The War Between the Land and the Sea cast and creatives tease a love story and an adventure with a “shocking climax”
Published: 27 November 2025
The War Between the Land and the Sea showcases how the world reacts when a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity and triggering an international crisis.
Barclay (Russell Tovey) is a low-level UNIT staff member whose ordinary life becomes a world of terror when an ancient species rises from the sea. He becomes humanity’s ambassador when the mysterious Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) emerges from the Tank at a summit on the Thames.
And UNIT, led by Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), fights for control as humanity faces destruction.
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Meet the cast and creatives
Russell Tovey (Barclay)
How did your casting come about? How did you react when you heard you had got the part of Barclay?
I worked with Russell T Davies on Doctor Who and Years And Years, and he wrote to me to say there is something coming my way and he’d love for me to do it and take a read. I read it and met up with the director Dylan Holmes Williams and Executive Producer Jane Tranter and had a big chat about it. I was incredibly excited once I got my head around the concept, how it was all going to play out, and what was going to happen to my character. It was an amazing thing to step back into The Whoniverse and work with Russell T Davies again.
What can you tell us about your character, Barclay? Where do we find him at the start of the series?
Barclay is a very regular guy who books taxis for very important people. He’s a drifter, he’s a divorcee, he’s a single parent. He’s slightly numb and going through the motions. We find him at the beginning just suddenly thrust into a situation he wasn’t expecting, and that ricochets through the trajectory of his life.
Did you receive any advice on how to go about the role?
I think the script was enough. There were amazing directions in it, the dialogue was incredible, and the interactions between the characters is really beautiful and nuanced. I talked to the director Dylan Holmes Williams about the character. I wanted Barclay to feel like a lost boy at the beginning, and I really wanted to go on a journey with him.
What can we expect to see from the series?
We are going to see how Barclay connects with Salt and their relationship, how that blossoms and becomes something incredibly important for him personally, for her personally, but also the implications that has for the planet. I think there’s going to be a lot of love, and this show has a big beating heart and it’s their connection.
What was your reaction when you first read the scripts?
I loved them. I just thought they were beautifully written. Pete McTighe and Russell T Davies created something very original and exciting and nuanced and moving. I was incredibly moved by Barclay’s journey; it allowed me as an actor to process many emotions. He goes on a gauntlet of highs and lows.
Did you get to partake any stunts? How was it filming the underwater sequences?
There were a lot of stunts – running around a lot at full pelt! A lot of water stunts. I love swimming and I embraced all the swimming underwater with panache, I loved it. I feel very at home in the swimming pool or in the sea, so those were easy for me. Barclay has a lot of leaping and jumping and fighting.
The sets, special effects and make up in this series are on another level, what was it like immersing yourself in that environment?
Amazing! The sets were so immersive, I couldn’t believe the build. What they achieved was phenomenal. So, when you climb onto set, literally in some cases, you felt totally immersed in the story. My makeup was minimal compared to Gugu, and I was in awe of her energy and how she created this amazing character and had to go through this endurance test. Every moment of every day I was excited to get on set.
How was it working with your co-lead, Gugu Mbatha-Raw?
I’m obsessed with her, I think she’s phenomenal. Her poise, her stillness, her emotion, the way she contains so much with a look, I’m a big fan. I was so excited that we were going to be working together on this. I think she’s incredibly classy.
How would you characterise the relationship between Barclay and Salt?
I would say they are soulmates from totally different worlds, and unbeknownst to them, they’ve been thrust together. It feels kismet or astrological – the universe has made these two connect in the most profound way and it’s affected the planet.
How was it working alongside your other co-stars?
It was amazing. Jemma Redgrave is so wonderful and I loved working with her. Francesca Corney and Colin McFarlane, I loved… Everybody at every stage, cast and crew, were incredibly special. It was a really beautiful energy on set, and we formed good friendships. It’s one of those jobs that I think we’re all going to remember for a long, long time.
