55-and-a-half amazing(ish) facts about Doctor Who
Paul Kirkley presents 55 or so facts about the series you probably didn’t know
41. Don’t stop me now: The Doctor Who revival was very nearly scuppered at an early stage when the show’s auld enemy, Michael Grade, returned to the BBC as Chairman. Possibly with half an eye on pleasing his new boss, Director General Mark Thompson asked Head of Drama Jane Tranter if she might consider cancelling production on the series. Tranter refused, and also made sure a recent BBC Worldwide report suggesting the show was doomed to fail didn’t cross Thompson’s desk. We basically love her.
42. Quatermass and the quip: On the same night that Doctor Who made its triumphant return to our screens in 2005, BBC Four broadcast a live re-make of The Quatermass Experiment. Among the cast was David Tennant who, unbeknown to the world, had just agreed to take over from Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor. As word got round the Quatermass team, Jason Flemyng, playing the eponymous professor, slipped in a cheeky in-joke by changing his opening address to Tennant’s character, Dr Briscoe, from “Good to have you back, Briscoe” to “Good to have you back, Doctor”.
43. Crack shot: A glimpse of John Barrowman’s naked bum in Series One’s Bad Wolf fell foul of BBC censors – but they were allowed to keep in the joke about Captain Jack carrying a gun between his buttocks. Probably best not to think about it.
44. Weevil Rock You: In 2008, BBC Wales was approached by a producer who wanted to stage Torchwood: The Musical – with Bjorn and Benny from ABBA apparently keen to write the music. “Bjorn and Benny love Torchwood,” claimed the BBC producer acting as go-between on the project. Although this sounds suspiciously like a fantasy dreamed up in John Barrowman’s head, Russell T Davies insists it really happened.
45. That Doctor Who dynasty in full: Okay, here goes: David Tennant’s wife Georgia played his daughter in The Doctor’s Daughter. In real life, she’s the daughter of Peter Davison, which means The Doctor’s Daughter is actually the Doctor’s wife AND his daughter, and the Fifth Doctor is his own father-in-law on account of his son-in-law playing an older version of himself, then marrying his daughter, who he met while she was playing HIS daughter. The Tennants’ children, meanwhile, have the Doctor as their dad AND their granddad and the Doctor’s daughter (and wife) as their mum. And, just to make things more confusing, Georgia was in the same class at school as Colin Baker’s eldest child Lucy, aka the Doctor’s daughter. Got that?
46. Skate-off: Russell T Davies once turned down an offer to appear as a contestant on ITV’s Dancing on Ice.
47. Booty Call: Matt Smith’s sister Laura is one of the dancers gyrating sweatily in a leotard in Eric Prydz’ pneumatic Call On Me video.
48. FYC, FYI: Arthur Darvill’s dad Nigel played keyboards for 80s soul-pop sensations Fine Young Cannibals, while his mother Ellie was the voice and puppeteer behind the Why Bird on tots’ TV show Playdays. So if you ever saw a giant, rainbow-coloured bird playing piano to She Drives Me Crazy, you knew someone had taken the wrong bag to work.
