Doctor Who Rumour: TARDIS interior to be wheelchair accessible

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According to an article published in The Sun, the new TARDIS interior set in the process of construction at Wolf Studios Wales may contain ramps and a lift.

The Sun’s source said “These modifications aren’t just a sign of changing times, they’re also down to some of the characters who’ll feature on the show. Returning to the cast for the specials – which are set to air next year with David Tennant alongside Catherine Tate – will be wheelchair user Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott. And there are rumours that disabled actress Ruth Madeley could also be joining the cast…”

There had been a previous rumour on 22 May about Ruth Madeley playing a UNIT scientist from someone who correctly predicted that there would be filming at a power station. A Doctor Who night shoot was filmed at Uskmouth Power Stations in Newport Wales on 27 May. Other sources told us that extras playing UNIT soldiers and steel workers would be present at the power station for a night shoot.

 

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Another source on a popular Doctor Who forum, apparently unaware of the possible accessibility uses, described a “roller-coaster rail” coiling around the TARDIS interior from the console to raised walkways and a “cherry-picker”, possibly the rumoured lift or possibly set construction equipment. The posts from the forum member sharing the TARDIS interior information and a description of a scene with a character in wheelchair named Hebe were deleted from a thread on the forum with scant explanation.

Ruth Madeley plays marine biologist Hebe Harrison, a companion along with Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush to Colin Baker’s sixth Doctor in Doctor Who – The Sixth Doctor Adventures, a recent audio boxset of adventures from Big Finish.

Bernard Cribbins was spotted in a wheelchair filming Doctor Who in Camden on 16 May.

The former thirteenth Doctor’s TARDIS interior set at Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff, to which stairs were added in 2019, was dismantled in November of 2021.