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“Give her a BAFTA!”: Drag Race fans react to Jinkx Monsoon’s Doctor Who debut

By Jordan Robledo

12th May 2024

BBC

Jinkx Monsoon has finally made her Doctor Who debut, and fans are absolutely living for it. 

Back in April 2023, showrunner Russell T Davies announced that the Queen of All Queens would be joining the 14th season of the popular sci-fi series starring Sex Education‘s Ncuti Gatwa.

“In a galaxy of comets and supernovas, here comes the biggest star of all,” showrunner Russell T Davies said. “Jinkx Monsoon is on a collision course with the TARDIS, and ‘Doctor Who‘ will never be the same again.”

In an additional statement, Jinkx expressed her excitement for her villainous character, stating: “I’m honoured, thrilled, and utterly excited to join ‘Doctor Who!’ Russell T Davies is a visionary and a brilliant writer — I can’t wait to get into the weeds with him and the crew! I hope there’s room in the TARDIS for my luggage.”

Over the past year, fans of the Portland-based queen have been eager to find out more details about her role.

Fortunately, on 11 May, the wait finally came to an end during the second episode of Doctor Who season 14 double premiere. 

Titled “The Devil’s Chord,” the second episode follows the Doctor (Gatwa) and his companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), as they travel back to 1963 to watch the Beatles record their first song at EMI Recording Studios.

However, upon their arrival, they realise a sinister plot is at work when the legendary band members and the world showcase a lack of interest in music. 

After Ruby plays a song, the villainous Maestro (Jinkx) appears, revealing that they have consumed music from the world’s inhabitants and is a child of the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris). 

 

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Unsurprisingly, Jinkx’s performance as the terrifying music foe was absolutely incredible. 

From her sickening costumes and campy jokes to her terrifying monologues and superstar vocals, the beloved talent showcased her charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent from start to finish. 

Shortly after the episode aired, hordes of fans took to social media to praise the All Stars 7 winner and her performance. 

One viewer on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote: “This new season of Doctor Who is delightfully bonkers. And Jinkx Monsoon is so much batshit fun.” 

Another fan echoed similar sentiments, tweeting: “Jinkx Monsoon may go down as an all-tier performance for a #DoctorWho villain. And Maestro might go down as one of the best villains the show’s had. They’re spectacular and bonkers. In other words, they’re so much fun!”

A third fan added: “Just watched #DoctorWho and while Space Babies was just fine I absolutely LOVED The Devil’s Chord – a ridiculously fabulous camp romp with one of the greatest ever performances from Jinkx Monsoon.“

BBC

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jinkx spilled all the tea about how she brought her zany character to life.

“I hope I’m not misquoting it, but I believe in the script it said ‘Maestro: Think Joker. Think the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and think Jinkx Monsoon,'” she explained in between laughs. 

“I was in the character description, so I knew I could rely on some of my own affections and personality traits.” 

The beloved talent also looked toward past Doctor Who villains, like Michelle Gomez’s Missy, for inspiration. 

“She’s incredible at playing these sinister characters who are so nuanced and so complex,” she continued. 

“You see what’s going on inside the character, even though there’s this veneer of unfazed evil. So yeah, Michelle Gomez, big shoutout to her.”

Check out more fan reactions to Jinkx’s Doctor Who debut below.  

BBC