In Review: Doctor Who (S2 – EP6) The Interstellar Song Contest

Synopsis: In The Interstellar Song Contest, the Doctor’s quest to get Belinda back home to Earth leads to a space station hosting the famous song contest. But a harmless night of fun soon becomes a battle to survive.

The Story

When the Doctor and Belinda land on a space station, they find themselves in a studio audience of interstellar proportions. They’ve arrived just in time to witness Rylan Clarke and his alien co-host presenting the latest Interstellar Song Contest—an intergalactic music competition inspired by Earth’s old Eurovision Song Contest.

However, things soon take a dark turn.

A terrorist interrupts the broadcast, taking over the production and ejecting the majority of the studio audience, the contestants—and even the Doctor—out into space. The terrorist identifies himself only as Kid. He is a Hellion, seeking revenge against the corporation that destroyed his planet, stripping it of its beauty and resources in order to harvest a flower that only grows on Hellion. That flower is used to produce the sweetness in a honey made by the very corporation sponsoring the contest.

Having witnessed the Doctor and the rest of the audience and most of the contestants blasted into space, Belinda is left in shock. Grieving for the Doctor and realising that her chances of ever returning home are now zero, she begins to fall apart. It’s only when Cora, one of the surviving contestants, reaches out to comfort her that Belinda begins to come to her senses. Together with Cora and a small group of survivors, Belinda starts to think rationally again—and begins to help plan a way to take back control of the station.

Meanwhile, out in space, the ejected individuals—scattered around the station—have begun to freeze. Among them is the Doctor, seemingly lost. But then, he receives a mysterious message from his granddaughter, Susan, who is in a TARDIS. Suddenly revived, the Doctor springs into action, using a confetti gun to propel himself toward the space station’s airlock. By chance, two of the station’s technicians are able to open the airlock just in time, pulling him inside to safety.

Working with the technicians, the Doctor—consumed with grief and rage, believing Belinda has been murdered—focuses entirely on getting into the studio control room to take Kid down. But once inside, the Doctor’s emotions overwhelm him. Blinded by fury, he begins to torture Kid, who is already broken by the atrocities committed against him and his people.

Watching the broadcast of the Doctor’s actions, Belinda is horrified. Realising how far the Doctor has gone, she decides to act. Cora, moved by what’s happening, reveals a secret she has hidden for years: she is a Hellion. She has been living a lie, entering the contest under the identity of a different race—going so far as to cut off her horns and style her hair to hide the stumps—just to be allowed to compete.

Belinda, unfazed, asks Cora to talk to Kid. Together with their group, they rush to the control room to stop the Doctor from going too far.

As the story wraps up, Kid is taken into custody and faces justice for his crimes. The Doctor and the others begin the difficult task of retrieving and reviving Rylan and all those ejected into space. Miraculously, many can still be saved.

With the studio audience reassembled and the broadcast restored, the contest is allowed to finish. This time, Cora performs as her authentic self, singing a song from her homeworld of Hellia. Her powerful performance earns her a standing ovation, even from an audience that was once hostile toward Hellions—thanks to years of corporate propaganda.

With everything seemingly set right, the Doctor and Belinda prepare to leave the station. But just as they reach the TARDIS, they are greeted by a hologram of Graham Norton, who delivers shocking news:

“The Earth was destroyed on 23 May 2025.”

Determined to prevent this catastrophe and get Belinda home, the Doctor sets a new course at the TARDIS console.

In a brief post-credits sequence taking place on the space station, Mrs Flood is the last person to be revived, after the Doctor has already left. Once she is awake, it is revealed that she is really The Rani, and she proceeds to bi-generate for the next stage of her plan—whatever that might be.

The Acting

The Interstellar Song Contest has a number of solid acting performances that elevate its dramatic stakes. Freddie Fox delivers a powerful turn as Kid, a character consumed with rage and pain over the loss of his planet. His portrayal captures the torment of someone stripped of home, heritage, and identity by corporate greed. It’s clear throughout the story that the Hellians are a marginalised people, with negative propaganda spread about them by the Corporation to justify the destruction of Hellia and the exploitation of its natural beauty.

Varada Sethu is fantastic as Belinda and perhaps one of my favourite Doctor Who companions to come along in a while. The scene where she breaks down in grief for the Doctor is especially compelling and utterly believable, showing a raw vulnerability that grounds the episode emotionally.

Ncuti Gatwa is outstanding in this episode, revealing a darker side to the Doctor that we’ve never seen before. The scene where the Doctor tortures Kid is deeply uncomfortable to watch, but it adds a layer of complexity to the character that’s rarely explored.

We also get a wonderful cameo from Carole Ann Ford, reprising her role as the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan. She appears as a sort of subconscious presence, guiding the Doctor back to himself at a critical moment. It’s a touching nod to the show’s legacy and a nice use of her character. Let’s hope it is more than a callback and we see Susan occupy a bigger role in the season finale.

Finally, Anita Dobson gives a memorable performance as Mrs Flood, with the post-credits sequence revealing her true identity in a moment that will no doubt set fandom buzzing. It’s a tantalising setup for what’s to come—and a reminder that the Doctor’s past continues to ripple forward in unexpected ways.

Overall

The Interstellar Song Contest is a strange brew of an episode. At its heart, it serves as a warning about mass consumption and the dangers of unchecked capitalism. The story of Hellia being stripped of its resources mirrors the very real destruction of Earth’s rainforests, which are being cleared to produce palm oil for countless everyday products. Kid becomes the humanoid face of this devastation—his dead planet a haunting glimpse at where such practices can ultimately lead.

The episode is cleverly written, delivering its message in a way that doesn’t feel on the nose or preachy, unlike the clumsy handling of similar themes in Kerblam! from Series 11 of the 2005/22 run.

Overall, this is a strong episode with powerful messaging and some truly moral and difficult questions about the direction humanity is heading in.