Changes in society’s attitudes to gender will be reflected in banter between the first and twelfth Doctors.

Speaking at the London Film & Comic Con – as reported by Radio Times – David Bradley, who will play the first Doctor in the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special, has said that the show’s script will reflect changing attitudes across the show’s 50-odd year span.

Specifically, the first and twelfth incarnations of the Time Lord will verbally clash over attitudes to the role of women.  

“What we did emphasise,” Bradley said, “was the old fashioned nature and how he is from the 60s. He goes into the Twelfth Doctor’s Tardis and says ‘it’s a bit dusty around here, it’s in an awful state isn’t it? Where’s Polly? Shouldn’t she give it a spring clean?’ And then Peter’s saying ‘you can’t say that’.”  

Bradley went on to explain that the first Doctor “brings all his 60s sensibilities, what’s lovingly called casual chauvinism. He’s just talking [as if] the [companions] are there just to help out, and do the dusting and do all the domestic chores – his attitudes to a lot of things come right from the 60s, so there’s a lot of conflict between Hartnell’s Doctor and Peter’s Doctor about how things have changed in the last 50 years… we had quite a bit of fun with that.”

If this is the case, it makes us keen to know if the first Doctor will still be around to meet the 13th.