Gugu Mbatha-Raw may be a staple of the Whoniverse, but in her new role, she is completely transformed.
Whovians of days gone by may know her best as former companion Martha’s sister, Tish, but you wouldn’t be blamed for not realising that she’s also the enigmatic new lead of the Doctor Who spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea.
This time around, she’s hidden behind ‘three hours’ worth of make-up and prosthetics in order to become Salt, the leader of the Homo Aqua and love interest to our plucky co-lead Barclay (Russell Tovey), who accidentally lands the gig as humanity’s spokesperson.
Discussing the ‘many, many fittings’ and ‘many, many makeup tests’ that led up to arriving on set, the actor told Metro the quietly revolutionary power of portraying an unrecognisable species at the premiere of the series.
‘Just [through] the physicality of the prosthetics, I found the final results quite liberating as an actor because you weren’t able to rely on your usual image or look, and people were looking at you differently. I think that is really exciting.
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‘Beyond the makeup, just playing a character who’s really steely, regal and defensive to someone who’s childlike and falls in love, and just find[ing] the humanity in a character who has been othered and ostracised by the human race, there was a lot there,’ she said.
Praising the role as ‘extraordinary’, she acknowledged ‘you don’t get offered to play an amphibian every day. I was curious how and if I could play this character.’
‘It was a totally unique challenge, completely different to everything I’ve ever done.’
And it was a challenge she magnificently rose to, as Tovey described it.
A ‘silence’ swept through the entire cast and crew the first time Mbatha-Raw disappeared and Salt took her place.
Addressing his co-star, he continued: ‘It was just magical, and you held that space, and you had such poise and finesse and elegance. Everyone was just in awe of you every day. I get emotional talking about it.
What does Metro think of the new Doctor Who spin-off?
Senior TV Reporter Asyia Iftikhar shares her four-star review…
Perhaps it is because of the breathing room five episodes provide for one story arc, but the standard of this show so far meets the highs of Davies’ writing in shows from years past, like the acclaimed It’s A Sin.
Both Tovey and Mbatha-Raw rise to the challenge of their layered characters well, with the latter especially wowing as Salt, given the nuance that comes with portraying a non-human character.
For those missing the edgy quality to Who that we’ve only caught glimpses of here and there – I’m confident this will thrill and delight if you give it a chance.
‘Knowing you had been in make-up for three-and-a-half hours before anyone even got there, and then to turn up to set and deliver what you delivered was unbelievable.’
As for whether we could ever see a return to Tish and Tovey’s former Doctor Who character Alonso, the Years and Years star said: ‘Never say never’.
Before adding: I think we’re so invested in Barclay and Salt right now, they’re really occupying us. We really want people to connect with them the way they’ve loved our characters before when we’ve been in the Whoniverse. They’re brand new characters for people to connect to.’
Elsewhere, creator Russell T Davies confirmed this was a five-episode limited series with a ‘very, very definite ending’ and encouraged viewers to say for ‘one of the most beautiful scenes ever recorded’ at the very end of the last episode.
The War Between the Land and the Sea airs the first two episodes on BBC One at 8:30pm.
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If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
