The man behind BBC One's His Dark Materials has revealed that he tried out for a spot on Doctor Who's writing team, but failed to make the cut.

Advertisement

Jack Thorne's formidable body of work in the fantasy genre was listed to him by a fan, who posed the question of when he would pen an adventure with a certain Time Lord.

He responded saying that he had tried out for Steven Moffatt's first series, which aired in 2010 and saw the beginning of Matt Smith's time as the Doctor.

Thorne assured there were "no hard feelings" over the parting of ways, but that he just "couldn't get it right".

Moffatt steered the Doctor's ship until 2017 when he stepped down and passed the baton to current producer Chris Chibnall, who is taking charge of Jodie Whittaker's time in the lead role.

Thorne went on to become one of British TV's most prolific writers, working on the Shane Meadows projects This Is England '86 and The Virtues, as well as fan favourite fantasy series The Fades and Channel 4 drama The Accident.

He is also known for writing the script to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the stage play continuation of J.K. Rowling's epic wizarding story which has been wildly popular.

Advertisement

Thorne has most recently served as head writer and executive producer on BBC One's His Dark Materials, the epic fantasy series based on Philip Pullman's beloved novels, and was also ranked 14th on RadioTimes.com's TV 100.

Authors

David Craig
David CraigSenior Drama Writer

David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement