'Doctor Who' is going back to its roots with a TARDIS team of three companions joining Jodie Whittaker's Time Lord.
Doctor Who
New showrunner Chris Chibnall has revealed the decision to have a trio of friends for the Doctor was designed to ensure that "every member of the audience" would have someone they can relate to.
He told Digital Spy: "I love 'Doctor Who' as a big, popular, mainstream, accessible show. So I wanted to make sure that every member of the audience felt they had a relatable character, an access point. Hopefully it means that the show can resonate with the broadest possible audience.
"And of course, three companions with the Doctor ... we're really going back to 1963 - that's the format of the show! You're not changing the format, that's how it started, really - which I only realised afterwards."
For the upcoming series, the new Doctor will be joined by awestruck Yaz (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole) - who "challenges the Doctor from time to time" - and Bradley Walsh as Graham.
Tosin explained: "Ryan's 19, Yaz is 19, and then you've got Graham who's the oldest of the bunch, so we've got different generations, different genders."
Tosin added: "We all bring something different to the group, with gender, race, everything. And just the personalities of the three characters are very different.
"They each have a very individual voice, where I think certain people will be able to instantly relate to Bradley Walsh's character, instantly relate to Tosin's ... and hopefully just love us all!"
Tagged in Bradley Walsh Jodie Whittaker