Tosin Cole has spoken about the challenges of filming Rosa (Picture: BBC)

Doctor Who star Tosin Cole has spoken about some of the ‘tough and crazy’ scenes he had to film for the episode Rosa in series 11.

Rosa, which featured civil rights activist Rosa Parks, saw Ryan (Cole), The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gil) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) land in the segregated American deep south.

If it was difficult to watch, it was equally challenging for Tosin to film, as he told Metro.co.uk: ‘It’s crazy the stuff they were going through at the time, for example when Ryan got slapped.

‘That was kind of infuriating and it was a struggle for me as well to put yourself in that position.


Ryan met Martin Luther King in the episode (Picture: BBC)

‘You don’t really understand how it feels, whoever you are, because our time is different in the modern day we live in now.



‘It was frustrating for the character but to put yourself in those shoes, having to tone yourself down and abide by the rules was quite frustrating.

‘It was tough and crazy but it was a good story to tell.’

Ryan experienced life as a black person in 1950s America, having to sit at the back of the bus and being physically assaulted by a white man for simply picking up something a white woman had dropped.

He went on: ‘Filming about an iconic person and helping her story get told was overwhelming.

‘We saw Ryan meet Martin Luther King and just be star-struck as you would be. You wouldn’t even know what to do because of the sacrifices they’ve made and the choices they’ve made which paved the way for black people today.

‘It was hard for me. It was a really special episode but I’m grateful I was a part of it.’

Series 11 is out on Blu-Ray and DVD now. Doctor Who: Resolution is out 18 February.

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