What are you most excited for the audience to see in the series, and what would you like them to take away from it?
I want them to go on this journey with Barcley, for him to take you through this world, be changed, connect with Salt, and start to really consider the state of the planet and what we’re doing. It’s about dramatizing and humanising something that is fundamentally serious.
Do you think there could be different species lurking in the ocean?
Yes, and I think there’s different species lurking in space, I think there’s different species lurking in rainforests or in the middle of glaciers, and I think there is a lot in this world that we haven’t even encountered yet or have no concept of. I find that hopeful and terrifying at the same time.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Salt)
How did your casting come about? How did you react when you heard you had got the part of Salt?
Russell T Davies wrote me a beautiful letter, and it was an offer for the role of Salt! I had worked on Doctor Who many years ago, it was almost one of my 1st TV jobs ever, so it felt like a special full circle moment to have the opportunity to work with Russell again. I had to think about it because the character is quite extraordinary! I understood that she’s an amphibian, but as an actor I was thinking ‘well, how’s that going to go? What is that going to look like?’, but also, what an incredible challenge and opportunity to transform. It was really a combination between being very excited to work with Russell again and having this incredibly extraordinary and unique character to play.
What can you tell us about your character, Salt? Where do we find her at the start of the series?
Salt is a part of a species that lives under the sea that have been dormant for many years called Homo Amphibia. We initially meet her because she has come to represent her species as an ambassador, to defend their rights, and expose the human race for what they have done to the oceans. She’s quite a fearsome character. She comes with a posse of a Homo Aqua and other species from the sea, and they’re incredibly intelligent. I think what I’ve loved throughout the series is that you get to see so many different sides of her. She is in this ambassadorial role and has this formal and regal quality to her, and as the series goes on, she becomes more human.
How did you go about taking on the role of Salt?
I must really give full credit to the prosthetic designer Neil Gorton and the incredible team who designed this beautiful look for Salt. It took nearly three hours to get into makeup and costume; it was no small feat, and that was just for my face! The rest of the look was all meticulously designed. There were many fittings and different hair and makeup tests. It was a very in-depth and involved process that was really a collaboration between these incredible prosthetics artists. It’s not every day that you get a character that is so liberated from your usual look. You have to discover a different way to move, a different way to speak, and it was a really fun challenge.
What can we expect to see from the series?
It is an epic journey. All five episodes are directed by the amazing Dylan Holmes Williams. He masterfully brought the show together and always had such an incredible vision and energy. There are elements of sci-fi, the magical underwater world, but it’s grounded in a recognisable way with Russell Tovey playing this relatable, charming, and everyman character that gets drawn into these extraordinary circumstances. It’s an emotional ride – there is high drama and high stakes. I really loved Russell T Davies’ show a few years ago, Years and Years, and I think there are elements of the energy of that show, but also there’s some fun stuff there for the sci-fi fans too.
What was your reaction when you first read the scripts?
I thought it was epic and ambitious and extraordinary. I think that the ambition, scope, and the scale of the show is massive. Some of the messages behind the show for audiences to discover is topical and resonant for our times.
Did you get to partake any stunts? How was it filming the underwater sequences?
Yes, oh my gosh, my first day! [Laughs] My very first day in the prosthetics and makeup, we were filming in a wave pool. So, not only was I in the prosthetics for the first time, but I was neck deep in water – outside! That was a real challenge and quite a bracing start to the character. We also worked at Pinewood at the famous water stage which has hosted so many epic movies over the years, so that was quite iconic to film there. We also did quite a lot of wire work, shooting up high into the air that will, through the magic of the process, be converted to look like we’re underwater.
The sets and special effects in this series are on another level, what was it like immersing yourself in that environment?
The Empress Hall set was huge. The size of those sets that they had built there in Cardiff were really, really epic. One of my favourite sets was under the ocean in Salt’s domain. Everything else up until that point, Salt is out of her comfort zone in the human world and breathing human air. Stepping onto that set really transported you to another world.
