With the world thrust into a major war, it seems natural that a lot will be on the line in The War Between the Land and the Sea. One character who could be at risk is Jemma Redgrave’s Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, with the actor indicating that few are safe.
The upcoming spin-off to Doctor Who sees the Homo Aqua species emerge from the ocean to wage war on humanity, with the team at UNIT embarking on a race against time as they seek to thwart the threat.
Created by Russell T Davies, who co-wrote the scripts alongside Pete McTighe, the five-part series follows Barclay Pierre-Dupont (Russell Tovey) and Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) as they lead their respective clans.
The sci-fi drama also sees Redgrave in the role she first played back in 2012, and the actor told RadioTimes.com that the high stakes at play will naturally mean the spectre of death looms over everybody – including her own character.
“If she survives this series, I don’t know where she can go next,” teased the actor. “I’ve had a most extraordinary time and journey with this character through Doctor Who and now through this series. Every time I get the call, it feels like another gift. Long may it last.”
BBC
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While Redgrave teased a dark future for Kate, McTighe, who has previously worked on Wentworth and Neighbours, confirmed that the character will undergo an unexpected arc in the spin-off.
“I think if you’re a huge fan of Doctor Who and you know that legacy character and you love that character like I do, I think you’ll be very surprised about the journey that she goes on through the show,” he shared.
In addition to Redgrave, Tovey and Mbatha-Raw, the cast for The War Between the Land and the Sea includes Alexander Devrient, Ruth Madeley, Adrian Lukis, Vincent Franklin and Colin McFarlane, the latter of whom reprises his role from Torchwood.
BBC
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This fact is key, with Davies confirming last week that the new spin-off would be connected to Torchwood’s third season, with the showrunner explaining: “You’ll have fun if you watch this and Children of Earth together.
“They’re both about alien species – or otherworldly species – encountering the human race in an ambassadorial context. We use a lot of the same sets as we used in Children of Earth… you’ll see a lot of the same staircases and corridors appear. It’s in the same world.”
The War Between the Land and the Sea premieres on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 7 December.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.