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Alex Kingston talks future of Doctor Who, River Song and Strictly
To millions of viewers, she is and perhaps always will be the irrepressible River Song, the enigmatic archaeologist wife to the iconic Time Lord himself, the Doctor.
Before she boarded the TARDIS, the 63-year-old had already built a formidable career on both sides of the Atlantic, having originally trained at RADA.
Her turn as Dr Elizabeth Corday in ER made her a household name in America, while also cementing her status as one of Britain’s most recognisable exports.
Doctor Who introduced her to a whole new generation with appearances across multiple series, specials and spin‑offs; River Song quickly became a fan favourite.
The character’s mix of mischief, melancholy and steel ensured that Alex has a permanent place in the Whoniverse.
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Away from the cameras, Ms Kingston moved over to South Oxfordshire four years ago with her husband, Jonathan Stamp, who teaches at Oxford’s Magdalen College.
Last week, the actress took the short trip over to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford to present the OUH Staff Recognition Awards 2026 on Thursday (June 18).
This came after she went public with her womb cancer diagnosis last October, revealing she had undergone a hysterectomy and radiation therapy in 2024.
Prior to the awards event, Alex sat down with the Oxford Mail for an exclusive chat about a variety of subjects, starting with her own hospital experience.
“I’m very happy to do this, and when I was approached, I felt that in a way it’s the least I can do to give back because I had gone through surgery here,” she said.
“I’m still a sort of patient going through the process of being monitored after radiation therapy, because you’re monitored then for, I think, five years.
READ MORE: Alex Kingston reacts to ‘devastating’ Doctor Who cancellation
“So I’ve not got to know the JR so well, but I now know the Churchill better.
“There aren’t many opportunities for people in their lives to be able to say thank you in a way to the hospital that has helped and brought them back to health, so this is the least I can do.
“I was also able to give a shoutout on BBC Radio 5 Live to my surgeon here and to my oncologist to say thank you, so that was really nice.”
Having been based in South Oxfordshire with her husband since 2022, Alex has fallen in love with the area.
“I’m a Surrey girl originally, but yes, I love it [Oxfordshire],” she stated.
“I lived in America for 22 years, and it was just really completely by chance that we ended up living here.
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“We moved back from the US, and we found a place in Richmond that we could rent.
“I got to know that area quite well and liked the sense of being close to Richmond Park and the river. It was sort of being in London but still feeling connected to nature in some way.
“But there was no way that we could ever afford to live anywhere in that area, so where we’ve chosen it still has that same vibe.
“We’re close to the Thames, but it’s smaller and, to be honest, far more beautiful, and there are fields too. It’s wonderful, and we’re very close to London, so it’s a win-win.
Alex also visits Oxford itself with her husband working there, and the actress praised the city as “thriving”.
“My husband teaches at Magdalen, and he went to Oxford University years ago, so he’s very familiar with it, and I’m still kind of learning,” she added.
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“I’m learning to understand the city, but I’ve already sort of found my favourite shop, which is a hardware shop that I can’t remember the name of, but it’s fantastic.
“I love Oxford, absolutely love it. It’s thriving, it’s energetic, and I love university towns actually, because in a weird sort of way, you don’t feel that old.
“Obviously, you feel your age when you’re surrounded by graduates, but these towns just have a different sort of energy which I find very appealing.”
Millions of tourists also travel to the Cotswolds each year, making it one of the county’s biggest draws, but Alex prefers the quieter side of Oxfordshire.
“I’ve worked at the RSC, so I would drive through it to get to Stratford, and I like the Cotswolds, but actually, to be perfectly honest, I prefer this area.
“Here feels much more real in a way, people living their lives. Of course, you have city boys and commuters, but there are proper farmers and environmentalists, and I just love the mix of people.
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“I feel that where we are is slightly under the radar because everybody goes to the Cotswolds, so I shouldn’t be saying that because this is our secret!”
Alex took part in the 2025 series of Strictly Come Dancing, joining the line-up for the BBC One show’s most recent run.
The 62‑year‑old was partnered with professional dancer Johannes Radebe, with the pair performing routines including a Cha Cha to Ring My Bell and a Foxtrot to Here You Come Again.
They made it into the later stages of the competition before being eliminated as the eighth couple to leave the 2025 series after a dance‑off.
Reflecting on her time in the ballroom, Alex said: “If I could do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat.
“I loved it even though my body ended up getting a real battering, and I went further than I ever thought that I would be able to.
