Russell T Davies Keeps Courting Doctor Who Controversy, and It’s Getting Embarrassing

Feature by David Linton.

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t exactly counting the days until Doctor Who’s latest spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, aired, but I was willing to give it a chance. That was until Russell T Davies reminded everyone he’s back in charge.

Apparently, RTD has decreed that they’re not the Sea Devils any more. They’re “Homo Aqua” as using “Sea Devil” is “racist”. At least that’s what Davies told the Radio Times. And, just to hammer it home, he explained that we shouldn’t even call them monsters because humans will be the real villains of the story. Maybe that was meant to be profound, or maybe he’s just trolling for headlines again, but at this point it’s hard to tell.

What frustrates me most is how predictable this has become. In recent years, whenever there’s a new Doctor Who project to promote, the focus isn’t on imagination or storytelling, but on whatever quote Davies can drop to stir up social media. Instead of talking about great scripts, monsters or characters, he’s out there redefining terminology and turning needless things into a talking point.

The worst part is that this change doesn’t even make sense. “Homo Aqua”? It sounds like bad fan-fiction taxonomy, contradicting both the lore and logic of the show. The Sea Devils weren’t human; they were evolved reptiles who pre-dated humanity. You literally can’t call them Homo anything, they’re not mammals. It’s clumsy, performative and unnecessary, another example of RTD fiddling with things that were never broken.

And yes, I know Doctor Who has dabbled in pseudo-scientific naming before. The Silurians were called Homo reptilia, which was at least a symbolic nod to them being a kind of “reptilian people”. That actually made sense. But Homo Aqua implies they’re part of the human genus, which is nonsense on every level.

Let’s not forget how the Sea Devils even got their name. In their first appearance back in 1972’s The Sea Devils, the term came from frightened sailors and humans who encountered them off the English coast. It wasn’t meant as a factual label, it was what people would naturally call strange, unknown creatures emerging from the sea. The Doctor himself never used it in a derogatory way. It was a bit of human folklore that reflected fear of the unknown, not racism. That nuance seems to have completely escaped Davies.

Even if this is just Davies playing at provocation, it’s a tiresome game. He’s been at it since he returned, and it’s wearing thin. Whether it’s Davros losing his iconic look because RTD thought it was ableist, or the Sonic Screwdriver needing to be changed as it looked like a gun, or Davies insisting that the name The Celestial Toymaker carried racist overtones that needed to be “acknowledged”, everything feels engineered to start an argument rather than excitement.

And the irony is that all of this will only turn more people off. Doctor Who’s ratings have utterly sunk over the last few years, and hype for this spin-off is barely there already. Yet, RTD seems convinced that another controversy about “problematic” terminology will somehow get people tuning in. It’s baffling. The fans who are still here don’t want another culture war disguised as promotion; they just want to fall in love with the show again.

Worse still, RTD isn’t in any position to be playing games now. After the Disney deal collapsed, costing the BBC hundreds of millions and leaving them scrambling for a new streaming partner, you’d think he’d be desperately trying to restore faith in the brand. Instead, he’s tripling down on the same behaviour that alienated so many viewers in the first place. There’s still a dedicated fan base trying to support Doctor Who through all its ups and downs, but RTD makes it harder every time he opens his mouth.

It’s one of the reasons I wish RTD would have just moved on. He’s had his shot at a second run, and rather than maturing creatively, he’s turned Doctor Who into a constant stream of moral posturing. It’s genuinely baffling that the BBC hired him again, given the state the franchise is in. I’m just waiting for his 2026 Christmas special where Father Christmas becomes “Santx”, liberator of the Height-Challenged Gift Distribution Union (previously known as Elves). At this point, would anyone even be surprised?

I’m tired of being made to feel like fandom is some kind of moral purity test. I don’t need Doctor Who to apologise for its past or rewrite its own monsters. I just want smart stories, memorable characters, and a showrunner who remembers that the magic of Doctor Who lies in good science fiction, not self-congratulation.

So yes, I’ll be sitting this one out. RTD can keep his “Homo Aqua” and the endless PR rubbish that comes with it. Now, if you don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here rewatching the Pertwee classic, back when Doctor Who remembered how to tell a story without apologising for it.