James Bond is now canon in ‘Doctor Who’

doctor who have Returns with a tender yet tear-jerking holiday special “Joy to the world.” And in the midst of a rollicking adventure across time involving dinosaurs, holograms, game night hangouts, and villainous capitalism, returning writer Steven Moffat also drops some interesting new lore in the canon: James Bond and Doctor Who exist in the same world. are

The link between these epic British heroes (and their franchises) is a bombshell named Sylvia Trench. In an interview with Mashable, doctor who Executive producer and “Joy to the World” writer Steven Moffat revealed the details of his Hoonivers appearance and what it means.

Who is Sylvia Trench?

Eunice Gayson and Sean Connery as Sylvia Trench and James Bond in “Dr. No.”
Credit: Danjaq / Eon / Ua / Kobal / Shutterstock.com

Sylvia Trench was the first Bond girl. The late British actress Eunice Gayson played the dark detective’s love interest in the 1962s. Dr. No And of 1963 From Russia with love. Specifically, it is in 1962 that this stylish character crosses paths with Doctor (Nkuti Gatwa).

In “Joy to the World”, two-hearted time travelers pass through the doors of several time hotels, arriving in 1940 Manchester, 1953 Everest, and 1962 Italy. The last of these is where he meets a seductive beauty in a coral-colored skirt suit, clutching a copy of Agatha Christie. Murder on the Orient Express – with a handwritten love letter.

The woman never reveals her name, but the credits at the end of the episode identify her as Sylvia Trench (played here by Niamh Marie Smith, who Teased the look on Instagram on October 4). This detail connects our lovable traveler to James Bond, and gives more context to his scenes in the episode as well as his life beyond Bond.

Steven Moffat reveals the secret life of Sylvia Trench doctor who

Neem Marie Smith plays Sylvia Trench in “Doctor Who: Joy to the World”.
Credits: Screenshot: YouTube

In our interview, Moffat confirmed that Sylvia Trench is intended to be the same chick stunner. Dr. No With a simple “yes, yes”.

Then he shares his love for the neglected Bond girl. “He’s the reason James Bond presents himself the way he does,” explained Moffat. “He says to her, ‘I admire your luck, miss…?’ And she says, ‘Sylvia Trench…?’ [And he replies,] ‘The bond. James Bond.’ So, for the rest of time, James Bond continues to announce his surname before his Christian name.”

in the Dr. NoThe couple meets at a card table in a posh casino. The lines of dialogue are slightly different than Moffat remembers. (Watch the video below to see.) But he’s right that Sean Connery’s Bond drew his iconic catchphrase from Sylvia Trench’s lips.

Moffat felt that Sylvia was better than she got from pop culture. “Sylvia Trench is James Bond’s girlfriend for the first two films. Homecoming is his regular girlfriend in the first two films!” Moffat emphasized, “But while she was doing all this, she was Also Having a relationship with a woman and traveling on the Orient Express. I thought, ‘It’s inevitable.’ I felt like I was judging him, you know? Because she’s the most cheating woman in the history of fiction, right? Because she made the mistake of going out with James Bond.”

Sylvia Trench, from Bond girl to queer icon.

Sylvia’s letter in “Joy to the World.”
Credits: Screenshot: YouTube

In “Joy to the World,” Moffat gives it a surprising new spin. When the Doctor returns to Sylvia during the climax, he looks at the love letter he carries and jokes, “You’re better off without her. Her sentence structure is terrible.”

This is obviously a reference to Bond, the Bea who always leaves Sylvia behind for his next adventure (or hook-up). A joke about his sentence structure refers to “The name is Bond, James Bond”. However, as Moffat points out, it was as a matter of fact Khai’s sentence structure reflects his intimate response to the doctor: “I Wrote this letter!” This is a clever way to make Sylvia more active than passive in her love life.

The doctor tries to make up for it with a smile and saying, “Great letter! You should send it to him.” To which she gives a sharp reply, “Nu to him!” And as quickly as the Doctor steps out of his train compartment, Moffat has reimagined Sylvia Trench.

No longer is she a tragic Bond girl waiting for her globe-tracking detective boyfriend to return. She’s on her own adventure, racing across Italy on the Orient Express, writing a letter (albeit poorly constructed) to her Sapphic lover. A new By Icon (or Bycon) has been born!

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