READ MORE: Alex Kingston gives verdict on Billie Piper as new Doctor Who
“So I was proud of myself, proud of my stamina, and I loved the fact that my body, which had been through major surgery the year before and gone through radiation therapy and everything, was up for the ride.
“I just really loved it, and dancing is totally in my bones.”
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have since stepped down from fronting Strictly, ending their long‑running stint as the show’s main presenting duo.
In their place, the BBC has unveiled a new three‑person team of Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Mr Radebe as the hosts of Strictly Come Dancing from this autumn.
Alex has now reacted to the new trio, including seeing her own former professional partner landing one of the roles.
“Well, one of the hosts is Jojo, my dance partner, so I’m intrigued because I still can’t quite figure out what his role is,” she said.
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“Even though Claude and Tess weren’t dancers, they had done it for so long that they knew the dances, they knew the disciplines.
“Whenever I completed a dance, just having Tess holding my hand was that incredible bridge between what you’ve just done and the judges’ comments.
“She was just amazing, and you felt she absolutely knew and understood what you’d been through, so I think they’re very, very big shoes to fill.”
Ms Kingston confirmed that the move to hire Johannes in the presenting role was a good decision, given his close connection with those actually competing on the BBC show.
“And as a consequence, I think it’s a very good move to have someone like Johannes, who is a professional,” she added.
“He absolutely knows what the contestants have been going through and the dancers, so maybe his role will be to bridge that gap.”
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Moving on to Doctor Who, Alex was quick to react to the recent news that the show has been put out to tender by the BBC and that the 2026 Christmas special has been cancelled.
“Who knows what’s going to happen now that there’s been the sort of official announcement,” she said.
“It’s sort of been put on ice, let’s just say that it’s just been put on ice, and it’s been saved like River Song was.
“I know that’s going to be devastating for the fans because it is just one of those incredibly enduring shows. It’s part of English culture, like royalty and scones.
“We have this huge fan base all over the world, and they will be massively disappointed, but they are so unbelievably loyal that they will watch replays and listen to the audio stories, which we are keeping it alive with.
“I think that’s going to be where the fans will kind of continue that connection.
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“It is amazing because I do quite a lot of the Comic-Cons, and that’s lovely because I get to be with Doctors that I either haven’t worked with before or haven’t seen for ages.
“For us, it’s a way of sort of reconnecting and socialising, and you become such a family that even though you may never have worked together, you feel like you know each other completely.
“So I really think the Comic-Cons are a great way of connecting with those fans, and that keeps the show alive in people’s hearts.”
Alex worked alongside three Doctors onscreen during her travels in the Tardis, which saw her accompany David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi.
When asked on which incarnation of the Time Lord she would have liked to star opposite, the 63-year-old said: “It’s partly because I’ve met her at Comic Con and we get on so well, but I would have loved to have done something with Jodie.
“She’s so great, and Mandip [Gill] as well is fantastic, but I think maybe it would have been too much estrogen in one room!”
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When asked which of the three Doctors was the most fun to work with, Alex revealed: “To be perfectly honest, they’re all fun in their own different ways.
“Even though they’re all playing the Doctor, what’s actually so fabulous is that each regeneration just brings another facet to that individual’s personality.
“Of course, the actors who are cast bring their own personality into that role.
“I would say that because I’ve worked with him the most, it’s got to be Matt [Smith], and it’s not that he wasn’t as serious as the others, but there was quite a lot of room for play with him.
“I absolutely love him and Arthur [Darvill] and Karen [Gillan]; it was just a great time.”
Alex first appeared in Doctor Who back in 2008 alongside David Tennant and Catherine Tate in the two-part thriller set in a library.
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When asked whether she knew she was going to be in the role for a long time at that point, the actress said: “I didn’t know, but I think that the announcement had either just happened or it was about to happen while we were filming.
“People knew that was going to be David’s last season, so there was just an element, it wasn’t melancholy, but there was just an energy that I was aware that somehow something had shifted.
“I don’t think he ever wanted to stop playing the Doctor, as he loved it so much.
“It wasn’t that he didn’t welcome me because he absolutely did, but I think it was him starting to already disengage with the character.
“I’m not even sure whether he knew he was doing that consciously or not, but there was just something there.
“Whereas with Matt, he was about to start, and was looking for that support to help him step into David’s very huge shoes, enormous feet!”
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River Song’s story came to an end onscreen in the Christmas special of 2015 alongside Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor.
When quizzed on whether she knew it would be her final outing as the Doctor’s wife on the silver screen, Alex said: “Well, I didn’t know!
“I knew obviously from the storyline that they end up at Darillium and that there he’s giving her his sonic screwdriver, and coming full circle, but I couldn’t play that I knew because at that stage River doesn’t know.
