#whobtswby

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Behind the Scenes of Wild Blue Yonder - Part Thirteen

...including a couple of photos care of DT's double George J Cheetham

Excerpt from Doctor Who Magazine issue #598 (Side Bar: Double Trouble)

In addition to David and Catherine, stunt-double, acting-double, bodydouble and digital-scan versions of the Doctor and Donna are required for Wild Blue Yonder. Renato Gjini and Kim McGarrity are the stunt doubles. “We love our job,” says Renato. “It keeps us fit. The wigs are not fun but it’s part of the job!” George Cheetham and Helen Langford are the stand-in body doubles, and also runners on set. “We applied to be stand-in runners for an upcoming series,” says Helen. “I didn’t know it was Doctor Who until I was driving here. It’s been really fun. I’ve been watching Catherine to see how she does things, looking at the way she walks. Donna’s jumper is so comfy, I must say. I saw one really similar to this in Tescos yesterday, although I think this one’s quite an expensive brand.” “For someone who’s trying to progress with the old acting career, this is a dream,” says George. “We were doing some filming in London, in Camden, and all these fans showed up and were like, There’s David! But it was just me. The disappointment on their faces…”

Thank you to everyone who shared filming photos!

For other posts in this set, please see the #whoBtsWBY tag. The full episode list is [ here ]

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David Tennant and Catherine Tate The Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble

...and the teeth

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Behind the Scenes of Wild Blue Yonder - Part Fourteen

Excerpts from DWM 589 - Paul Kirkley’s interview with the directors of the three 60th Anniversary Specials:

DWM: Was there a particular moment that made you stop and think: "This is a really mad way to make a living..." Tom Kingsley [ the director of Wild Blue Yonder ]: I remember one day, which is just a good illustration of how varied it is, where we started in the morning filming something outdoors in a really beautiful location. Then we came inside to an alien creature, then we filmed a robot, then we did a pick-up with David and Catherine, running through this completely imaginary location on green screen. And all of these moments, which all look really cool and completely different, are from one single episode. And I just though, "yeah, kid in a candy store..."

For other posts in this set, please see the #whoBtsWBY tag. The full episode list is [ here ]

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Doctor Who - Wild Blue Yonder - Visual Effects - Part Two

Link to [ Part One ]

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Behind the Scenes of Wild Blue Yonder - Part Three

Excerpt from Benjamin Cook's article on Bernard Cribbins in DWM #598

It’s a crisp Monday morning in Camden Market, and all is OK with the world. Because it’s 16 May 2022 and, just for one day, Bernard Cribbins is back on Doctor Who. “Wilfred Mott! Now I feel better,” declares the Doctor, stepping out of the blue police box parked up on the cobbles. “Now nothing is wrong. Nothing in the whole wide world. Hello, my old soldier.” A pause. “Shall I give you a hug,” asks David Tennant, “before I say, ‘Hello, my old soldier’?” “Yeah, why not,” replies Bernard, sat in his wheelchair, centre stage, framed against the iconic TARDIS. “Give us a cuddle!” Clad in Wilf’s cozy brown coat and flat cap, Bernard is rehearsing the final, climactic scene of Wild Blue Yonder, the second of Doctor Who’s three 60th Anniversary Specials, alongside David Tennant and Catherine Tate. None of them knows it, but this will be Bernard’s last working day in a TV, film and theatre career that spans almost 80 years (he started work aged 14, at Oldham Rep in January 1943). It’ll also be Wilf’s final bow. “I never thought I’d see you again,” he tells the Doctor, welling up. “After all these years. Oh, Doctor, that lovely face.” A chuckle. “It’s like springtime… Is it David’s face I’m looking at?” queries Bernard. “Yes, you haven’t seen him in years,” the director, Tom Kingsley, jumps in, “and you could not be happier. You’re playing it just right, Bernard.” “Well,” says Bernard, “no acting required.” He’s genuinely delighted to be reunited with his Doctor Who co-stars, for the first time, on screen, in 13 years. “And that is just materialising, is it? – that thing?” he asks of the TARDIS. “Wilf’s been here, waiting?” “That’s right,” says Tom.

