When Polygon engaged in a video chat with Doctor Who stars Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu ahead of the new season, they highlighted filming the animated sequences for Saturday’s episode as their standout experience.
“It was filming, not just recording,” Gatwa noted. “Shooting the animation was very fun because it introduced a unique approach to our work, something we hadn’t done before.”
Sethu chimed in, “Initially, when we read the script, we thought it would be voice-over work that would be added to the animation later. But no, we had to actually film it.”
“The animators matched the animation to our actions in the scene,” Gatwa explained. “It was cool.”
[Editor’s note: This article contains mild spoilers for the second episode of Doctor Who’s 2025 season.]
In the episode titled “Lux,” guest star Alan Cumming (Schmigadoon!, X2) voices the animated antagonist Mr. Ring-a-Ding, a character with a design reminiscent of 1930s animation, akin to those found in Cuphead. At a key point, he traps the Doctor and Belinda within an animated film, transforming them into animated characters themselves.
When Polygon queried showrunner Russell T Davies about venturing into animation, he expressed that it was a long-held desire, previously held back by budget constraints.
“It’s quite costly, to be frank,” Davies said via video chat. “It requires a high level of skill, justifying its cost. Working with Disney Plus made it possible, and it was absolutely wonderful.”
Davies recounted his early work at the BBC in graphic design for children’s shows like Why Don’t You?. “Cartoons are a passion of mine. If life had unfolded differently, I might have pursued a career in graphics and cartoons.”
Yet, Davies acknowledged that delving into animation was a learning curve. “I’ve attended numerous effects meetings, but animation introduced new processes. Every detail from a character’s blink to its hand movement had to be authorized. We even had discussions about whether to include classic cartoon white gloves, realizing they stem from minstrel gloves and might be inappropriate today. We learned a lot about cartoon history through this process.”
The recording of Alan Cumming’s performance was phased. Initially, a preliminary voice recording allowed Gatwa and Sethu to react on set followed by a studio recording of Cumming’s dialogue and expressions to aid animators. Any additional lines or exclamations were added during animation.
Davies mentioned relying on their animation partners for expertise. “We weren’t animation specialists, so we trusted the animators’ advice. Whatever they suggested as the best method, we adopted.”
For the scenes featuring the Doctor and Belinda as animated characters, Gatwa and Sethu were filmed performing in character to guide the animation, creating one of Who’s most intriguing, metatextual moments.
“It was not just an enormous playground,” Davies corrected himself. “It was a truly professional domain of animation. I adored working with the animators and participating in the weekly meetings. It was a joyous experience.”
