Warning: Spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 15, episode 6, "The Interstellar Song Contest."Doctor Who season 15 cast places him in a fairly minor role, but one that indirectly leads to Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor being able to save the day. It would be forgivable for international audiences to assume Rylan's larger-than-life demeanor is an illusion put in place for Doctor Who, but they would be mostly wrong.

Although Rylan's presence in "The Interstellar Song Contest" draws a fair amount of focus at various points in the episode, the villain and technology in "The Story and the Engine," Rylan's Doctor Who debut actually makes "The Interstellar Song Contest" weirdly grounded, from a certain point of view.

Doctor Who's Rylan Is A Well-Known UK Celebrity

Rylan started off as a singer and transitioned into becoming a TV host

Rylan Clark is playing himself in "The Interstellar Song Contest," albeit a fictionalized version. While it's obviously not true that he was cryogenically preserved to host live events throughout the interstellar community into the distant future, he is actually a beloved TV host in the UK. He even serves as the co-commentator for the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which is the event from which the episode's musical contest canonically evolved. So, within the world of Doctor Who, Rylan's connection to the competition grew even more prominent and enjoyed a significant level of longevity.

Although now a successful TV host, Rylan's rise to fame only truly began in the real world as a contestant on the UK's X Factor in 2012.

Although now a successful TV host, Rylan's rise to fame only truly began in the real world as a contestant on the UK's X Factor in 2012, with singer-songwriter James Arthur emerging victorious that year. Rylan's vocal ability immediately divided the X Factor judges, but his electric personality won them over. He made it a long way into the competition, reaching the live finals and finishing in fifth place. Despite doing so well in the contest, he quickly abandoned his musical aspirations and instead capitalized on his magnetic personality and natural charisma as he stepped into the presenting world.

Before entering X Factor, Rylan also appeared as himself in four episodes of John Bishop's Britain in 2010. John Bishop played Dan Lewis during Jodie Whittaker's time as the Thirteenth Doctor, so Rylan's presence in "The Interstellar Song Contest" arguably creates an incredibly meta Doctor Who plot hole. The real Rylan appearing in Doctor Who means that John Bishop also exists within the main canon, which means Dan just so happens to look and sound exactly like a seemingly unrelated character. Then again, this wouldn't be unusual given the show's recent relationship with its fourth wall.

How Rylan Survives When Earth Was Destroyed In 2025

The human homeworld was revealed to be rubble in "The Robot Revolution"

Rylan's presence in "The Interstellar Song Contest" could present an issue with Doctor Who's current continuity. The Earth was destroyed on May 24, 2025. Present-day Earth within the show is largely the same as its real-world counterpart. So, it's not clear how Rylan was able to survive the destruction of the human homeworld. However, when Rylan is sucked out into space with everyone else in the Harmony Arena, he utters the words "Not again" before he freezes in the inky void. The implication here is that he somehow survived a similar scenario on May 24.

Rylan isn't the only celebrity in "The Interstellar Song Contest," as Graham Norton's holographic cameo has the Irish comedian playing a digitized iteration of himself.

The fact that Rylan was later defrosted proves it is possible to survive the process, and hints at the possibility that Earth secretly has a Mavity Shield like Harmony Arena. Furthermore, Rylan isn't the only celebrity in "The Interstellar Song Contest," as Graham Norton's holographic cameo has the Irish comedian playing a digitized iteration of himself. Norton is the current commentator for the UK's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest, but it's unclear why his body wasn't preserved, while Rylan's was. It's possible that Rylan's remains were simply in better condition after the Earth was destroyed in Doctor Who.