SFX EXCLUSIVE - Official! Ice Warriors Return To Doctor Who This Year

SFX can exclusively reveal that the next series of Doctor Who will mark the return of one of the Time Lord's greatest foes, unseen in the series for nearly 40 years.

"We've got the most fantastic episode by Mark Gatiss," executive producer Caro Skinner tells SFX, "where we are bringing back the Ice Warrior... on a submarine! It's a really wonderful kind of 'bunker' episode, and a classic monster which Mark has brought his own inimitable twist to."

Armed with lethal sonic technology, the reptillian warmongers first tangled with Patrick Troughton's Doctor in 1967's "The Ice Warriors", returning two years later in "The Seeds Of Death". Jon Pertwee's incarnation encountered them in 1972's "The Curse Of Peladon" and 1974's "The Monster Of Peladon". Traditionally seen as one of the show's "Big Four" pantheon of monsters - along with the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Sontarans - the militaristic Martians won a throwaway mention in 2009's "The Waters Of Mars" but have remained unseen in the 21st Century series.

"They were such a beautiful original design, and are genuinely really scary in terms of what they look like as they’re coming towards you in that armour. Letting a huge Ice Warrior loose at the heart of a classic Hunt For Red October style submarine movie was exactly the kind of story that the Doctor should get mixed up in.

"They’ve got really scary voices as well," smiles Skinner. "I spent quite a lot of time on set trying to hiss like an Ice Warrior..."

The Red Planet's scariest export returns in episode three of series 7.2, directed by Douglas Mackinnon and starring the legend that is David Warner.

Nick Setchfield

Doctor Who returns to BBC One on Saturday 30 March.


Read our Doctor Who: The Silurian Gift review .
Read our Doctor Who: A Big Hand For The Doctor review .
Read our Doctor Who: The Reign Of Terror DVD review .
Read our Doctor Who: Destiny Of The Doctor – Hunters Of Earth review .

Nick Setchfield
Editor-at-Large, SFX Magazine

Nick Setchfield is the Editor-at-Large for SFX Magazine, writing features, reviews, interviews, and more for the monthly issues. However, he is also a freelance journalist and author with Titan Books. His original novels are called The War in the Dark, and The Spider Dance. He's also written a book on James Bond called Mission Statements. 

Latest in Sci-Fi Shows
Pedro Pascal as Joel in HBO's The Last of Us
The Last of Us' Neil Druckmann has a cryptic response to whether the TV show could pull a Game of Thrones and continue beyond the games: "I leave nothing on the line"
Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka
A Star Wars actor just quietly confirmed that filming has begun on Ahsoka season 2
Doctor Who episode 'Rose'
20 years after Doctor Who returned to our screens, fans are sharing their favorite moments including from comeback episode Rose
Black Mirror season 7
Charlie Brooker promises Black Mirror season 7 is "a bit more OG", having previously said that he didn't want the series to be known as "the 'tech is bad' show" anymore
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
Abby star Kaitlyn Dever played the Last of Us games with her dad and has been a fan "for a very long time"
Ncuti Gatwa in Doctor Who season 2
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies reveals why season 2's Eurovision inspired episode has him taking the "sexiest f***ing risk"
Latest in News
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
The surprise theme of today's Nintendo Direct was classic PlayStation franchises getting a comeback without Sony's involvement
Hogwarts Legacy how many spells
Unannounced Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled, partly because the studio wasn't sure it'd be worth players' money
Ultimate X-Men #14
Ultimate X-Men #14 pays homage to a classic Wolverine moment as the Shadow King returns
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says he isn't worried about fan reaction to season 2: "The best way we could respect our fans and honor them is to not worry about them"
Black Myth: Wukong
English is no longer the biggest language on Steam as Chinese gamers embrace PC gaming even harder after Black Myth: Wukong