A Look at Doctor Who: Part One

By James Wray Mar 26, 2005, 15:21 GMT

Billie Piper as Rose and Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor

Christopher Eccleston plays Doctor Who in a new 13-part series for BBC ONE, like all the doctors he will be joined by a trusty assistant, in this case Rose Tyler in the form of actress Billie Piper. Piper made her acting debut in the critically-acclaimed Canterbury Tales: The Miller's Tale.

Travelling through time and space, the Doctor and Rose come face to face with a number of new and exciting monsters - as well as battling with the Doctor's arch-enemy: the Daleks!

The series also features Penelope Wilton, Noel Clarke, Annette Badland, Camille Coduri and John Barrowman, Richard Wilson, Simon Pegg, Zoe Wanamaker and acclaimed theatre, film and television actor Simon Callow.

A BBC Wales Production for BBC ONE, Doctor Who is written by Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Paul Cornell and Robert Shearman.

The executive producers are Russell T Davies, BBC Wales' Head of Drama Julie Gardner and Mal Young.

Writers and Producers

Persistence paid off for Russell T Davies when, after refusing to work on anything for the BBC unless it was the return of Doctor Who, his wish finally came true.

A new 13-part series of the legendary Doctor's adventures travelling through time and space was given the go ahead in late 2003, with Russell on board as lead writer and co-executive producer along with the then newly-appointed Head of Drama for BBC Wales, Julie Gardner.

One of British TV's foremost writing talents, Russell is also a life-long Doctor Who fan but admits he paused before committing himself to restoring the Doctor to prime-time on BBC ONE some 15 years after the last series.

"I actually spent three days thinking very seriously about it," he admits.

"I love Doctor Who, and part of me thought 'If you love something maybe you should leave it alone'.

"But it was three days of nonsense really, and my friends were slapping me round the head and saying 'Don't be stupid, of course you've got to do it!'."

Julie had previously worked with Russell at ITV, so when she was asked if she would like Doctor Who to be the first project she oversaw for BBC Wales, she said 'yes' and rang him straight away.

"He didn't say yes immediately," Julie confirms, "but it was so obviously the right fit for everyone that Russell was soon working on the scripts and we were in pre-production."

Russell's writing credits include award-winners such as Queer as Folk, Bob and Rose and The Second Coming - the latter starring the man who would become the new Doctor, Christopher Eccleston.

But long before Christopher was cast, along with actress Bille Piper as the Doctor's latest travelling companion, Rose, Russell knew where the new series was going.

"The key word is fun," he says. "It's funny, scary, fast-moving, adventurous but above all the new Doctor Who is fun.

"I watch a lot of other science-fiction shows and they tend to be very pious, sombre, dark, even angst-ridden, and that would just die a death on a Saturday evening.

"People want to be entertained at that time, so Doctor Who is fun, fast-paced and takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride."

Julie points to the dizzying possibilities for storytelling that Doctor Who creates as another key attraction.

"There's no story that can't be told," she declares.

"It can go anywhere in time and space, and the main characters are an alien and a human, with all the confusion that brings. I can absolutely see why that draws people in.

"But without the quality of the scripts by Russell and our other writers - Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Robert Shearman and Paul Cornell - we couldn't hope to attract the likes of Simon Callow, Richard Wilson, Penelope Wilton and Simon Pegg as guest artists."

Russell still sounds surprised when he recalls how Christopher contacted him to say he was keen to be considered for the title role.

"I didn't think Christopher would be interested," he admits.

"But it's no secret that he has a very serious screen image, and I think playing the Doctor is a way of showing a different side of himself.

"There's a lot of fun and humour in his portrayal, but of course when the Doctor is angry or passionate we get that other side of Christopher, which has helped make him one of Britain's finest actors."

Christopher's leather jacket-wearing Doctor, played in his own Manchester accent, is more down-to-earth than some of his more flamboyant predecessors - "stripped down", as Russell describes him.

"The first couple of episodes were written before Christopher was cast," he says.

"But, by happy accident, my template for the character fitted him perfectly and he's also added as we've gone along."

Julie adds: "Christopher has often played very intense, dramatic, even tragic roles but the Doctor gives him the chance to still be very intense but also frivolous as well.

"He plays the part with enormous pace and energy, and there's plenty of banter between him and Rose."

Julie says once Billie auditioned to become the Doctor's new companion, it was simply no contest.

"From the moment she walked through the door, we loved her because there's something very real about her. She's got glamour, she's very beautiful and she has a spirit about her which really comes through in Rose," says Julie.

"She was absolutely perfect for the part, and she and Christopher work so well together - I think there's a real chemistry between them."

