20 Worst Moments In Modern Doctor Who

17. "Male Presenting Time Lord" (The Star Beast)

Doctor Who The Star Beast Rose Donna
BBC Studios

The Star Beast arrived with enormous levels of hype back in 2023, though it ended on a bit of a weird note with Rose and Donna’s lines to the Doctor that he “doesn’t understand”, because he’s no longer a “male-presenting Time Lord”.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to empower a particular group of people, but to put another group of people down in the process feels quite reductive, and quite unlike Doctor Who itself. But what really makes this a misjudged moment is the fact that the Doctor was literally a woman literally several hours ago, and as a result the very important gender-fluid aspect of the character feels like it’s being conveniently ignored, at best. 

Moreover the Doctor is an ancient alien from a society that has long since moved beyond our “petty human obsession with gender” (to quote the Twelfth Doctor), so of course they would understand, regardless of what form they’re currently taking.

It’s not really clear what Russell T Davies was trying to say or do here, and it’s a strange moment in an episode that otherwise made important strides with trans representation in Doctor Who.

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Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.