Jinkx Monsoon’s Doctor Who character confirmed by Russell T Davies – here’s what we know
Drag Race icon Jinkx Monsoon will appear in the new season of Doctor Who. (BBC)
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has confirmed the name of Jinkx Monsoon’s character ahead of the show’s return next month, and fans are more excited than ever.
After it was announced this time last year that two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race champ Jinkx Monsoon would be starring in Ncuti Gatwa’s upcoming season of Doctor Who, fans have been drip-fed information about her character.
From the off, fans knew that the drag performer and Broadway actor would likely provide one of the campest villains in the show’s history, and her costume would be decked out with a piano-theme.
Yet many were convinced that she’d be playing the a new incarnation of the traitorous Time Lord and the Doctor’s legendary nemesis, The Master, who first made an appearance on the show back in 1971.
While this wasn’t confirmed by Davies, the writer just dropped the biggest hint yet that Jinkx Monsoon could indeed be playing The Master.
Jinkx herself continues to be booked and busy, making out with a High School Musical star in an off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors and announcing her new legal name after undergoing facial feminisation surgery.
Who does Jinkx Monsoon play in Doctor Who?
Russell T Davies has finally confirmed that Jinkx Monsoon will star as “Maestro” in the upcoming season of Doctor Who.
Speaking for the June 2024 issue of Empire magazine, Davies heaped praise on the Drag Race winner for her stellar performance.
“As for Jinkx, she actually stepped off the stage after a Broadway run of Chicago to get straight on a plane to be the character of Maestro in Doctor Who, and I think we can say she enjoyed that part somewhat,” he explained, adding that Jinkx gives “a performance and a half” in the role.
Ncuti Gatwa, who plays the fourteenth Doctor in the upcoming season, also declared Jinkx as a bona fide superstar in the show.
“She absolutely blew us away,” he said. “It was so cool to see her transfer her skill set to this show. She fits Doctor Who so well.”
So, we now know that Jinkx will play Maestro. However, as many fans have noted, “maestro” is Italian for “master” – aka the title of the Doctor’s iconic arch-enemy, who dreams of controlling and/or destroying the universe.
While a host of Doctor Who fans are extremely excited about the potential for Jinkx to become The Master, others aren’t so sure, with one suggesting that Davies could be playing “mind games”.
Some believe Jinkx should instead take on the role of a whole new enemy, while others think The Master should be retired for a while, considering the character has appeared almost a dozen times in different incarnations across the series, and was last seen in 2022, portrayed by Sacha Dhawan.
Which episode does Maestro appear in?
Whether Jinkx Monsoon’s Maestro is a new version of The Master or not is unconfirmed, but what we do know is that she will star in episode two of the new series.
The episode, entitled “The Devil’s Chord”, is reportedly set in 1963, and is centred around the release of The Beatles’ debut album.
Davies explained to Empire that he had never been able to make a Beatles episode of Doctor Who as using the British band’s music was too expensive.
That barrier then became the inspiration for the new episode, as it will feature the Fab Four recording their first songs.
In a recent trailer for the new season, fans watched as Jinkx’s Maestro rose from behind a piano and menacingly said: “You called?”
“The Devil’s Chord” will be available to stream from midnight on BBC iPlayer on 11 May, and will air on BBC One in the UK that evening.
Doctor Who will begin streaming internationally on Disney+ on 10 May.