“So that was incredibly hard for me, and those final scenes were really difficult to shoot.
“I just kept bawling my eyes out, and so did Peter [Capaldi], so it was really, really tough, but then at the same time, in this universe, anything can happen. She’s been saved.
“But I don’t think within that cycle of River, in that journey, that she can come back because I mean, my god, I’m old enough.
“I was the same age as Matt’s mum, and now I’m old enough to be someone’s grandmother, so I couldn’t do that again, but I feel like she could potentially come back because she’s been saved.
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“So she could carry on from where we left off, and in a funny sort of way, all of those crew members, too, because they were all ultimately saved.
“She could be saved and uploaded. 3D printed. You know, anything is possible!”
In the final scene of Doctor Who to date, Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor regenerated into a familiar face in Billie Piper.
The Swindon-born actress previously played fan-favourite companion Rose Tyler alongside Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.
Reacting to Ms Piper playing the Doctor, Alex said: “I don’t know what that was about! She’s not a Time Lord, so I don’t understand how she can be; I don’t know what on earth they were doing.”
“Rose was the companion who the Doctor sort of really cared about, and loved in a way, but not as much as River!
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“I wonder whether, in that moment of regeneration, that maybe sort of just was taking on her visual exterior.
“They’re not just going to randomly pick anybody- there’s got to be an absolute reason why and an explanation, because there always is.”
Ms Kingston went on to explain: “I love Billie, she’s fantastic, but I don’t know because she’s Rose!
“It’s like if people would say to me, ‘Would you like to be the Doctor?’ and I’m like, ‘No, because I’m River- why would I want to be the Doctor? I’m having great fun being River Song!’
“If it’s a one-off episode and if there’s a sort of transition in a way, then I don’t mind.
“In a funny sort of way, he could sort of transition into Rose; he could transition into River.
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“River gave him all of her Time Lord energy to save his life in Let’s Kill Hitler, so there could be a weird play a little bit like that Peter Gabriel music video for Sledgehammer where people’s faces are all morphing.”
Outlining her own picks for the next Doctor, Alex said: “I think it’s got to be somebody who has got fun in them, but also heart and soul.
“He’s now about to play [Hercule] Poirot, but I thought Edward Bluemel would be a brilliant Doctor.
“I’ve worked with him on Discovery of Witches, and he’s got all of the characteristics and qualities that would make a good Doctor.
“But then I also just worked on a theatre play called Copenhagen with Damien Molony, who just happens to be Bergerac.
“We had a lot of time sitting on stage, and I would watch him, and he was so physically energised and active that there were times when I was sitting there going, ‘You could be a really good Doctor’.”
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Ms Kingston then joked: “I shouldn’t have been thinking about that, yes, I’m the expert [having played the character’s wife].”
She added: “I mean, there are so many actors that could do it, but who knows.
“I think maybe it’s a good thing to just take a little bit of a breath now; it’s just been put on ice.
“The same thing happened in the late 1980s through the 90s, but it might just need a little bit of a moment to have somebody else come along who can take the reins of Russell T [Davies], take them confidently, and take the Doctor then in another direction.”
Discussing what’s next, Alex concluded: “I finished this play called Copenhagen recently, so who knows!
“Right now, I’m an unemployed actor, but something will come along. I have faith!”
On Wednesday, September 2, it was the Concours judging and private viewings to dominate the agenda for the day.
Twelve Concours classes were held across almost a century of motoring, including The Golden Age of Motoring, 100 Years of Carrrozzeria Touring, La Dolce Vita, 60 Years of the Lamborghini Miura and Passione Ferrari.
Two new classes also made their debut for 2026, Rare Breeds of the Digital Age and Hypercar Heaven, which recognise the growing importance of contemporary performance cars within the international collector market.
Judging will take place across Wednesday and Thursday, with the show field bringing together a 70-strong collection of classics, supercars and hypercars from around the world.
Some of the cars include Aa Maserati 8C 3000, Alfa Romeo Sprint Berlinetta, a one-off Maserati 3500GT Spyder Prototipo by Vignale, a very early Porsche 356 Split Window Coupé, Aston Martin DB3S, Lamborghini Miura P400S, Bizzarrini 5300GT, Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet, Bugatti EB110 Prototype, Aston Martin Valiant Prototype and the extraordinary Bugatti Bolide, one of just 40 produced worldwide.
Helen Pike has decided to step down as Master of Magdalen College School at the end of the 2026/27 academic year, the school in east Oxford announced in March.
