 This story was written by Kate Herron and Briony Redman, and directed by Ben Chessell.
In this story the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) travel to 1813 where they meet a mysterious bounty hunter named Rogue (played by Jonathan Groff) who is trying to hunt and kill a criminal member of the shape-shifting Chuldur species.
Kate Herron and Bryony Redman, are brand new writers to the show - making it the second story of this season not written by Russell T Davies. They are the only other writers contributing to Season Forty One (New Series 14), aside from showrunner Russell T Davies and former showrunner Steven Moffat. This makes "Rogue" the first story, since the 2020 Thirteenth Doctor story "The Haunting of Villa Diodati", to be entirely written by someone who has not been either a current or former Doctor Who showrunner.
Though not appearing physically in this story, actress Susan Twist still makes an appearance when her likeness is used in the form of a portrait, of the Duke's late mother, that Ruby sees hanging on a wall - so continuing the ongoing mystery behind the seemingly disparate characters Susan Twist has played during this season. The Doctor and Ruby have noted this pattern occurring, as seen in "The Devil's Chord", "Boom", "Dot and Bubble" and by Ruby's alternate self from another timeline in "73 Yards".
Jonathan Groff has revealed that he has never seen Doctor Who before and was sent five episodes by Russell T Davies including the very first story, the 1963 First Doctor story "An Unearthly Child", before filming began.
Indira Varma played a character named The Duchess. Indira Varma had previously played the part of Suzie Costello in the Doctor Who spin-off series, Torchwood. Paul Forman guest stars as Lord Barton.
The remainder of the guest cast included Michelle Greenidge appearing as Ruby's mother Carla and Ashley Campbell as a butler.
"Rogue" shares similar themes to the period drama Bridgerton in terms of production design, costumes, music, and choreography. It has also been compared to Pride and Prejudice.
Bridgerton is directly referred to during this story. Russell T Davies has stated that he and Bridgerton's executive producer Shonda Rhimes are fans of each other. He further explained that there was an episode of Grey's Anatomy (a television series created by Shonda Rhimes) where Doctor Who fans fight over his autograph in an emergency room. Russell T Davies said that he viewed this Bridgerton-themed story as ‘repaying the compliment’.
Executive Producer Phil Collinson hired Jack Murphy as the story’s choreographer after finding out he had worked on Bridgerton.
Costume designer Pam Downe had recently worked on a regency-era film and aimed to dress the cast in a wider variety of colours than typically done for the genre. She took a mix of inspiration from her own paintings, Bridgerton, and more modern outfits. Ncuti Gatwa wears white trousers with a velvet jacket. Pam Downe viewed Ncuti Gatwa’s jacket as an acknowledgement to the outfits of the previous incarnations of The Doctor, particularly that of Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor. Jonathan Groff’s outfit included a navy blue tailcoat.
"Rogue" was filmed in May 2023 and was recorded in the fourth filming block along with the second story, "The Devil's Chord". Filming locations in Wales, included Tredegar House in Newport (that served as the Pemberton mansion) and the Margam Country Park Orangery (for the grounds of the mansion). The Margam County Park was previously used in the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky".
80% of Rogue's spaceship was recycled from previous sets including "Wild Blue Yonder" and "Space Babies".
Only one take could be used for the dance between The Doctor and Rogue because eye contact had to be maintained the entire time, limiting the amount of takes that could be edited together.
This story featured orchestral covers of contemporary popular music, a theme also used by Bridgerton, including ‘Bad Guy’ by Billie Eilish and ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga. These were performed by the Vitamin String Quartet. This story also featured excerpts of ‘Can't Get You Out of My Head’ by Kylie Minogue, who guest-starred as Astrid Peth in the 2007 Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned".
Rogue wrongly mistakes The Doctor as the enemy, that he has been paid to kill, because of The Doctor’s alien DNA revealing that as a Time Lord he can change his appearance. The Tenth Doctor was similarly misidentified as a wrong target, because of his alien origin, by The Judoon in the 2007 story "Smith and Jones".
When proving that he is a Time Lord to Rogue, images of The Doctor's prior incarnations appear. These start with the Fourteenth Doctor (as he was his most recent regeneration). Other incarnations shown include the Thirteenth Doctor, the Twelfth Doctor, the Eleventh Doctor, the Tenth Doctor, the Ninth Doctor, the War Doctor (as played by John Hurt), the Eighth Doctor, the Seventh Doctor, the Sixth Doctor, the Fifth Doctor, the Fourth Doctor, the Third Doctor, the Second Doctor, the First Doctor and the Fugitive Doctor (as played by Jo Martin). A version of The Doctor, as portrayed by Richard E Grant in the 2003 webcast "Scream of the Shalka" was visible as well.
Before his appearance in the line-up, showing The Doctor's previous faces after the Fifteenth Doctor is scanned to prove his species, Richard E Grant has portrayed an alternate version of the Ninth Doctor in the 2003 animated story "Scream of the Shalka". This uncredited appearance by Richard E Grant marks the first time that his incarnation of The Doctor has appeared in an onscreen story. Richard E Grant has also appeared in the show as Walter Simeon, in the 2012 Christmas special "The Snowmen", and as a physical form of the Great Intelligence in the Season Thirty Three (New Series 7) finale "The Name of The Doctor". Richard E Grant also portrayed an alternate Tenth Doctor in the 1999 Comic Relief story "The Curse of Fatal Death".
