The Big Picture
- Alex Kingston hints at the possibility of returning as River Song in Doctor Who , stating that "the journey may still continue."
- Kingston expresses her love for Doctor Who , revealing that it was her first introduction to the sci-fi genre as a child.
- Kingston will reunite with former castmate Karen Gillan and showrunner Steven Moffat in the new television series Douglas Is Cancelled , a dark comedy set in the world of television journalism.
Despite only appearing in fifteen episodes over the show's more than 60 year history, Alex Kingston left an indelible mark on Doctor Who, bringing to life one of the most beloved characters in the entire franchise: River Song. Along with being the woman the Doctor married, River was a captivating character with a complicated history. She danced up and down the Doctor's life as their love story, which transcended time, saw the two constantly meeting out of order. Kingston's last on-screen apperance as River took place over eight years ago in the Christmas special, "The Husbands of River Song." The episode seemingly served as an end to her story, as she and the Doctor spent one last (twenty-four year long) night on Darillium together. However, that hasn't stopped audiences from hoping to see River again — and maybe fans just might get their wish.
Kingston stopped by MegaCon in Orlando, FL this weekend to speak on the "Women of Sci-Fi" panel hosted by Collider's Maggie Lovitt. When asked which Doctor she would like to see River team up with that we haven't seen her with yet, Kingston enthusiastically named Ncuti Gatwa, calling him "a twinkly badass too," referring to a description she'd given her own character earlier in the panel. While there hasn't been any announcement made indicating a return for Kingston, she did indicate that perhaps we haven't seen the last of River Song. "It was such a wonderful journey and the journey may still continue," she said. "Who knows? I mean can you imagine just flying the Tardis and going to all those incredible different dimensions in time and space. I mean, it's been an amazing journey and I fly the Tardis better than he does."
Luckily, Kingston is no stranger to playing this character opposite a range of Doctors. Though the majority of her episodes were with Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor, the ER actress also appeared opposite David Tennant's Tenth Doctor and Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor. When asked if she felt that her character changed at all from Doctor to Doctor, Kingston said:
"No, I don't think my character differed, actually. She just sort of adapted to the personalities of each new Doctor. I mean, essentially, it's the same spirit but in a new body a little bit like when a snake sheds its skin. So it was sort of more like, oh hello. This is another facet of the person that I love that suddenly kind of opened up to me. And so I always found it's actually super exciting working then with a new incarnation of the doctor."
'Doctor Who' Was Alex Kingtston's Introduction to Sci-Fi But Not in the Way You Think
CloseAs a huge fan of science fiction herself, Lovitt opened the Q&A panel by asking Kingston, and her fellow panelists Michelle Hurd and Felicia Day, what their first introduction to the beloved genre was growing up. In a true full circle moment, Kingston confessed that her answer was in fact Doctor Who. "Actually, bizarrely, my introduction I have to say was Doctor Who," she laughed. "I don't know really whether you guys know this, but Doctor Who is kind of the same as the Queen and tea and scones.
"I mean, it is so much part of the cultural fabric of our country, and so I guess— I don't know how old I was maybe 5 or 6 and I remember watching the very, very first Doctor Who. I think it must have been a rerun because I think it came out originally in 63 and that's the year I was born. So I didn't watch it then [laughs]. But it was William Hartnell, black and white. And I just found this world just extraordinary. And so I grew up watching Doctor Who ."
A fan of the genre herself, Kingston then "went on to Star Trek because that is what you did in England. Those were your only options [laughs]. It was Doctor Who or Star Trek. So, yeah, that was my introduction."
Alex Kingston Is Set to Reunite With 'Doctor Who's Karen Gillan and Steven Moffat for 'Douglas Is Cancelled'
While we're still holding out hope for more River Song, whether it be on screen or in another audio adventure from Big Finish, Kingston is next slated for a Doctor Who reunion of sorts with former castmate Karen Gillan and showrunner Steven Moffat. Gillan and Kingston are set to star in Moffat's new television series Douglas Is Cancelled and while details are sparce on the show, she was able to tease a bit about the tone and when we might expect to see it on our screens. "At the end of last year, I was working on a television series with, it was lovely, one with Karen Gillan and it's a series that was written by Steven Moffatt, but not in the sci-fi world at all."
The former mother-daughter duo will be trading TARDIS trips for the world of entertainment journalism on Douglas Is Cancelled. "It's a very dark comedy set in, sort of, the world of television journalism and what's appropriate to say or not appropriate and whether you're going to be cancelled as a result," Kingston explained. "It was a joy to film and to work with Karen again and also to just speak Steven's words because he's such a genius writer. So that's, I think that's probably coming out certainly in the UK, although I think it might be on Showtime in around September time."
New episodes of Doctor Who are set to air on Disney+ in May. Stay tuned at Collider for further updates and don't miss the rest of our coverage from MegaCon.
Doctor Who
TV-PGActionAdventure Sci-FiThe show follows the adventures of a Time Lord, “The Doctor,” who is able to regenerate, and the Doctor’s human friends. The Doctor and his companions journey through time and space in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – saving the universe with a combination of wit, bravery, and kindness.
Release Date March 17, 2006 Cast Jodie Whittaker , Peter Capaldi , Matt Smith , David Tennant , Ncuti Gatwa , Christopher Eccleston Main Genre Sci-Fi Seasons 14 Studio BBC America Streaming Service(s) Disney+ ExpandncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51ksbCv06ipZq%2BYpHqiuMSxZKShnpzAtbvNZqmirpWnerS7zaBkp5ulqbZus8Ctrppn