Behind the Scenes of Fear Her - Part Seven
Excerpt from David Darlington's interview with writer Matthew Graham for Doctor Who Magazine:
David Darlington [with a question about Life on Mars, which Matthew Graham co-created]: Sam Tyler. Rose Tyler. Coincidence... or something more sinister? Matthew Graham: Oh, God. [Sighs]. Originally Sam was called "Williams". And with respect to all the Williamses out there, it's a pretty boring name for your hero. And we were about to start filming when Kudos phoned up and said "We've just suddenly thought – 'Gene Hunt' is great, it's an iconic name. 'Sam Williams' just doesn't feel very punchy.". So I came up with a list of names and they didn't like any of them. So I said to Daisy, my daughter, what could his second name be? Not realising that Daisy had just watched Doctor Who on video... and she said "Tyler". Great! Tyler! Phoned up Kudos and they agreed. 'Sam Tyler'. Brilliant. And then I went back to Daisy and said "Where did you get that name from?" "Oh – Rose is called Rose Tyler...". Aaaargh! Everyone's going to think that we haven't got an original idea! So, er, yes. He is named after Rose Tyler. David Darlington: I really wasn't expecting a 'yes' to that question! Matthew Graham: No, you weren't, were you? But it wasn't coincidence – it was my daughter's fault! David Darlington: So that was her input to the show – given that your son gave Sam his first name...? Matthew Graham: I did have Sam's name in my Doctor Who episode, as well, and ruthless Russell has cut it out! He said, "I think we could lose this character of Sam Graham"... David Darlington: Aww... Matthew Graham: But Sam has been up and had his photo taken with David. It was the sweetest thing – he stood next to me in awe until David walked over. "Hello! I'm the Doctor! Nice to meet you!". And it was just wonderful to see it... David Darlington: Did he put his 'Doctor Who' voice on for it? Matthew Graham: He did! He put his 'Doctor Who' voice on and when I asked if there was any chance of a photo with him and Sam, he said "Yeah – I'll get my costume back on!" He'd just been in a puffer jacket, and he put his long coat on and put his arm round Sam. Sam couldn't believe it. David is just the nicest man in the world...
Other parts of this set: [ one ] [ two ] [ three ] [ four ] [ five ] [ six ] [ List of all Doctor Who Behind the Scenes photosets ]