How was it working with your co-lead, Russell Tovey?
Russell is such a brilliant actor, and I’ve known of his work for many years. We’re sort of the same generation, coming up through theatre. He’s so brilliant in this role. Barclay is such a charming character who gets to go on such a deep emotional journey, and he’s just been brilliant to work with.
How would you characterize the relationship between Barclay and Salt?
It’s really an interesting and epic love story. They initially meet in a professional way, and I think for Salt she feels like she has been othered and ostracized by most of the human race. He’s really the first person that sees the Homo Aqua and Homo Amphibia and gives them a sense of humanity and respect. I think that is where their connection grows from. It becomes this beautiful journey of trust, him going into her world and liberating her to be more playful and multifaceted.
How was it working alongside your other co-stars?
We did have fun with Gethin (Alderman) and Charles (Sandford), who were my Homo Aqua guards. They would break out into these little dances in the costume, it was pretty funny. Of course, I spent a huge amount of time with the hair and makeup team. It’s very important to have the right playlist getting ready in the morning!
What are you most excited for the audience to see in the series, and what would you like them to take away from it?
It’s a bold, epic, and ambitious story. But it’s also got an emotional heart to it. There’s so much going on in the world that is difficult, and I think that this show really has an escapist element to it. It’s grounded in our real world but takes it to another level.
Do you think there could be different species lurking in the ocean?
Of course, all of Salt’s whole kingdom! [Laughs]. I think that the sea is so vast, who knows? I don’t think human beings have completely explored every inch of the oceans, so I’d like to think so.
Jemma Redgrave (Kate)
What can we expect to see from Kate in this series, where do we find her at the start?
An unknown species has been brought up in the net of a fishing trawler off the coast of Spain and is killed. This wakes the entire species which has hibernated for many years and they demand redress, which sparks an international diplomatic and potentially existential crisis. It threatens a World War. Kate and UNIT are the centre of the crisis, managing the very complicated competing political factions and countries jostling for supremacy, keeping the human race safe, maintaining the peace, and keeping their chosen ambassador Barclay on message – all without the Doctor.
Will we get to see a different side of Kate?
Kate faces challenges that test her to the limits. Told over five episodes, it allows the characters the time to reveal complexity that the one-hour story arc often doesn’t allow. She reveals strength and vulnerabilities not explored before.
What was your reaction when you first read the scripts?
Well, it’s Russell T Davies who is sending the script, he’s one of the great writers and every actor who has worked for him feels themselves privileged. He and Pete McTighe, who is also a brilliant, brilliant writer, have created something really beautiful, epic, profound, and moving. I was so excited as I read and just couldn’t wait to get started.
Can we expect to see Kate’s relationship with Colonel Ibrahim develop in the series?
What has been hinted at in Empire of Death and then Lucky Day is a potential relationship that has clearly been kept secret. That comes out into the open, and The War Between develops and tests it.
How was it working alongside your other co-stars?
Russell Tovey is an absolutely brilliant company leader. My UNIT family, and the whole company, are a very happy gang. Russell T Davies’ companies always are, cast and crew, and I don’t think I’ve ever known such a happy company.
The sets and special effects in this series are on another level, what was it like immersing yourself in that environment?
The sheer scale of the Empress Hall and the water tank was thrilling. I don’t think I’ve worked on an interior set of that size before. I thought that the Doctor Who UNIT set would be used as the office, but we were in a smaller version, panelled, with more subdued darker lighting, which I think reflects the darker, more grown-up tone of the series. Before we filmed on the set for Kate’s flat, Pete McTighe asked if there was anything I thought Kate would have. They showed me photos of the colours and tones. It makes a huge difference to being involved in the environment that your character lives in. The costumes and sets give you a great deal as an actor, and these were fantastic.
What are you most excited for the audience to see in the series, and what would you like them to take away from it?
All of it! It’s an epic adventure. It’s the story of a world in turmoil and love and loss in a time of escalating tension and countdown to war. And, at it’s heart, it is an environmental story. It’s brilliant.
