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Dursley McLinden in the 1988 film Just Ask For Diamond
Credit: Alamy
The fourth episode of It’s a Sin features an unexpected moment, as Ritchie Tozer (Olly Alexander) battles a trio of Daleks. It’s an unlikely transition, from the Eighties-set Aids drama – which began on Channel 4 last week and is available in its entirety on All 4 – to a space station laser battle with the Doctor Who monsters.
This isn’t a step back into the alternate reality of Doctor Who for writer Russell T Davies, or even just a reference for the fun of it (Davies’ own fandom has been materialising in his dramas since even before he relaunched Doctor Who in 2005 – Queer as Folk character Vince, for instance, was also a Whovian). Rather, Davies is paying homage to actor and singer, Dursley McLinden, who died of an Aids-related illness in 1995.
Time is wibbly-wobbly, and no one knows that better than Russell T Davies, the former
Doctor Whoshowrunner who s travelled back through time again with his latest masterpiece,
It s a Sin. And now, ten years after Russell stepped down from his TARDIS duties, things have come full circle with a surprise
Doctor Who crossover which pops up in the fourth episode of Channel 4 s new drama.
After praying that Ritchie Tozer will catch his big break on screen, the aspiring actor finally lands a small role in a show that s
Doctor Who in all but name. Dressed in a futuristic outfit, Tozer s character, Trooper Linden, defends a space station from what looks like a group of Daleks.