Which Doctor Barclay Is Talking About In The War Between The Land & The Sea
By Dan Bibby
December 8th, 2025
Warning! Spoilers ahead for The War Between the Land and the Sea, episode 1, "Homo Aqua."
As is often the case with Doctor Who spinoffs, The War Between the Land and the Sea is very light on direct references to the franchise's iconic Time Lord. However, the UNIT spinoff's first episode does name-drop the Doctor pretty quickly, even if it's not immediately clear which version of the character is being discussed. With just a little thought, it's easy to arrive at a logical conclusion.
The War Between introduces Russell Tovey as Barclay Pierre-Dupont, a low-level UNIT employee who gets thrust into the heart of events for which he's completely unprepared. Episode 1, "Homo Aqua," reveals that Barclay has actually had a direct interaction with the Doctor. And no, the moment isn't confirmation that Tovey is reprising his role as Alonso from 2007's "Voyage of the Damned." That said, the possibility of both of Tovey's Doctor Who characters meeting David Tennant's Doctor isn't an impossibility.
The War Between introduces Russell Tovey as Barclay Pierre-Dupont, a low-level UNIT employee who gets thrust into the heart of events for which he's completely unprepared. Episode 1, "Homo Aqua," reveals that Barclay has actually had a direct interaction with the Doctor. And no, the moment isn't confirmation that Tovey is reprising his role as Alonso from 2007's "Voyage of the Damned." That said, the possibility of both of Tovey's Doctor Who characters meeting David Tennant's Doctor isn't an impossibility.
Barclay Most Likely Met Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor At UNIT Tower
In a moment that seems like Barclay is trying to justify his presence on a vital UNIT mission, he talks about getting to meet the Doctor at UNIT Tower "last year." Assuming that "Homo Aqua" is set in the present day, this means Barclay was probably working during the return of Sutekh in 2024, or perhaps during another visit from Fifteen that wasn't shown onscreen.
Considering the spinoff was written and shot while Doctor Who was being co-produced by Disney, it would make sense that Fifteen is the Doctor that Barclay met. With widespread reports that Gatwa's final episode was extensively reshot to account for his sudden departure, it's likely that showrunner Russell T Davies was counting on his leading man being around for a lot longer as the face of the franchise than ultimately turned out to be the case. So, embedding a cryptic Fifteen reference in The War Between probably felt like a safe choice at the time.
Considering the spinoff was written and shot while Doctor Who was being co-produced by Disney, it would make sense that Fifteen is the Doctor that Barclay met. With widespread reports that Gatwa's final episode was extensively reshot to account for his sudden departure, it's likely that showrunner Russell T Davies was counting on his leading man being around for a lot longer as the face of the franchise than ultimately turned out to be the case. So, embedding a cryptic Fifteen reference in The War Between probably felt like a safe choice at the time.
David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor Could Have Been Who Barclay Met At UNIT Tower
Fourteen retired from saving the world in 2023's "The Giggle," leaving Fifteen to leave and continue the Doctor's heroics after that wild bi-generation twist. Still, it's tough to believe that the Fourteenth Doctor could just sit on his hands at home all the time. I don't think it's a wild thought that he would drop in on UNIT every now and then to see how things are going, offer his insight, and just generally hang out.
Although Fourteen's UNIT security clearance would probably remain intact, maybe his decision to step away from the hazards of defending the Earth also includes not involving himself in the organization's more high-risk endeavors. If so, it would make sense that Barclay met him. Tovey's character isn't anywhere near senior enough to be involved with anything too sensitive, so Fourteen doing a round of the more obscure departments could easily bring him into contact with Barclay. If so, I wonder if Fourteen called him Alonso.
Although Fourteen's UNIT security clearance would probably remain intact, maybe his decision to step away from the hazards of defending the Earth also includes not involving himself in the organization's more high-risk endeavors. If so, it would make sense that Barclay met him. Tovey's character isn't anywhere near senior enough to be involved with anything too sensitive, so Fourteen doing a round of the more obscure departments could easily bring him into contact with Barclay. If so, I wonder if Fourteen called him Alonso.
Barclay's Vague Description Means He Could Have Met Almost Any Version Of The Doctor
By Barclay's own admission, his encounter with the Doctor was brief and consisted of only a quick hello. He also describes the Doctor as "vivid," which doesn't narrow it down at all. The Doctor is referred to as a "he," so the most notable Doctor that Barclay can't mean is Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth. Other than that, it's technically anyone's guess when it comes to which Doctor was at UNIT Tower that day when Barclay was working.
As annoyingly unclear as the reveal is, it opens up the exciting possibility that someone like Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor has had a recent off-screen appearance, or maybe even someone like Matt Smith's Eleventh. After all, the Doctor has a TARDIS, so a quick visit to 2024 is incredibly easy. In other words, Davies has left it up to the viewers' imaginations. If you want Barclay to have met Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor, that's just as likely as any other male version of the Time Lord being there. It's even possible that Tovey's The War Between the Land and the Sea character has met a future of Doctor Who's main character — time travel goes both ways, you know.
The War Between the Land and the Sea is streaming now on the BBC iPlayer. International fans will need to wait until the show lands on Disney+ in 2026.
As annoyingly unclear as the reveal is, it opens up the exciting possibility that someone like Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor has had a recent off-screen appearance, or maybe even someone like Matt Smith's Eleventh. After all, the Doctor has a TARDIS, so a quick visit to 2024 is incredibly easy. In other words, Davies has left it up to the viewers' imaginations. If you want Barclay to have met Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor, that's just as likely as any other male version of the Time Lord being there. It's even possible that Tovey's The War Between the Land and the Sea character has met a future of Doctor Who's main character — time travel goes both ways, you know.
The War Between the Land and the Sea is streaming now on the BBC iPlayer. International fans will need to wait until the show lands on Disney+ in 2026.
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