MCS is one of the top performing schools in the country, ranking in the top 20 independent secondary schools in The Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2026.
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The new academic year will start next week, with Ms Pike preparing for one more year in charge before she hands over to her successor, who will take over in September 2027.
The first female Master at MCS, Ms Pike guided the board of governors to one of the most significant decisions in the school’s history, to become fully co-educational from 2027.
While there has been a co-educational sixth form at the school for 15 years, the school last month announced it will become fully co-educational over the coming decade.
Ms Pike said earlier: “I love MCS, and it is a perennial privilege to lead this remarkable school.
“Being Master of MCS is a brilliant job, and I am declaring my intention early in order to give MCS the very best opportunity to find the right Master for September 2027. I shall continue to do all in my power to further the fortunes of this wonderful school until then.
“I look forward to a new phase in my own professional life, one that builds on all that I have enjoyed and achieved in my career during the past 30 years.
“Having encouraged many cohorts of pupils to take sensible risks and to do something creative and different when the time feels right, I am doing just that.”
During Ms Pike’s tenure, MCS has been recognised as a Top 20 Independent School and South East School of the Year by the Sunday Times and won Independent School of the Year for Social Mobility.
Thanking her in his letter to the school community, chair of governors, Bob Price, said earlier this year: “Helen is an outstanding leader and will go with our sincere gratitude and warm thanks for her exceptional headship.
“She will leave the school in excellent shape for her successor.”
Recruitment for a replacement for Ms Pike is now under way.
Last month, Ms Pike congratulated pupils on their “outstanding success” in this year’s A-Level exams, after more than a quarter of pupils (43) achieved three A*s or more and 25 secured all A*s.
In total, 39 pupils from the 2026 cohort are heading to Oxbridge, while 22 have secured places to study medicine.
As part of the school’s expansion plans, MCS is preparing to build a new Science, Library and Partnerships building.
A spokeswoman said the new building will offer an exciting opportunity to reimagine the senior school site as staff look ahead to full co-education.
She added earlier: “With a vision to create a sector-leading science building in the centre of Oxford, the development will enable us to support an ambitious and forward-looking science curriculum, expanding to the emerging and rapidly advancing areas of robotics, AI and Big Data.”
Holding banners which read ‘For f**k’s sake, just stop oil’, the demonstrators took to the road in Parliament Square at noon today (Wednesday, September 2).
This was as Andy Burnham faced his first Prime Minister’s Questions, and many of the protestors glued themselves to the road.
The group demanded that the UK government stop approving all further oil and gas developments, and sign a Fossil Fuel Treaty to stop oil and gas extraction.
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Just Stop Oil say that the police are expected to arrest all those blocking the road, and that one lane has been left free of glued-on action takers to permit access for emergency vehicles.
Andy Burnham is due to make a decision on whether to allow more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.
Reverend James Crote, a Baptist Minister and grandfather from Chesterton near Bicester, said: “Today is my grandson’s first birthday. I have to take action for the sake of his future.
The 69-year-old added: “The government has been dilly-dallying about whether to say yes or no to the Rosebank oil field but, if we want a future for our children, there is no choice – it has to say ‘no’.
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“I am here as a Christian Minister because the Church has to speak out and demand that the government stops approving further oil and gas developments now. It’s time for us all to say ‘For God’s sake, Just Stop Oil’.”
Data from the Met Office indicates that 2026 was the hottest summer in UK recorded history, beating 2025, which was the previous hottest summer on record.
2026 was also one of the driest summers on record, delivering record-low food harvests.
Climbing temperatures have triggered wildfires across the country, and national fire chiefs said the wildfire risk facing the UK is “like nothing we have seen before”.
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Taking action, grandmother Victoria Ann Lynch-Staunton from Leamington Spa, said: “What is happening is beyond a tragedy.”
The 71-year-old added: “I beg everyone to join Just Stop Oil or governments will continue to prioritise endless growth and corporate profit over billions of lives – yours and your children.
“Wake up and smell the coffin. It is the responsibility of all of us to act now!”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said today: “We are all Just Stop Oil.
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“Every single person who fears deadly wildfires, devastating droughts, and spiralling food shortages is Just Stop Oil.
“The first duty of government is to keep the public safe – but by greenlighting oil and gas drilling, they endanger our survival while corporates and billionaires laugh their way to the bank.
“Every one of us feels alone and powerless in the face of this insanity, but we know there is massive political and public support for our demand.
“So we’re inviting everyone to join us at an online call on 3rd October 2026 – because it’s when we work together that we are powerful and win.”
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