“I’d have taken Rachel for every episode of Doctor Who she could do,” says former showrunner Steven Moffat, whose final episode was Twice Upon a Time. “She can’t do that many, because she has to go and make proper money on shows that actually pay people, but she’s been, for the last few years, my automatic first choice. I’d have her for anything. She’s superlative. She’s a tremendous asset to us. I think she’s a phenomenal Doctor Who director. She’s brilliant.”
So what did Steven look for in a Doctor Who director? “You want imagination, and vision, and surprise, and enthusiasm, and new ways of shooting that console room. You want all of that. That is the job of the director. But if you’re going to have a moment of chutzpah, it’d better be relevant. What’s clever about Rachel is, she’s both innovative and narrative-led. I mean, a conductor, when they conduct an orchestra, isn’t supposed to make up new notes, but they are supposed to make you hear the music as if it were brand new. That’s what Rachel does. Every time.”