#whobts60th

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Behind the Scenes of The 60th Anniversary Specials - Part Ten

From a Wales Online interview with Doctor Who Unleashed host Steffan Powell:

Discussing how he landed the role, Steffan said: “When [the show’s producer] called and we first had our first chat, I thought that this could be amazing but I'm not getting my hopes up because this could be big time. When you work in telly stuff comes and goes and it sometimes doesn't quite pay off. You’ve just got to leave it up to the lap of the gods and see what happens. “Then my agent phoned me a couple of days after and said: ‘Are you sitting down?’ I told him I wasn’t and he said I should. He said: ‘This Doctor Who thing, it looks like we're on,’ and I can't believe it. It's been a sort of roller coaster journey ever since.” “It’s sort of TV history being made in front of your eyes,” Steffan said of working on the show during this time. “You've got a front row seat for it so it's been a joy and a rollercoaster ride.”

The 60th Anniversary Specials each have their own tag, but the #whoBts60th tag is for general photos and behind the scenes information that span multiple episodes.  The full episode list is [ here ]

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Behind the Scenes of The 60th Anniversary Specials - Part Six

From Doctor Who Magazine 599:

DWM sits down with David Tennant on the set of The Giggle to talk retro chic, running, and roundels DWM: Big, isn't it? David: Yeah. When I first come onto it, I run a circuit of it. Which was great, but by the fifth take, I was feeling it. DWM: Proper roundels, too... David: Absolutely. And there's like, 850 of them or something? DWM: Is roundel even a word? David: I think so. That's what everyone's been calling them. Is that not a word? DWM: It is - but does anyone who isn't a Doctor Who fan ever use it? David: Well, words have to start somewhere, don't they? I'm going to go look up that word and it's origins now...

The 60th Anniversary Specials each have their own tag, but the #whoBts60th tag is for general photos and behind the scenes information that span multiple episodes.  The full episode list is [ here ]

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The 60th Anniversary Specials - Part Nine

Excerpt from DWM #590 - Benjamin Cook's interview with Murray Gold:

When DWM interviewed Murray in 2005, he described Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor as "a high plains drifter. He was a scarred soul and he carried a lot of pain," while David Tennant's Tenth Doctor was "written like he's got over it." Since then, Murray has scored two more Doctors' eras, with another two on the way, and he still has a knack for taking in pull-quotes. He describes Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor as "gangly, eccentric, and unexpectedly warm. You don't imagine such warmth coming from the face that you see." And Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor: "I want to call him the [Mount] Rushmore Doctor, but maybe Peter wouldn't thank me for that. He's like a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. In a slightly Rushmorey kind of way." What can we expect from Tennant II, the Fourteenth Doctor? "He steps straight back into that character as if he never left it. With, I suppose, and added aura of what the hell am I doing here? As a character, I mean. Because this is the question mark that sort of threads the episodes together." Can we get a pull-quote about [Ncuti] too please? "From what I've seen of Ncuti, he's dazzling," says Murray, grinning. "He dazzles immediately. He also radiates this tremendous warmth. He's got a gravitational pull that's powerful."

The 60th Anniversary Specials each have their own tag, but the #whoBts60th tag is for general photos and behind the scenes information that span multiple episodes.  The full episode list is [ here ]

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The 60th Anniversary Specials - Part Eight

From Doctor Who Magazine 599:

DWM: TARDIS scenes have certainly suffered from being a bit static in the past. So this was about making those scenes more... kinetic? Joel Collins, executive producer: I think it was about making them more full of joy. That was the word Russell used when I first met him, more than two years ago. He wanted to put so much joy into Doctor Who. And when the Doctor enters the TARDIS and starts running around, you see that immediately. Phil Sims, production designer: David Tennant walked on and immediately ran around every single bit, like a tomcat marking his territory. And now Ncuti completely owns it. I mean, he really owns it. It's just glorious to see him in there.

The 60th Anniversary Specials each have their own tag, but the #whoBts60th tag is for general photos and behind the scenes information that span multiple episodes.  The full episode list is [ here ]

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The 60th Anniversary Specials - Part Seven

Excerpt from Emily Cook's interview with David and Catherine for Doctor Who Magazine #593:

“As I said earlier,” says Catherine, “I’m not on social media so I have no idea what the reaction was [to the announcement of David & Catherine returning to Doctor who]. As long as they remember us, that’s where my bar is.” “It’s just nice not to have to lie to friends anymore,” says David. “It’s nice to be a bit more open about what one’s doing, without giving too many details away.” “It was a big secret,” stresses Catherine. “It was very under the radar.” Was there anyone they entrusted the secret to? “There are a couple of people in my life who sort of figured it out and I didn’t disabuse them,” says David. “Then there were a couple of people I told just before the announcement. Like my kids.” What was their reaction? “The really sweet reaction was Ty, who’s 20 and of course was a kid when I was on Doctor Who the first time round. He was absolutely delighted. I don’t think I’ve pleased Ty that much probably ever. So that was very pleasing. Because he’s the generation that experienced it as a kid and is now old enough to enjoy the revisitation of that.” “I told my daughter quite early on,” says Catherine. “Is she good at keeping big secrets, though?” asks David. “Very very very. And then I realised as I said it… I thought, ‘Oh, I’m not sure I should have given that information to a teenager. To be like, ‘Don’t tell anyone for a year.’ But she didn’t.” “You don’t want to burden someone with a secret like that, in a way,” considers David. “Because it is a bit toxic when it’s so closely guarded. There were a couple of people who’d obviously got wind of it somehow, who asked me straight out and I just lied to their face. And then last Sunday, whenever the announcement was, I had to do lots of messaging around going, ‘I did lie to your face, I hope you’ll understand, I’m sure you know how it works.’ So there was a bit of that.”