Do you think there could be different species lurking in the ocean?
Without a shadow of a doubt. We’ve seen, because David Attenborough and the BBC have shown us, the extraordinary creatures in the deepest parts of the ocean that we can get to. But, what lies beneath them?
Russell T Davies (Showrunner, Writer, and Executive Producer)
Watch the trailer for The War Between The Land and The Sea
How did the idea for The War Between the Land and the Sea come about?
The story has been stewing for a long time. I’m very lucky to live by the sea, it’s a short walk from my house to a bench that overlooks the view all the way to Cornwall. As a Doctor Who fan, you automatically start to imagine the sea is alive, so it kind of grew from thoughts like that. It’s also the state of the environment and the awful things we’re doing to the sea.
All of that rose up at the same time, while wanting to do something new with the world of Doctor Who, expand it, and find new ways to tell stories. One of the most interesting things you can do with Doctor Who is to take the Doctor out. This is a world without the Doctor, and we’re seeing how we cope as the human race. There are monsters, there’s romance, there are chases, there’s gunfights – It’s a properly entertaining thriller going out across five episodes on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
What is the tone of the series?
The tone is adventure. It’s little bit tougher than Doctor Who, it takes on tougher themes, and people have tougher reactions in it, again, because there’s no Doctor. Normally the Doctor has a magic blue doorway they can take everybody safely through, that safety net has gone. You very much find these characters up against the wall and pushed to the limit.
Do you need to have watched Doctor Who to enjoy the series?
You don’t at all. It starts from Barclay’s point of view, the most ordinary man in the world who finds himself in the middle of a great big worldwide crisis by accident. It’s a lovely story of the everyday man finding himself out of his depth. It features UNIT from Doctor Who, but interestingly Kate Lethbridge-Stewart doesn’t arrive until thirty minutes into the first episode. She then becomes centre stage. We very much take new viewers into consideration, and we refresh all viewers with the lores of what’s gone before, and we add some new stuff. It’s for everyone, and the fact it’s going out around Christmas is gorgeous, it’s such a great time of year.
How was the process writing the series alongside Pete McTighe?
I’ve known Pete for many years, and I love his writing. When we were first setting up Doctor Who again, he was busy with The Pact, then The Pact 2, so he was unavailable. When this came along, I ran the first script past him and I knew he would love it, I know his taste very well. I knew he’d bite onto that primetime thrill. He loves that stuff and it’s the kind of stuff he writes, so it was a very easy process.
How much research went into the writing of the scripts?
A lot. I tend to keep files on my computer of stuff that I’m interested in, and I’ve researched the sea ever since I’ve bought my home in Swansea. When it comes to writing, it becomes real, so you have to do double the research of everything you read in case it’s not true. Even with the history of the Sea Devils in Doctor Who, I had to go back and research that, and there were lots of gaps in the history that our script editor came and filled in. We consulted professors of genetics to research how Homo Aqua could have branched off from mankind millions of years ago. That was fun, I loved doing that.
What was it like to see your vision be brought to life in the sets?
I’m so excited by the look of this, it’s absolutely gorgeous. We have a central setting called the Empress Hall that’s so full of supporting artists, it makes my heart sing! We’ve been able to focus the look, because for Doctor Who you’re often having to create spaceships and time windows and the TARDIS, whereas for this most of our sets are concentrated on the real world. At the same time, we create great big swaggering moments of imagination because we do go underwater to the realm of the Sea Devils, what we call the ‘Homo Aqua habitat’. That’s a glorious visual. Our design team has done such a brilliant job.
What was it like working with Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw? What made them perfect for their roles?
I have worked with Russell a lot, I think he’s not only a fine actor, but he’s also a leader of men. I adore him. Barclay is very much an everyman character, and it becomes a very serious role, but Russell always finds moments of comedy in it. It really pushes him to his full range. Up against that you get Gugu, who I still can’t believe we got to play this part.
