Doctor Who: The Interstellar Song Contest: Freddie Fox Interview

Freddie Fox has been discussing starring in the latest Doctor Who episode, 'The Interstellar Song Contest'.

In Doctor Who season 2 episode 6, The Interstellar Song Contest, the Doctor's quest to get Belinda back home to Earth leads to a space station hosting the famous song contest.

But a harmless night of fun soon becomes a battle to survive...

Freddie Fox (Kid) tells us more

How did you come to be cast in Doctor Who?

I worked with the amazing Russell T Davies about ten years ago on a show called Cucumber. It was one of the greatest experiences of my working life on that show. It was so formative for me as an actor, and a person, that I would do anything he asked me to. And when he called me and said, “would you do a part on Doctor Who?” I was like, “yes, yes, yes, I'll play a tree in the background! [laughs], whatever you want.”

I watched Ncuti’s first episode as the Doctor, which was so brilliant as a piece of sci-fi storytelling. But also, Ncuti as an actor, is so compelling to watch. This show is a proper piece of sci-fi movie making.

How did your family and friends react to the news?

After it had been announced that I was in it, I had more people say how excited they are about me being in Doctor Who than almost any other job I've ever been in! I took my godson to the premiere, he was very excited.

How would you describe your character, Kid?

Kid is a charismatic, devious, revolutionary leader of a group. They are trying to get justice for wrongs that he wants to tell the galaxy and the universe about.

What was it like working with Ncuti and Varada?

Bliss. Ncuti’s an actor I've admired since I first saw him in Sex Education. Working on set with him was so interesting, he’s so clearly a star. You just walk into his presence and you're like, “Oh, this guy is a star”. He was just so generous and playful and laughing all the time, and sweet and inclusive. I felt very much at home immediately and like I could just get on and do my work in great comfort. Varada was just so lovely, and I love what she does with her character.

What can audience expect to see from this episode?

Audiences can expect to see the most audacious interpretation of Eurovision ever conceived, bigger than even Eurovision itself. I was so delighted with that, just so delighted. I thought this is camp, camp, camp! Russell. How do you even think of it, let alone make it so brilliant? I think it's going to blow the audiences minds.

How did you find filming, and do you have any highlights from the set?

I found filming really good fun. It flew by. It came and went in a second. I think because I was working hard and because I was really enjoying myself.

I worked quite hard on making Kid as specific as I could. He was such a well written character by Juno (Dawson), who wrote the script.

And Ben (A. Williams), the director, was so, so detailed in what he wanted, but he also really let me do what I wanted. I really wanted to give my best, so I worked pretty hard on it.

Do you have any highlights from the set?

I really loved working with Iona (Anderson), who I shared many scenes with. She was so great to work with and very generous. That was a highlight. There’s one moment where I just get to be so damn showy, too. My character gets to be super naughty, and I was like, “oh, yeah, this is cool”.

If you could travel in the TARDIS to any time or place in the universe, where would you go and why?

I'd like to be in the theatre when Romeo and Juliet first performed. I'd really love to be in the audience watching that. I would also love to go back to 1973 and be in the audience when David Bowie did Ziggy Stardust for the last time. Those two would be pretty cool.

Showrunner Russell T Davies says the episode will send fans into a frenzy, so be sure to avoid spoilers on social media! It drops on iPlayer this Saturday morning at 6am.