Russell T. Davies could've made anything in the wake of his zeitgeist-snatching HIV drama It's a Sin, but he landed on quite the surprising passion project, Nolly. Another '80s period piece gurgling with the social upheaval of the era, it centres on the tragic downfall of Crossroads star Noele Gordon, once considered the epitome of TV royalty, now largely forgotten to a generation wherein soaps no longer reign queen. Davies, a self-professed soap opera superfan, was an 18-year-old budding TV writer at the time; now comes the full-circle moment.

After Nolly, of course, Davies will make his much-anticipated return to the sci-fi series that shot him to international fame, Doctor Who, with beloved ex-stars David Tennant and Catherine Tate in toe — plus a new doctor to follow in Sex Education's Ncuti Gatwa. Here, Davies speaks to GQ about his love of soaps, his earlier works, and all things Davies-Who v2.

GQ: Last time we spoke, you told me that the script for It's a Sin was sat in your drawer for five or six years before you finally got it commissioned…

Russell T. Davies: It's a Sin? Yes, yes yes yes yes, it was turned down — you've got to play a long game in this business.

Was Nolly the same, or a product of your success with It's a Sin?

It's interesting, Nolly's something I've spoken about to friends for years and years, I've been fascinated by since I was eighteen, when she was sacked, when I was a student—

You did the trial script for them, then Crossroads was taken off the air five days later.

Yes! So this time around, when I finally got into Crossroads, it was like an act of revenge — punching the air, finally got to do it. Writing is revenge. Discuss! [Laughs.] The more you think about that the more interesting it gets: you write Queer is Folk because you're fed up with every version of a gay man on television, you write Doctor Who because you think it's never been done properly, and now you're doing Nolly because you want to bring a bit of class back to an old soap. Is it revenge…?

Maybe! Maybe. What I was getting at — did you write it before or after It's a Sin?

No, I didn't have anything written beforehand. Then the lockdown came, and that was very much like a writer's life for me, just sitting at home on my own. It wasn't particularly different. So I kept on working on like I always had. And let's be honest, Nolly is an unusual idea to get commissioned. It's a Sin was so successful, it's one of those rare moments in your life where you stand a chance of getting things made.