The 60th Anniversary Specials each have their own tag, but the #whoBts60th tag is for general photos and behind the scenes information that span multiple episodes.  The full episode list is [ here ]

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The 60th Anniversary Specials - Part Five

Excerpt from Benjamin Cook's interview with Catherine Tate (and David Tennant because you can't have one without the other) in DWM #597

I could ask Catherine and David what it’s like to return to Doctor Who – are they happy to be here? Having fun? Getting on? – but what’s the point. It’s a right laugh, clearly. “We’re just so emotional to be back,” says David, still in stitches. “It’s… it’s different and strangely familiar,” says Catherine, of playing Donna Noble again. “It’s been a long time, but it does feel like slipping on a…” David’s voice trails off as he glances down at his Doctor’s garb: “Oh, it’s a different coat, isn’t it? Heh! But it does feel like I’m slipping on an old comfortable one.” So can they relax into it more this time around? “Yes,” Catherine jumps in, without hesitation. “I hope so,” says David, “because in a way there’s nothing to prove. We always knew we were only here for a quick run around the garden, to revisit something that was so special and joyous. But long-term” – he laughs cheekily – “well, it’s not our responsibility.” Catherine laughs too. “That’s right. These episodes are a bridge between one era and the next. That’s very much what we are. We’re bridging between two eras. We’re the sort of stepping stones of a hopefully happy time in fans’ minds.” But both actors are adamant: aside from the opportunity to work with each other, it’s showrunner Russell T Davies’ scripts for these three 60th Anniversary Specials that have tempted them back. “They’re amazing,” says David. “Such great scripts,” agrees Catherine. “Although, actually,” he realises, “we did say yes long before we saw a script. That was very high-risk,” teases David. “This wasn’t going to be anything other than spectacular, though, was it?” “Well, quite. But these [episodes] did grow, between the first conversation [and now].” “Totally,” says Catherine. “We thought we were only coming back for one!”

The 60th Anniversary Specials each have their own tag, but the #whoBts60th tag is for general photos and behind the scenes information that span multiple episodes.  The full episode list is [ here ]

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The 60th Anniversary Specials - Part Four

From Benjamin Cook's interview with Catherine Tate in DWM #597

In a dark, secluded corner of a Cardiff television studio, Catherine Tate and David Tennant are in tears. “I haven’t even talked to you about my portable milk frother,” Catherine is saying, crying with laughter. “No, you haven’t,” says David. “For all the coffee you don’t drink?” “Ha! For all the coffee I don’t drink.” Catherine is cachinnating her way through a list of the gadgets (“Some high-tech, some low-tech”) that she buys online (“And then doesn’t use,” splutters David). It’s causing a bit of a commotion here in the shadows, on Stage 4, at Bad Wolf Studios. “I’m absolutely a compulsive shopper,” she explains. “I absolutely get… is it the dopamine hit? Like a gambler gets. I mean, 100% I’ve got a problem.” “Do you have clear-outs, though?” asks David. An intake of breath. “I do, I do.” “Or do you just buy another house and live in that?” “No, well, ha! No, I recently…” She can barely get the words out. “I recently got rid of my Malibu pilates table.” “How troubled had it been by actual pilates?” enquires David. “It was still in its box,” she confesses, propelling them both into another fit of the giggles. Two kindred spirits, rocking back and forth on their canvas chairs, corpsing helplessly. It’s not even 10AM. If you’re wondering why Catherine and David are in such a giddy mood, it’s because it’s Monday, 9 May 2022, and this is their first day back together on the set of Doctor Who in 13 years. So this… let’s call it an interview – yeah, no, let’s – might be a little chaotic.

The 60th Anniversary Specials each have their own tag, but the #whoBts60th tag is for general photos and behind the scenes information that span multiple episodes.  The full episode list is [ here ]

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The 60th Anniversary Specials - Part Three

Excerpt from Doctor Who Magazine #599 - David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa joint interview with Benjamin Cook

DWM: Talking of advice: David, any pointers for Ncuti on how to pilot the TARDIS? David: I haven’t seen the new one yet! It’s still being built. There’s a great excitement in meeting that console for the first time. But yeah, I’m going to be laying down some rules on what button does what, because I’m in there first. Ncuti: [Chuckling] Uh-oh. David: I will be leaving detailed instructions, then I will be watching on TV and expecting them to be followed. I will be labelling. I will be leaving little labels on buttons. Ncuti: I’m pressing all of them. All your buttons.

The 60th Anniversary Specials each have their own tag, but I'm using the #whoBts60th tag for general photos and behind the scenes information that spans multiple episodes.  The full BTS episode list is [ here ]