{"id":71207,"date":"2023-11-25T19:43:22","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T19:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montelagocelticfestival.com\/?p=71207"},"modified":"2023-11-25T19:43:22","modified_gmt":"2023-11-25T19:43:22","slug":"bbc-doctor-whos-russell-t-davies-on-60th-anniversary-return-with-david-tennant-its-like-a-big-pixar-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montelagocelticfestival.com\/celebrity\/bbc-doctor-whos-russell-t-davies-on-60th-anniversary-return-with-david-tennant-its-like-a-big-pixar-film\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC Doctor Who’s Russell T Davies on 60th anniversary return with David Tennant \u2018It\u2019s like a big Pixar film’"},"content":{"rendered":"

All aboard the Tardis for an adventure in space and time as Doctor Who celebrates its 60th anniversary. Fan favourite David Tennant returns as the Doctor and Catherine Tate as his companion, Donna Noble, in three specials from showrunner Russell T Davies.<\/p>\n

All three left the hit series 13 years ago, but Russell says that despite having moved on to write such series as A Very English Scandal, It\u2019s A Sin and Nolly, he has never stopped thinking about Doctor Who.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved it since I was born,\u201d he admits. \u201cOne of my first TV memories at three years old is William Hartnell regenerating into Patrick Troughton. So it\u2019s ingrained.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show sees the Time Lord reunited with Donna as they stumble upon The Meep \u2013 voiced by Miriam Margolyes \u2013 a cute alien pursued by extraterrestrial hitmen.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI wanted it to be a great big Pixar family film, like a bank holiday film with all the family watching and a lot of laughs,\u201d Russell says. \u201cThe Meep is hilarious. Doctor Who isn\u2019t a children\u2019s show but I think the heart of it is an eight-year-old watching and I think a child would invent The Meep.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for how he persuaded David and Catherine to reprise their roles, Russell reveals it didn\u2019t take much effort. \u201cWe did a \u2018tweet-along\u2019 in the pandemic, of Catherine\u2019s first episode. It was Catherine who said, \u2018I\u2019ve always loved Donna Noble. Wouldn\u2019t it be marvellous to make some more?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cShe asked David whether he\u2019d do it and he said, \u2018Oh God, in a heartbeat.\u2019 I felt honour bound to go to the BBC and say, \u2018It\u2019s the 60th anniversary coming up and they\u2019d love to come back.\u2019 Simple as that. I sent off that email on 23 December \u2013 isn\u2019t that the best Christmas present you\u2019ve ever had?\u201d <\/p>\n

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Thanks to the BBC\u2019s new international distribution deal with Disney, the writer is working with a budget that\u2019s \u201cmore than most things [he\u2019s] made in the past 10 years added together\u201d. So fans can expect some exciting effects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all had to learn how to make a show on this budget, but it was done with so much joy,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re in a very interesting age of science fiction, where actually the fans rule now in terms of Marvel franchises and Star Wars. So that works in our favour. Now you can sit there with someone from Disney and say, \u2018That\u2019s from 1969 but fans will love it.\u2019 And they say, \u2018Oh, OK.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Although fans may wonder how the Doctor regenerated as David Tennant after being Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker, Russell says all will be explained. \u201cThe mystery of his face does continue over the next two specials. It\u2019s not a huge plot, but it has a nice payoff. I just love David and Catherine together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The specials will feature new faces, too, from Bridgerton\u2019s Nicola Coughlan and Brassic\u2019s Ruth Madeley to Heartstopper star Yasmin Finney, who plays Donna\u2019s daughter Rose, Doctor Who\u2019s first Black transgender character.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very few people we could have cast as Rose and it\u2019s like a light came down from heaven. It was so powerfully meant to be,\u201d Russell says. \u201cMyself and a lot of other writers are very keen to be progressive and reflect more of society. It\u2019s a door we\u2019re opening further and further as much as we can, but it\u2019s heavy and it keeps slamming shut.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final \u201ccompletely mad\u201d special features US actor Neil Patrick Harris as vintage villain the Toymaker, although the Gone Girl star hadn\u2019t previously heard of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe phoned me up and said, \u2018So, the Doctor\u2019s an alien?\u2019 He really was from scratch,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n

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By Christmas Day, David\u2019s run will be over and Sex Education\u2019s Ncuti Gatwa will be the 15th Time Lord, with Coronation Street \u2019s Millie Gibson as companion Ruby Sunday. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait for people to see it,\u201d Russell says. \u201cIt\u2019s thrilling what is coming up and it\u2019s stories we\u2019ve never done before in a style we\u2019ve never done before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Would Russell ever make an on-screen cameo himself? \u201cNever,\u201d he declares. \u201cAlthough presenter Gethin Jones was once a Dalek in a 2008 episode \u2013 and I would have got into that one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doctor Who airs Saturday 25th November at 6.30pm on BBC One.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n