We’ve seen a lot of female actors playing parts like this over the years, especially recently with the whole explosion of the Marvel and DC Universes, but I think this is the greatest performance inside prosthetics I’ve ever seen. It’s subtle, clever, commanding, and noble. The depth and breadth of what she portrays with Russell has been the greatest joy. To then bring in one of the great spines of the Doctor Who world, which is Kate Lethbridge-Stewart played by Jemma Redgrave, who I, and the entire crew, adore. To give Jemma free rein like this has been the most incredible experience. She takes that character to areas you’ve never imagined.
What are you most excited for the audience to see in the series, and what would you like them to take away from it?
I just want them to come along for a great story. I hope they come out thrilled and that every cliffhanger draws them back the next week. I think there’s a lot to think about in terms of what we’re doing to the oceans, but let’s face it, we should be thinking about that anyway. It’s a love story, it’s an adventure, and it has a shocking climax. It really pushes the envelope of what you can achieve, and I’m so happy with everything the cast and crew have done.
Do you think there could be different species lurking in the ocean?
In the depths we still discover things, I think I’d go looking at the volcanos myself!
Pete McTighe (Writer and Executive Producer)
How would you describe The War Between the Land and the Sea?
The War Between is quite different in tone to Doctor Who. It’s a shared universe, but because we have five hours to explore this story, we’re able to tell it very differently. I’m always attracted to longer-form storytelling, to writing propulsive thrillers with big cliffhangers, and of course Doctor Who has been my favourite TV programme since I was a kid, so for me this was the perfect mix.
We’re able to spend a lot more time with the characters and dig a bit deeper – someone like Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), for example, we’ve been seeding little bits of story for her across the last few series of Who and we’re now able to pay those off. And then for new characters like Barclay (Russell Tovey) and Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the journey that both these characters go on across the series is really quite epic, so it’s great that we have five episodes to tell their story.
How was the process writing the series alongside Russell T Davies?
Oh, it’s been a gift. Russell and I have known each other a long time now, we got to know each other far away from Doctor Who so to end up working with my favourite writer, on my dream show, for him to invite me in, to trust me with something like this, felt like such a privilege. His first episode really set the template for the series, the tone and the characters were so clear, and I just built on that. He had ideas about how the series would progress and for each episode we’d just sit down and chat for a few hours then off I went to write. He’s incredibly generous and trusting and I had so much fun building on the world he’d created. We had a lot of laughs, and found a lot of joy in the process. I hope we get to do it again sometime.
Where did you draw your inspiration from?
Doctor Who has a rich history, and Malcolm Hulke was the writer who first dreamt up the concept of the Sea Devils – a race of creatures who lived on our planet long before us. This show stands as a tribute to him and his idea, really. That initial adventure (1972’s The Sea Devils) inspired me, but the biggest inspiration of course was the state of the world around us. I mean, look at what we’ve done to the oceans and climate across the 20th century. This was a story crying out to be told, and to be told now.
The scale of the series is massive, what was it like to see your vision brought to life in the sets, special effects and costumes?
I have to admit, when I was writing the massive action sequence at the heart of episode 2, I was thinking ‘how the hell are we going to actually shoot this’? But I wrote it anyway. And that happened time and time again – there are BIG set pieces in this show, at least one in every episode, and we managed to achieve them because we had an incredible director, producer and crew who all believed in the show and were absolutely committed to making it work.
It still blows my mind that everything Russell and I wrote has ended up on screen, looking so good. The scale of the sets was incredible – I mean when you see the Empress Hall, it’s hard to believe that wasn’t a real location, let alone where we go in Episode 3. Our production designers Erica McEwan and Julian Luxton worked wonders. The special effects added in post-production just elevate the show to a whole new level, that team led by Seb Barker is incredible. And our fantastic costume designer Rachel Walsh made sure everyone looked amazing – no mean feat when you look at the amount of people in the Empress Hall scenes.
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