This story features the first instance of a male incarnation of The Doctor actively pursuing a romantic relationship with another male individual, a first in the show's history. The Fifteenth Doctor and Rogue's relationship is much like how his predecessor, the Fourteenth Doctor, commented that Isaac Newton was attractive. This is the third time The Doctor has shown interest in a same-sex romance; the first was the Thirteenth Doctor, who showed attraction towards her travelling companion Yasmin Khan, but did not fulfil this as the Thirteenth Doctor knew she would inevitably regenerate.
The Doctor, when trapped in the Triform, remarks that he is ‘bond, molecular bond’, referencing the character James Bond's catchphrase ‘Bond, James Bond’.
The Doctor knows the game Dungeons & Dragons and Rogue jokes ‘roll for insight’, a reference to the game's ‘insight check’ mechanic.
The Doctor sings part of the song ‘Pure Imagination’ that was originally written for the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (that is based on Roald Dahl's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
The Doctor once more uses his psychic paper, as last seen in "The Church on Ruby Road".
The Doctor refers to himself as a ‘Lord of Time’. The Tenth Doctor once called himself this in the 2006 story "The Girl in the Fireplace".
The Doctor once again rejects the idea of being called ‘Doc’, as seen in "The Time Meddler", "The Five Doctors", "The Twin Dilemma" and "The Ultimate Foe". Although, the Thirteenth Doctor regularly allowed Graham O'Brien to call her that during their adventures, like in "The Ghost Monument", "Kerblam!", "Spyfall" and "The Power of The Doctor".
The Doctor recalls a conversation with Carla Sunday about promising to keep Ruby safe, echoing similar conversations that the Ninth Doctor had with Jackie Tyler about her daughter Rose's safety in the 2005 story "Aliens of London/World War Three".
The Doctor remarks that Ruby is his best friend. He previously said this of Donna Noble in the 2009/2010 story "The End of Time".
Ruby recalls that she met space babies in "Space Babies", that her mother is Carla Sunday and her grandmother is Cherry Sunday - as originally established in "The Church on Ruby Road" and that she has the ability to generate snow, as seen in "Space Babies", "The Devil's Chord" and "Boom".
Rogue is seen grabbing The Doctor's hand and declaring that they run from the Chuldur, leading The Doctor to comment that it is usually he doing that, recalling times he did, such as in "Rose", "Smith and Jones", "Partners in Crime" and "The Doctor's Daughter".
The Doctor kisses Rogue, a man, something the Ninth Doctor did with Captain Jack Harkness in "The Parting of the Ways" and the Eleventh Doctor did to Rory Williams in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship".
Before broadcast there was a myth that Rogue was to be either a recast Captain Jack Harkness, an incarnation of The Doctor (before the First Doctor) or another Time Lord, potentially The Meddling Monk. None of these were proven to be true. Another myth was that The Duchess was to be revealed as The Rani. This was also proven to be false.
The Chuldur can live up to 600 years. When not disguised they have avian features. They recognise each other by scent, travel in packs, and love cosplay.
Rogue notes that Gallifrey is considered a long-lost world in his time period, recalling remarks made by Captain Jack Harkness, on the matter of its destruction in the Last Great Time War, in the 2005 Ninth Doctor story "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways" and, more recently, its destruction in the 2020 Thirteenth Doctor story "The Timeless Children".
The TARDIS once more makes a mysterious groaning sound, which The Doctor jokes is because it is suffering with indigestion. The Doctor previously thought the groaning sound was because the TARDIS was broken in "Wild Blue Yonder" and "The Devil's Chord".
This story is the second of two historical stories in this season, after "The Devil's Chord". It takes place in Bath, Somerset, and is set in 1813 during the Regency era. This story though does not feature any significant historical figures.
This story was released on the 7th June 2024 on Disney+ and on the 8th June 2024 on BBC One.
This story included a dedication to William Russell, who passed away five days before this story was broadcast. The dedication stated: ‘In Loving Memory of William Russell 1924 - 2024’. William Russell played the original First Doctor companion Ian Chesterton and had been present in the show as recent as the 2022 story "The Power of The Doctor".
The end titles include the caption: ‘Produced with the support of Incentives for the Irish Film Industry provided by the Government of Ireland’.
This story received primarily positive reception from critics, with praise particularly towards Ncuti Gatwa and Jonathan Groff 's performances.
A novelisation of this story written by Kate Herron and Briony Redman is due to be released on the 8th August 2024 in paperback as part of the Target Collection. An audiobook edition, read by Dan Starkey, will be released the same day.
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The Firsts:
The first story, since the 2020 Thirteenth Doctor story "The Haunting of Villa Diodati", to be entirely written by someone who has not been either a current or former Doctor Who showrunner.
The first instance of a male incarnation of The Doctor actively pursuing a romantic relationship with another male individual.
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