Drag Race star Jinkx Monsoon teases ‘surprises’ in new Doctor Who episode
Jinkx Monsoon as Maestro in Doctor Who. (BBC)
Two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race’s winner Jinkx Monsoon has hinted at surprises in Saturday’s (11 May) “zany and musical” episode of Doctor Who.
Drag queen superstar and Broadway performer Monsoon will be seen as Maestro, the Doctor’s most powerful villain to date, in the second episode of the new season of the long-running BBC sci-fi series – with Ncuti Gatwa now firmly regenerated as the Time Lord.
Some reviewers have suggested that Jinkx steals the show in “The Devil’s Chord”, and is the “best villain” since Michelle Gomez’s Missy/Mistress/The Master.
Speaking to the BBC, Jinkx teased that the episode won’t be as focused on heart-racing action as many other episodes, but will instead be musical and full of surprises.
“What’s really exciting about this episode is that it’s not jam-packed action, but it’s zany and musical… almost like Doctor Who directed by Bugs Bunny,” Jinkx said.
“There [are] surprises and there’s lots of music. It’s a fun premise, the villain is over-the-top – just like everything you want in a powerful villain.
“We also see how important music is to our world. We get a glimpse at what life could be like without music and how sad and dreary that would be,” she added.
Jinkx, who recently underwent facial feminisation surgery and changed her real name to Hera Hoffer, also revealed the team behind Doctor Who ensured she felt comfortable on set.
“Being a trans-feminine performer who’s known as a drag queen, it’s like they wanted me to feel comfortable and well-represented in all the costumes,” she said.
“They definitely took into account that when you’re a drag performer, people look at your costumes with a magnifying glass… they knew everyone was going to have high hopes and expectations for this character, and they all delivered.”
Earlier this week, fans got to see their first visual and audio clip of Jinkx Monsoon in character, in which she stakes her claim for the title of Doctor Who’s campest ever villain.
The Drag Race and Doctor Who fandoms united to shower the performer with praise for bringing the character to life.
“Jinkx’s mouth acting deserves its own Oscar,” one fan proclaimed, while another declared: “She’s channelling [The Little Mermaid‘s] Ursula here and I’m so for it.”
A third wrote: “Well, I found my new personality,” as a fourth reflected on how wonderful it will be to watch Jinkx rile up bigots simply by being on TV.
“Another thing in the new Doctor Who people will hate because it’s too ‘woke’. I love it,” they said.
In addition to bringing Jinkx into the Whoniverse, showrunner Russell T Davies has promised to make the new series of Doctor Who the gayest ever, by revealing that the Doctor’s “queer energy” will be addressed.
The first two episodes of the new season will be available simultaneously on BBC iPlayer from midnight on Saturday 11 May and at 7pm (Eastern Standard in the US) the evening before on Disney+, and will air on BBC1 from 6.20pm on the same day.
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