destroyed now, supposedly by the Hellions themselves. Touching the code in an attempt to find out what the upload is, the Doctor sets off a wave which causes him, Gary and Mike to collapse in pain, clutching their heads before the Doctor manages to short out the console with his sonic screwdriver. The Doctor is left with a nosebleed while Mike and Gary embrace and profess their love for each other. The Doctor identifies what they just experienced as a primitive delta wave aimed at the temporal lobe of the brain. If the signal is routed through the station and transmitted, it will kill every single one of the three trillion people watching the contest.
As the upload reaches 70 percent, Len is able to identity the Hellions as the culprits. Len calls the Hellions a weird lot who supposedly practice cannibalism and witchcraft. Supposedly, their horns give the Hellions psychic powers. Cora takes obvious offence to the perspective of the Hellions by people who don't understand them.
In a museum dedicated to the history of the entire contest, Gary opens a tech desk that has the caustic hyperlink that the Doctor will need to fight the signal. Gary reveals an extensive knowledge of how everything works, having worked on the song contest tech design as the head of the hologram archive. As a demonstration, Gary activates an informational hologram in the likeness of Graham Norton who the Doctor had met at Brighton Pride. At first delighted, the Doctor sobers at the thought that Belinda would've enjoyed this, explaining to Gary and Mike that he's Belinda's protector who swore to get her home. When the Doctor closes his eyes, he experiences another vision of Susan in the TARDIS who smiles at him, causing him to briefly cry.
Quickly changing the subject, the Doctor confirms with Gary that he found the hyperlink. The Doctor's interference draws the attention of Kid who appears on both the Doctor and Len's screens and warns the Doctor to stop. Belinda, Cora and Len are able to see the Doctor, but he is unable to see them in turn. Kid introduces himself and states that he's representing Revenge Against the Corporation while the Doctor introduces himself as the last of the Time Lords. The Doctor warns Kid to stop, but Kid threatens that if the Doctor comes anywhere near the gallery, he'll purge the airlocks and kill everyone on the station. In turn, the Doctor threatens that he will survive and find Kid who can run and hide and whimper all he wants, but the Doctor will find him, cast Kid's body out into the void, and stand there and watch him freeze to death. By threatening the lives trillions of people, Kid has put ice in the Doctor's heart, resulting in a darker more ruthless Doctor who is willing to cross any line to stop him. Belinda is worried as the Doctor is not acting like himself while Wynn tells Kid that the delta wave is at 95 percent and Kid needs to input the final calibration. A shocked Cora recognises Wynn and walks away while Kid dismisses the Doctor as making empty threats and ends the conversation. Having tracked the signal to the museum, Kid orders the Droneguards to find and execute the Doctor.
Cora tearfully admits that she knows Wynn and Kid. Kid's mother was shot before anyone could ask her his name which is why he's just called "Kid." Cora reveals that she knows so much about the Hellions because she is one and moves aside her long hair to show the stubs of two horns sticking out of the back of her head. Cora tells a shocked Len that she couldn't tell him the truth because Hellions aren't allowed to sing and they are treated like scum right across the galaxy. Sympathetic, Belinda asks if Cora cut off her horns herself and if it was by choice. Cora states that it was by force and explains that Hellia was "the most harmless world in the sky" before the Corporation bought the entire planet and its population for one reason only: to harvest the Hell poppy which the Corporation uses as flavouring for their PoppyHoney. The Corporation took the poppy seeds and burnt the fields so that the Hellions could never grow it back. Kid blames the Corporation for the ruination of his world and the Corporation sponsors the contest. He's out to get revenge on the Corporation and every single viewer. However, Cora knows Kid and Wynn and they might listen to her. Len refuses to help her, but Cora tells him that the gallery is seven floors above them and if he can get the elevators working, then Cora might be able to talk to them. Belinda wants to get there too as she knows that the gallery is where the Doctor will be heading. Belinda has never seen the Doctor like this before and if he's angry, then the whole world is going to shake.
In the museum, the Doctor works on the console, casually using his sonic screwdriver to destroy two Droneguards that arrive to kill him. Gary reveals that he's the expert in triangulation that the Doctor needs, having invented the triangulation system. The dress rehearsal recording reaches song 14 as the delta wave nears completion. Len bitterly tells Cora that after her years of lying to him while the worked on the song, she's on her own once he gets the door open.
Kid and Wynn hold hands as they celebrate the fact that the Corporation will be remembered for a massacre once the device hits 100 percent, ignoring Nina's pleas to think about the innocent people who will be murdered as the people never thought about them. As the delta wave reaches 99 percent, the Doctor appears, telling Kid that he should've stopped when the Doctor asked. The Time Lord has met many people like Kid and revenge is always just an excuse because their cold, filthy heart just likes to kill. Kid shoots the Doctor who turns out to be a hologram run by Gary from the museum. Having used the distraction to get the delta wave, the Doctor tosses the device into the air and blows it up with his sonic screwdriver, stopping the Hellion plot and their control over Harmony Arena's systems. With another click of his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor disarms Kid.
