News / Doctor Who
Clifton Suspension Bridge plays starring role in Revolution of the Daleks
The New Year’s Day episode of Doctor Who on BBC One, Revolution of the Daleks, featured a guest appearance from Bristol’s most famous landmark, the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The bridge’s official Twitter account tweeted: “We’ve spent a long time not being able to tell anyone about it!”
Filming for the episode took place in October 2019, with the bridge closed under the pretence of a routine inspection to the main chain anchorage.
Written by Chris Chibnall, the special one-off episode starts at nearby Cheltenham, at GCHQ and is the final appearance for both Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole.
SPOILER ALERT
The Daleks are originally purchased by the government as prototype drones to deal with public disorder – a souped-up version of the water cannons Boris Johnson bought while he was mayor of London.
Described as “the security equivalent of the iPhone”, they are fast-tracked from regional beta testing to a national rollout when Jo Patterson, the politician who purchased them in secret, becomes prime minister.
The prime minister is played by Harriet Walter – photo: BBC
Meanwhile, Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor is in prison 79 billion light years away doing her own version of Joe Wicks’ online workouts to pass the time before she is broken out by Captain Jack.
Organic cellular traces from the original burnt-out reconnaissance Dalek from GCHQ were discovered, however, and then cloned, first by an unwitting human and then by the Daleks themselves.
The Daleks’ aim is to use Earth as a base to conquer our section of the Universe, with the clones transported by UV light from Japan into the thousands of shells that have been 3D-printed in the UK.
The Doctor wants to counter the Daleks with “the nuclear option, that might backfire”.
An anonymous message is sent by the Doctor to the death-squad Daleks, described as the SAS of Daleks but more brutal, who come to Earth as enforcers of the clones to exterminate the mutated Dalek DNA.
The head to head between the two Dalek cohorts comes on the Clifton Suspension Bridge, with each Dalek faction wanting to exterminate the impurities of the other as the Doctor watches on from the Leigh Woods tower.
The death squad Daleks arrive on Earth above Clifton – photo: BBC
The Clifton Suspension Bridge makes for a good landing sight – photo: BBC
The Dalek enforcers face off against the clones – photo: BBC
The Dalek clones have a distinctive red hue – photo: BBC
Doctor Who (Jodie Whittaker) watches on from the tower on the Leigh Woods side of the bridge – photo: BBC
Exterminate! – photo: BBC
Main photo: BBC
Read more: Daleks spotted on Clifton Suspension Bridge
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