From Jacondans to Shansheeth, the Whoniverse is home to several birdlike races, but none with quite such elaborate plumage as the Chuldur. The first draft of the script for Rogue had all the avian aliens looking the same, but this season was all about taking things to the next level. “Doctor Who has got a rich history of animal-people and it’s always a good starting point,” says Millennium FX supervisor Neill Gorton. “The Judoon are the best example of that – you’ve got a race that are militaristic, powerful, and a rhinoceros just absolutely hit the nail on the head. In this story, you’ve got the period setting, there’s the elegance of the ball, and in that kind of environment very often you’d have peacocks on the lawn, so birds fit really well. The script originally gave a specific kind of bird that they were all going to be, but Russell said ‘No, I want them all different, I want a variety of characters.’ That’s a much more interesting way to do it. In previous years we would have gone with all one kind of bird because that keeps the costs down, but now we’re aiming higher and we’re trying to push ourselves to make this as beautiful, exquisite, interesting and rich as possible.”
We get our first description of the final Chuldur-look in the script of 15 November 2022. In a scene subsequently cut from the broadcast version, the housekeeper finds a nasty surprise lurking in a dark corridor.
A BIRD-LIKE HUMANOID MONSTER with a sharp beak, mane of peacock feathers and spiky feathered skin. It’s body still looks like a LADY-IN-WAITING, but its face is like a Southern Cassowary bird. Instead of hands, it has sharp, crooked CLAWS.