This week’s episode of Doctor Who, 73 Yards, is perhaps the most mysterious instalment of the whole season, with little known about its plot or even the villain the Doctor and Ruby will be facing.
Well, it seems there may be a reason for that, as showrunner Russell T Davies has teased that the villain is “hard to describe”, saying that viewers have to watch it to understand.
Davies spoke with RadioTimes.com at the premiere for episodes 1 and 2, Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord, where he said that the season will feature “lots of great villains”.
He continued: “Episode 4 has got possibly the strangest villain you’ll ever see. You have to come and watch – even in an interview like this, it’s hard to describe. You’ve got to come and watch episode 4 to understand what’s going on.”
Davies also mentioned Indira Varma’s character The Duchess as a standout villain in episode 6, Rogue, as well as “great big ugly monsters” that feature in episode 5, Dot and Bubble.
Davies also recently gave some hints as to what fans can expect from the episode when speaking on the Official Doctor Who Podcast.
He said: “This is Welsh folk horror coming up, with an astonishing cast… It’s spooky, it’s strange, it’s genuinely unlike any other episode we’ve ever done before. We all found ourselves fascinated by making this. We had to test so much and get so much exactly right.
“It’s very strange, 73 yards is very significantly important. Pay attention to those scrolls at the beginning and you might wonder what the message means – ‘Rest in peace, Mad Jack.'”
The episode’s guest cast will include Peaky Blinders’ Aneurin Barnard as politician Roger ap Gwilliam, while Siân Phillips will be playing Enid Meadows and Susan Twist will be returning for another role, this time playing “The Hiker”.
Doctor Who continues on Saturday 25th May on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Previous seasons are available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Podcast.
