Sex and sexuality in the new Doctor Who

Russell T. Davies first publicly flagged up his interest in Doctor Who when he introduced K9 and Doctor Who fandom into the series 'Queer as Folk' - a series about the Manchester Gay scene. Perhaps it is not surprising that a writer who has dealt with explicit sexual themes for an adult audience should change the approach to sex and sexuality in Doctor Who.

This change is closely related to a change in the approach to emotions and feelings, and to relationships in general. The central relationship in the series has always been that between the Doctor and his travelling companions. During the sixties he had a mixture of male and female companions, often one of each. The earlier, more mature, companions were later replaced by people in their late teens or early twenties, the typical age of the protagonists in fairy tales.

Throughout the seventies and most of the eighties the Doctor had a single female companion. The programme's attitude towards these companions was at times frankly sexist: they were there for male viewers to ogle. However although the people making the programme, the viewers, and the tabloid papers, were well aware of this sexual dimension, it could not be alluded to within the fictional world of the programme.

Like fairy tale heroines, many of the Doctor's female companions ended their adventures in marriage. The Doctor often seemed to form some kind of emotional bond with these companions, but this was clearly not sexual in nature; his role was more that of a mentor. The Doctor was always celibate.

In the new series this has subtly changed. His new companion, Rose, already has a boyfriend, Mickey, although he proves to be substandard in comparison to the Doctor. Rose's relationship with the Doctor has all the emotional intensity of a sexual relationship even though it is not one, and the two are sometimes mistaken for a couple.

Later another companion, Captain Jack, is introduced. Captain Jack is a thoroughly sexualised character who flirts with Rose - and she plainly finds him attractive. However he is bisexual, and also flirts with the Doctor.

In the episode, 'The Doctor Dances,' dancing is used as a metaphor for sex, including sex with alien species which in the future has become common. In the second season of new series the same metaphor is used to suggest that the Doctor has a sexual relationship with a famous historical character. 

These sexual allusions are subtle, and small children may not notice them. Even so,  the change to a sexualised Doctor, and the introduction of a bisexual companion in a family TV drama, indicate a definite change in attitudes towards sex and sexuality in our culture.

Dave Ferguson, July 2006