Vinay Patel visited his grandma before his Doctor Who episode – and something extraordinary happened

Doctor Who latest episode saw the Doctor and her companions take on the partition of India, with the team travelling back to 1947 so Yaz could visit her grandmother as a young woman.

The voyage into the past was prompted after Yaz’s grandmother showed her a watch, and stayed tight-lipped on the story behind why it was broken.

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But the plot of the historical Doctor Who episode was strangely mirrored for writer Vinay Patel when he saw his own grandmother last week.

https://twitter.com/VinayPatel/status/1061708148120141824

Tweeting after the episode aired, the 32-year-old explained, “Had a slightly trippy, auspicious case of life imitating art - went home to see my grandmother before she goes to India next week.

“She, knowing nothing of this episode, gave me my dead grandfather’s broken old watch...”

It was revealed in the episode that Yaz’s grandmother, Umbreen, was initially engaged to a childhood friend Prem – with their relationship sparking problems within their family due to their differences in religion (Umbreen was a Muslim, while Prem a Hindu – a particularly contentious topic during partition).

While the Doctor and her companions initially believed it was a race of alien assassins behind a series of unexplained deaths in the area, it was revealed that Prem’s brother Manish was responsible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN6_8_bbxMk

Demons of the Punjab was a landmark episode for Doctor Who, marking the first time a BAME writer had received a solo writing credit for an episode.

Speaking ahead of the broadcast, Patel explained, “In one way, it’s kind of shocking it’s taken that long, but in another way, it’s in the DNA of the show.

“The first episode of Doctor Who was directed by a gay Asian man. It’s a continuation of that legacy. I hope there are more [BAME writers] in the future.”

Doctor Who continues Sundays on BBC1

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This article was originally published on 12 November 2018