Standing, the Doctor tells Kid that holograms are usually kind of soft and they fizz, crackle and they're kind of useless. That is, unless you're the Doctor who can convert holograms into hard-light holograms who are capable of causing harm. Donning a control glove, the Doctor repeatedly summons his hologram to electrocute Kid, torturing the Hellion, much to the shock and horror of Nina and Wynn. The Doctor suggests that they try this three trillion times for the number of people that Kid had wanted to kill. As the Doctor continues, a vision of Susan appears to him again, urging her grandfather to stop. The Doctor momentarily hesitates, but he continues torturing Kid, ignoring Susan's pleas. Belinda and Cora finally make it to the gallery and seeing that his friend is safe, the Doctor relents. Looking at the control glove in horror of what he's just done, the Doctor removes it and embraces his friend.
Nina activates an override on the Droneguards to restore their original programming, returning them to her control, as Wynn tends to Kid. Cora tries to understand how her once gentle kin-sister turned into such a monster, but Wynn refuses to apologise, accusing Cora of abandoning her to rot. Kid and Wynn had to tell the galaxy about the Corporation while Cora has done nothing but hide. Nina has the Droneguards arrest the two Hellion terrorists, ordering them to be shuttled to the Justice Monolith. Kid promises to see the Doctor again, but the Time Lord will be ready for him because the Doctor thinks that the ice that Kid put in his heart will be there forever now.
Belinda reminds everyone that this isn't over yet because there's still 100,000 people trapped in the mavity shell who need to be rescued. The Doctor suddenly comes up with an idea and employs Gary to fashion hard-light into a tractor beam which they are able to use to retrieve Rylan. Mike is then able to turn Rylan's cryogenic chamber into a revival booth which successfully unfreezes a very confused Rylan who Belinda excitedly greets and then takes for a check-up. Gary and Mike then use the procedure to start reviving everyone else trapped in the mavity shell with the Doctor getting Len to turn a VIP pod into a revival booth in order to speed things up by reviving people in groups.
The event resumes with everyone brought much closer together by their shared experience. Rylan announces that while the actual contest is pretty much null and void after their near-death experience, there is one song that they want everyone to hear right across the galaxy with all three trillion people watching. Rylan introduces Cora who tells everyone that she is going to sing a song that the Corporation had tried to hide, the song of her home planet Hellia, to remind everyone of a world that they lost and a civilisation that the Corporation destroyed, its beauty, history and soul. Cora sings the song in her native language, bringing tears to the eyes of many, including the Doctor, Belinda, Len, Gary, Mike, Nina, Kid, Wynn and Cora herself as Hellia is shown first as a beautiful Earth-like planet before being burned. After the song ends, the entire audience applauds Cora.
A worker leads the Doctor and Belinda to the TARDIS, which was recovered on the asteroid spar and placed in the museum. The two celebrate and Belinda takes the opportunity to tell the Doctor that she thinks that he's wonderful. However, Belinda never really knows what he's thinking, and the Doctor scared her with his actions with Kid. The Doctor admits that he scared himself, explaining that the potential deaths of three trillion people triggered the Doctor's traumas. It reminded him of the destruction of Gallifrey by the Spy Master. The Doctor tells Belinda for the first time that every last Time Lord is dead, having been wiped out in a single second. However, the Doctor has now got this image of Susan, seeing one final vision of his granddaughter who smiles at him before walking away and vanishing. Although the visions suggest that Susan may have survived, the Doctor seemingly laughs off the idea as impossible. The two light-heartedly joke about what will happen if the Doctor doesn't get Belinda home soon.
Hearing Belinda mention Earth, the hologram of Graham Norton reactivates, to Belinda's delight. However, much to the Doctor and Belinda's shock and horror, Graham reveals that according to the history books, Earth died on 24 May, 2025, the day that Belinda left. It is said Earth disintegrated into rock and dust and ashes. All the memories of Earth and the human race were sieved from the rubble of a civilisation that died in a single second. The cause of Earth and humanity's destruction is unknown.
The Doctor and Belinda rush back into the TARDIS where the Doctor hooks the Vindicator up to the control console. While the Doctor doesn't know how the whole world can be dead, they are going to find out: the Vindicator finally has enough readings to take them back to 24 May, 2025. The Doctor promises Belinda that he isn't going to just take her home, he is also going to save the Earth. The Doctor activates the TARDIS, and the roundels instantly turn red as alarms, including the Cloister Bell, ring throughout the time machine. Around the TARDIS, something can be heard humming and grinding while the TARDIS itself jolts a few times. "That is the sound of May the 24th," the Doctor declares just before the TARDIS doors explode inwards...
On Harmony Arena, Gary and Mike revive the last person, who proves to be Mrs Flood. The pair tell Mrs Flood that they've had quite a few people with some side-effects, Mike offers to get her to a sick bay, but the mysterious old woman only wants to know if the Doctor is gone or not. After Gary confirms that the Doctor just disappeared, Mrs Flood is relieved as it's now safe. Mrs Flood explains that her double brain stem froze, something that's lethal for a Time Lady, but she's got her own knack for survival. Glowing with regeneration energy, Mrs Flood decides to go with "Let battle begin" as her famous last words. However, instead of regenerating, Mrs Flood bi-generates — which her new incarnation considers "undignified" as she emerges, taking Mrs Flood's long red coat as she does so, prompting a meek apology from Flood herself. The new incarnation, who is bossier than Mrs Flood, announces to Gary and Mike they are the Rani as Mrs Flood hands over the vindicator readings to her successor, and the two incarnations of the Rani depart to bring "absolute terror" to the Doctor.