Russell believes the other key element of chemistry in the new Doctor Who lies in the relationship between its past, which has inspired loyalty and devotion in its fans for over 40 years, and the boundless potential of its present.

"The main difference between the old and the new Doctor Who is quite simply that this is a version made for 2005," he says.

"It's faithful to the old series, but at the same time it's a brand new show aimed at a new audience."

Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor

The new Doctor is more edgy and colloquial than previous ones

First, he emailed co-executive producer and lead writer Russell T Davies to let him know he was interested in playing the Time Lord's ninth incarnation.

One of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, Christopher (41) accepts that saying 'yes' to reviving the Doctor was a bold move.

"If you wanted to be cynical about it, a lot of the work I've done has been comfort food for liberals," he says with a smile, referring to benchmark TV dramas such as Our Friends In The North and Hillsborough.

"What's dawned on me about Doctor Who is that I'm trying to entertain a different audience. It's exciting and funny and scary and it's aimed at families, so I'm kind of acting for children and I feel very lucky to be able to do that.

"For all the danger the Doctor encounters, the basic message of the show is seize life, be optimistic and see the positives.

"The series is written with passion and humour, and there's an innocence about it. It's a kind of celebration of life in all its forms.

"In everything the Doctor does he saying 'it's great to be alive'. I can hear people sneering at that, but that's what he believes and it's a nice thing to say to kids, or anybody for that matter."

Fittingly for a classic TV series being reinvented for the 21st century, Christopher had no preconceptions about Doctor Who, having rarely watched it as a child.

"I've got some memories of it, but I was always out playing," he says. "So I didn't have to think about what had gone before.

"I've just always tried to do the very best television I possibly could, and I knew that, having worked with Russell before, this series had a good chance of being great television."

When Christopher signed up to play the Doctor, Russell had already written the first two scripts, giving his leading man a character template to work on.

"He is Russell's Doctor and I've responded to the character that he's written," says Christopher. "But I have a sense that, as we went along, Russell started to look at what I was doing and began to write for me. I think I've done certain things with the character which he's liked, and he's used that."

Gone is the sartorial flamboyance of the previous Doctors, as is the slight air of theatricality which seemed to suit their outfits, and in their place is a more pared-down, more 'alien' adventurer - with a northern accent.

"The accent is an interesting thing," says Manchester-born Christopher, whose movie credits include Shallow Grave, Elizabeth and 28 Days Later.

"The Doctor is a scientist and an intellectual, and a lot of people seem to think you can only be those things if you speak with received pronunciation which, of course, is rubbish.

"In terms of what he wears (mostly black but with a succession of coloured tops), I didn't want the costume to be my performance, I wanted any flamboyance and colour to come out of my acting.

"I think it's quite a big performance already, so I think if I was wearing a 'big' costume as well I'd need a circus tent!

"There's also the challenge for me of the comic element to the Doctor's character. I hadn't done a great deal of comedy before and I wanted to try that."

But the bottom line for Christopher is that the Doctor is someone who lives for the here and now.

"He doesn't like to think about his past - there's some pain there - and his only concern about the future is that he makes sure it's there.

"He kind of eats life. He's not on a mission, he hasn't got an agenda, he's just there. Things just happen, he responds to them and does what he thinks is right."

Teaming up with Rose brings him into contact with her family, bringing out another element of the Doctor's personality.

"He doesn't do 'domestic'," Christopher smiles. "There's a line about it in one episode. He doesn't really like domestic set-ups or being answerable to other people. The ninth Doctor seems to have a problem with commitment!"

But for all his insights into the new Doctor's personality, the man playing him admits he's still trying to work a lot of it out himself.

"I find it quite hard to talk about the series because it's such a massive project and we're working so hard on it that I've not had a moment to collect my thoughts," says Christopher.

"To be honest with you, I've actually found myself behaving like the Doctor - I walk into a scene, the scene unfolds, I react to it, they film it and I move on.

"I'm not talking about 'immersing' myself in it, or any 'method' stuff - it's just such a fast-paced show and production that you have to get on with it!

"Everything you need to know about Doctor Who is all there on the screen. More than anything else I've worked on, this show does exactly what it says on the tin."

Christopher adds: "When I agreed to play the Doctor, I was reacting with my heart to what I feel Russell has tried to do with all his work, which is deliver television that is entertaining and has substance.

"If we've got it right, I think Doctor Who will be both of those things."

Billie Piper as Rose Tyler

Billie Piper (left) plays the Doctor's new assistant Rose Tyler

"When that happened, I was in the midst of this mad pop frenzy and I didn't really have time to enjoy the moment," recalls the pop star-turned-actress or actress-turned-pop star-turned-actress, as she would prefer.

