It’s a Sin’s Doctor Who crossover contains a poignant tribute to actor who died of Aids

*It’s a Sin spoilers below*

It’s a Sin fans were overjoyed to see the show feature a Doctor Who crossover.

Written by Russell T Davies, Channel 4’s new drama follows a group of young gay men living in London in the 1980s at the beginning of the Aids crisis.

The five-part drama is led by Olly Alexander as Ritchie Tozer, an aspiring actor trying to break into the business. In the show’s fourth episode, Ritchie gets his big break in the form of a small role in a Doctor Who-esque show battling against the Daleks.

This reference came from Davies, who as well as creating pioneering dramas such as Queer as Folk, was responsible for bringing the long-running sci-fi series back to our screens in 2005.

However, the scene is more than a simple Easter egg for Doctor Who fans. It is a direct tribute to actor Dursley Linden, who appeared in the 1988 episode “Remembrance of the Daleks”. It’s this episode that Davies parodies in It’s a Sin.

Ritchie (centre) works on Doctor Who (Channel 4)

Davies met McLinden through Jill Nalder – whose character inspired Lydia West’s Jill Baxter – but the actor tragically died at the age of 30 in 1995, seven years after contracting HIV.

Remembering McLinden as a “wonderful boy”, Davies told Doctor Who Magazine: “He was one of Jill’s friends and one of the first people I ever met who’d been in Doctor Who. I went to Jill’s 30th and there he was. He was already very ill, but he was so hilarious and lovely. I was thrilled to meet him.”

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He continued: “He became very wonderful in his Aids activism when he was ill. But to me, he was that boy from ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’. That's why I knew I had to write a Dalek scene in It’s a Sin.”

Ritchie’s time on Doctor Who also proves to be a turning point in It’s a Sin, after a make-up artist tells him there’s “something wrong” with his skin, leading him to get tested for HIV.

It’s a Sin returns Friday at 9pm on Channel 4, with all episodes streaming now on All 4.