Cast[]
- The Doctor - Ncuti Gatwa
- Belinda Chandra - Varada Sethu
- Sabine - Julie Dray
- Rylan Clark - Himself
- Runner - Imogen Kingsley-Smith
- Nina Maxwell - Kiruna Stamell
- Wynn Aura-Kinn - Iona Anderson
- Mrs Flood - Anita Dobson
- Gary Gabbastone - Charlie Condou
- Mike Gabbastone - Kadiff Kirwan
- Kid - Freddie Fox
- Cora Saint Bavier - Miriam-Teak Lee
- Len Kazah - Akemnji Ndifornyen
- Liz Lizardine - Christina Rotondo
- Graham Norton - Himself
- Jeddy Kine - Abdul Sessay
And Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman
Introducing Archie Panjabi as the Rani
Crew[]
To be added...
Worldbuilding[]
- Among the planets the Interstellar Song Contest is broadcasting to includes Alpha Centauri, Trion, Trenzalore and the New Zygon Habitat.
- Mrs Flood enjoys some grapes while watching the Interstellar Song Contest.
- The Doctor was at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 when ABBA won and Olivia Newton-John came in fourth. Belinda enjoyed watching the contest with her parents when she was little.
- Alpha Centaurans and Zygons are among those taking part in the Interstellar Song Contest.
- The earrings worn by Susan Foreman in the Doctor's visions are identical to the Doctor's signet ring, which was worn by his first incarnation.
- The Doctor once met Graham Norton at Brighton Pride.
Notes[]
- Rylan Clark was credited as simply "Rylan" in Radio Times.
- To keep the respective reappearances of Susan Foreman and the Rani a surprise, Carole Ann Ford and Archie Panjabi remained uncredited in Radio Times.
- The Interstellar Song Contest aired on the night of the actual Eurovision Song Contest final.
- Juno Dawson revealed that Russell T Davies didn't give much information about Belinda: "I didn't know who would be playing Belinda at the time of writing the script. I knew she was a nurse in her thirties, but that was it, that's all I had to go on. But the good news is, with any companion, he or she is always you. They are the audience. They are the person being swept along into an extraordinary adventure."[source needed]
- Juno Dawson revealed that Russell T Davies encouraged her to explore the darker side of the Doctor: "At first, I approached it quite tentatively, but Russell encouraged me and said, "Let's push it". Kid commits this great atrocity of launching 100,000 people into space; and from the Doctor's perspective, he doesn't know at that point if he can bring all those people back. It's an attempted murder on a scale not often seen in Doctor Who, and he believes it. He believes Belinda is dead, that he has failed her, and it brings out a very bad, furious side of the Doctor".
- The return of the Rani was Ncuti Gatwa's suggestion. (DCOM: Wish World)
- Like their characters, Charlie Condou and Kadiff Kirwan are both gay.
- The episode formed Block Four of Series 15 alongside The Story and the Engine.
Comparison between BBC and Disney+ versions[]
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Myths and Rumours[]
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Filming Locations[]
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Ratings[]
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Production errors[]
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Continuity[]
- To hide her origins of Hellia, Cora claims to be from Trion, the home planet of Fifth Doctor companion Vislor Turlough. (TV: Planet of Fire [+]Peter Grimwade, Doctor Who season 21 (BBC1, 1984).)
- Kid tries to use a delta wave to kill the viewers of the Interstellar Song Contest. (TV: The Parting of the Ways [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 1 (BBC One, 2005).)
- The Doctor once again uses his sonic screwdriver to disarm someone without giving them his full attention. (TV: The Return of Doctor Mysterio [+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2016 (BBC One, 2016).)
- The Doctor mentions how the Time Lords were utterly wiped out. (TV: Spyfall [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 12 (BBC One, 2020).)
- After experiencing a vision of Susan Foreman, the Doctor once again expresses uncertainty over her fate, believing that she, like the rest of the Time Lords, is dead. (TV: The Devil's Chord [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 14 (BBC One and Disney+, 2024)., The Legend of Ruby Sunday [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 14 (BBC One and Disney+, 2024)., Empire of Death [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 14 (BBC One and Disney+, 2024).)
- Following their bi-generation, the new Rani refers to herself as "the definite article" in comparison to Mrs Flood, which was also how the Fourth Doctor compared himself to Dr. Harry Sullivan. (TV: Robot [+]Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who season 12 (BBC1, 1974-1975).)
- The bi-generated Rani plans to bring the Doctor "absolute terror," causing Mrs Flood to comment that she had already said that. (TV: Empire of Death [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 14 (BBC One and Disney+, 2024).)
Home video releases[]
DVD and Blu-ray[]
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Footnotes[]
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