"It's only on reflection that I can think how great it was, but at the time I couldn't feel it. It all happened very quickly - I was only 15 and completely numb to that success, which is a shame.

"But the thing about acting is you have to be living the moment all the time, so you can enjoy it all the time. I'm just happy to be feeling it this time round."

Still only 22, Billie has packed a lot into her life, including pop stardom and marriage to media mogul Chris Evans, but she now feels she is finally doing what she was born to do - act.

"As a child, I always wanted to be an actor and I studied drama and did workshops when I was growing up in Swindon," she says.

"I didn't just want it to be my hobby, I wanted it to be my life and to throw myself into it completely, so I got a scholarship with the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London.

"It was always my mission to be an actor - I just got sidetracked somewhere along the line!"

Billie was asked to do a demo-tape for a new record label keen to find a new young female solo artist and, as she recalls, "it just snowballed from there".

"I did it because I love music," she says. "I was never really that confident as a singer but I saw it as a stepping stone and hoped that it would open doors for me in the future as an actress.

"I know there have been times when the whole pop thing has gone against me in terms of getting roles, but I also knew I would just have to apply myself."

To that end, Billie went to Los Angeles to re-start her acting studies in relative anonymity, then came home and began auditioning.

"The main reason I got parts was because I always considered myself to be an actress and it was only news to everybody else. So I think it was my passion and conviction that got me my first couple of jobs," she says.

A role in the BBC's contemporary version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in 2003, opposite TV heavyweights James Nesbitt and Dennis Waterman, made people sit up and take note of Billie's talent.

And when it came to trying to land the part of Rose in Doctor Who, she had an ace up her sleeve.

"I had a first audition and was then called back to read opposite Christopher (Eccleston) so the producers could check out the chemistry between us.

"That was really quite scary, but I'd met Christopher before because we were going to be partnered up to do another TV drama.

"Nothing ever came of that project, but at least we'd been out for a drink before and enjoyed each other's company, so that definitely helped."

Billie sees Rose as more of an equal to the Doctor than his previous companions.

"The new series keeps the essence of the old Doctor Who, but one of the ways it has updated it is in the relationship between the Doctor and Rose.

"I think they're on a par with one another, more like partners, and the audience sees everything through Rose's eyes," explains Billie.

"She's human, the Doctor's an alien, and she's experiencing all these alien situations throughout the series. At times, the whole thing is slightly overwhelming for her, but she can cope with it and match the Doctor.

"He is constantly challenging her, trying to broaden her horizons, and she's trying to show him how to be more in touch with human emotions.

"The series is a great balance between science fiction, which can be a bit detached, and real, genuine emotions. I don't think I would have done it if it was strictly sci-fi, as much as I've enjoyed being chased by monsters!

"I get my biggest buzz from working opposite Christopher when Rose and the Doctor are having 'domestic' kind of conversations. But the creativity of the plots and their characters, the sets and the whole look of the series is amazing."

Billie admits that she sees a younger version of herself in Rose, especially the way she relies on her instincts and intuition.

"She's only 19, and when you're that age you don't tend to analyse things as much, you tend not to think so much about the consequences of your actions.

"That's what I like about Rose - everything about the Doctor's world is so brand new to her, and she's relying on her instincts all the time and I love that."

Billie adds: "If Rose had been older she might not have gone off in the first place with this strange man who calls himself the Doctor and abandoned the life she knows.

"But when we first see her she's so bored and looking for excitement. She feels trapped and doesn't want the kind of mundane life she's living. But then she meets this guy who totally shakes up her world."

 Online and Elsewhere

The Web site is full of interesting information

There is also a fully featured Web site which includes:

• Over two hours of specially shot on-set videos (even the Daleks have sent in a video diary)
• Doctor Who Confidential: The entire BBC THREE "making of" show available on-demand (13 x 30 minute episodes). This is the first time a non-news TV show has been streamed on-demand
• The Doctor Who Years: 3 x 30 minute specially edited video compilations, mixing classic tunes and Doctor Who clips in a nostalgia tour of the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties.
•  Conquer! -the BBC's first multiplayer online role-playing game.
•  Hidden sites - enter the world of the programme through a series of hidden sites referenced in the TV show. Can you find the Doctor?
•  Classic clips - more than 250 classic clips from the original series (everything from Tom Baker to the first appearance of the Daleks).
• Downloads - the site offers MP3 downloads of sounds, and mobile wallpaper (Trust us - there will be no escape from a phone that sounds like a Dalek death ray).
• Plus hidden corners, surprises, hundreds of candid behind-the-scenes photographs and more.

Part two looks at the creatures and special effects from the series...