Named by Variety as one of their 10 Brits to Watch and soon to be seen in Doctor Who as Belinda Chandra, Varada Sethu had this to say to Variety about Miss Chandra:
“Belinda really feels like an equal to the Doctor. She’s got her own sense of self that isn’t necessarily attached to the Doctor.”
Not much else is known about Belinda, who is seen in the Doctor Who Season Two teaser trailer demanding, “Doctor, you need to get me home!” She appears to work in a modern-day hospital setting. Her drag-along adventures with the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) introduce her to space battles, flying saucers, robots, alien worlds, underwater adventures, anti-gravity explorers and a real-life cartoon character who climbs out of the screen to terrify cinema-goers.
Bad Wolf executive Julie Gardner referred to Sethu’s character as “Belinda Finch.” It’s not known whether Gardner misspoke or let an alternate name for the character slip.
Varada Sethu has a twin sister named Abhaya Sethu, who is also in the film and television industry as a casting assistant.
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies emphasized that Belinda is Miss Chandra.
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Doctor Who Season Two, starring Ncuti Gatwa, Varda Sethu and Millie Gibson, will begin transmission on Saturday, 12 April 2025. The eight episodes of the series will transmit troughout April and May 2025 on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and Disney+ where available.