For other posts in this set, please see the #whoBtsWBY tag. The full episode list is [ here ]

Thank you to everyone who shared filming photos!

[mizgnomer]

Doctor Who - Wild Blue Yonder - Visual Effects

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Behind the Scenes of Wild Blue Yonder - Part Twelve

Excerpt from Benjamin Cook’s article on Bernard Cribbins in DWM #598:

On 27 July 2022, ten weeks after our interview, Bernard passed away. When the news broke, tributes from his Doctor Who family poured in. “Being horrible to Wilf was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do as an actor,” wrote John Simm, who played the Master in The End of Time. “Wiping out a tenth of the population? Didn’t bat an eyelid. But to be mean to Bernard Cribbins… a challenge! He’d look at me after a take and with that lovely twinkle in his eyes would say ‘ooh you ’orrible sod!’”

Speaking to ITV News, David Tennant said of Bernard, “He was lovely, I mean, he was genuinely lovely. He had a warmth about him and a twinkle about him.” Bernard meant so much to David and his wife, Georgia, that their ten-year-old, Wilfred, is named after his Doctor Who character, while their four-year-old is called Birdie, a nod to the 1959 song Where’s the Birdie?, which Bernard performed with Tommy Steele and Sid James.

“There aren’t many people in this world who inspire you to name multiple kids after them,” Georgia posted on Instagram. “That’s how magic Bernard was.”

“I adored Bernard,” Jacqueline King, who plays Wilf’s daughter, Sylvia, tells me today. “At any event, be it a trip to the theatre – with Gill [Bernard’s wife of 66 years, who died in 2021], of course – or a preview of an episode, or when he was receiving his British Academy Children’s Award, he was always introducing me to the many people he knew, making sure I was included. Even though I knew they only wanted to talk to him.

“I was pinching myself at the readthrough [for the 60th Anniversary Specials, on 3 May 2022] because Bernard was back with us on Doctor Who. I wish he’d been able to do more” – Wilf was supposed to be in The Giggle, but when Bernard fell ill and it became clear that he could no longer participate, his scripted scenes were cut or rewritten – “but to have him back with us, even for one day, was glorious.”

What did working with Bernard on Wild Blue Yonder mean to his on-screen granddaughter? “Ahhh. Well. Everything,” says Catherine, spilling the tea (not again!) on her gramps. “It meant everything, because he’s such a beloved character, and I love him too. As you’ve seen, Bernard just came alive on camera. That character was just” – a click of her fingers – “immediately there again. So I was really delighted. We all were. And he was so funny that day. Oh my goodness, 93 and so sharp! Amazing. And here’s another thing I didn’t know: he was a companion as well.” Well. Yes. “I didn’t know that,” she reiterates.

Catherine, you were a companion too, you know? “Yes, apparently so,” she says. “That’s what people tell me. So if Bernard was, and so am I, then I’m in illustrious company. That wonderful man.”

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Thank you to everyone who shared filming photos!

For other posts in this set, please see the #whoBtsWBY tag. The full episode list is [ here ]

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of Wild Blue Yonder - Part One

Excerpt from DWM #598

What could be better than a Doctor-Donna two-hander? A Doctor-Donna two-hander with two Doctors, two Donnas, and very big hands, of course. Emily Cook goes behind the scenes to discover the visual trickery of Wild Blue Yonder. “Russell always talked about wanting to do a two-hander,” says David Tennant. “So we knew it was probably coming, but until you get the script you don’t really know what’s in his head. There was this, and another script which didn’t materialise, which is still in his head.” “And we won’t say what the other one is,” teases Catherine Tate. “Just in case he does sit down and write it one day,” adds David. The script that did materialise is Wild Blue Yonder – a VFX-heavy technical puzzle of an episode. “Puzzle is a good word,” says director Tom Kingsley. “The first time I read it, I thought, this is really cool but whoever directs it is going to have an absolute nightmare. It’s very ambitious. There’s lots of visual trickery.”

I’ll post additional parts in the coming months with the  #whoBtsWBY tag. The full episode list is [ here ]