There are certain things that are quintessential British culture, like tea parties, corgis, and guards with big hats. One of the most iconic pieces of British pop culture is Doctor Who, the long-running sci-fi show that most recently helped launch the careers of Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and James Corden before they shipped him across the pond to become a professional chauffeur. But throughout its 50+ years on air, Doctor Who has never encountered another infamous British legacy: The Beatles.
There has never been a Beatles-themed episode of the series, even though they’ve done just about everything else. This is likely due to the price tag on a popular track like “Hey Jude.” Though they could probably afford “Wild Honey Pie” if they wanted to.
As showrunner Russell T. Davies explained to Empire, “I knew instantly you can never play Beatles songs on screen because the copyright is too expensive. So I’m thinking, ‘How would you do a Beatles episode without Beatles music?’ And that becomes the entire plot. That’s where the idea came from – copyright law!”
Davies helmed the show from 2005- 2010 and just returned for the most recent season. He was clearly brainstorming this whole Beatles thing the entire time.
One of the upcoming episodes will star the latest Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, as he and his companion take a trip down Abbey Road. Davies explained how the idea came to life: “There’s a young director called Sam Arbor who I’ve kind of been mentoring for a while, and when I told him I was going back to Doctor Who, he was just 21 and said, ‘Oh my God, if I had a TARDIS, I’d go back and watch the Beatles recording their first album.’ And I thought for a 21-year-old to say that must mean there’s something to that idea.” The Doctor Who universe has been big on nostalgia lately.
How will they possibly pull it off? You’ll have to wait and see! The 14th season of Doctor Who premieres on May 11 on Disney+. Feel free to queue up the Beatles documentary, also on Disney+, if you want an immersive experience.
