Doctor Who unveils new sonic screwdriver – and it pays tribute to an iconic classic Doctor

Doctor Who has officially unveiled its new sonic screwdriver as Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor takes centre stage in multi-platform adventure Circuit Breaker.

In a video released on the Doctor Who socials, Martin gives us a close-up look at the new sonic, talking us through its features and even revealing that it pays tribute to Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor (whose first appearance in the show is turning 60 this year).

“I’ve got my own sonic screwdriver, finally someone’s listening to me!” Martin jokes at the beginning of the video.

She goes on to explain: “The patterns on here at the top kind of mirror the patterns I had on my gun. We’ve got this clip, it’s like a pen, which some of you may recognise. Troughton had this! Iconic Troughton.”

With Martin then going on to show off the sonic screwdriver’s light, and what she has dubbed the “pull-down”, the video slightly devolves into chaos, with the actress being handed more and more screwdrivers. The more the merrier!

Martin is currently starring in Circuit Breaker, a new story which consists of various releases including book publications, magazine issues, Big Finish audio dramas, posts on the UNIT website and releases from East Side Games.

Next up is The Honourable Society, which will be in Doctor Who Magazine issue 632 on 23 July. It’s written by Jason Quinn and illustrated by Anthony Williams.

Martin made her debut as the Fugitive Doctor in season 12, and has returned various times since then, including a surprise appearance in the season 15 episode The Story & The Engine.

Recently speaking to Radio Times about Circuit Breaker, she explained that it gave her a chance to develop the character further than what we’ve seen on screen.

“There are so many layers to her, and we’re just finding these layers, which has been a real gift and a real joy,” she said. “She’s not one-dimensional, which is what she kind of veers on in her TV appearances, really – you don’t see all the other things that make her tick.”

Martin added: “I think that in all my TV appearances, she’s very decisive, she knows what [she’s doing], it’s a very hard line, and no nonsense. And I think with Big Finish and with Circuit Breaker, we’ve got room to breathe and room for more nuance and room for making her a far more multi-dimensional character.”

Teasing a slightly more uncertain side to the Fugitive Doctor, she continued: “There’s so much more to her than just that, and the fact that she does have a vulnerable side, and she does question herself, and she does have regrets sometimes, and thinks, ‘Was that the best way to deal with that?’

“I think that’s really nice for Doctor Who fans to see that side of her, because it makes it all the better when she does switch back into this decisive, hard line Doctor.

“We all have stuff that we do to mask or to hide other bits of ourselves, and I think sometimes she uses her sarcasm and her humour to hide behind, and so to have this opportunity now to flesh her out and to explore more and to lean more into her backstory is just incredible.”

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Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker began on 25 June on the UNIT website. Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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