Doctor Who writer 'holding on' to episode idea after it was scrapped
Pete McTighe was set to write an episode for season 13 before COVID forced some changes.
Doctor Who writer Pete McTighe has revealed he was set to write an episode for season 13 of the sci-fi juggernaut before it was scrapped due to COVID-19 – but he's saving the idea he had for the future.
McTighe – whose new Sky Max show The Rising debuts this week – had previously penned episodes for both seasons 11 and 12 (Kerblam! and Praxeus respectively), but was absent from the season 13 roster of writers.
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Of course, that season was shortened due to the effects of the pandemic – becoming the serialised six-parter Flux – and in a recent interview, McTighe explained that a clash meant he had to sit the season out.
"I was going to come and do series 13," he told National World. "I was doing [crime drama] The Pact at the same time – when COVID happened, we had to move our shooting dates for The Pact, which meant that I was kind of taken out for the production period of Doctor Who.
"We shot The Pact series 1 at the same time Doctor Who was shooting," he added. "We were shooting, actually, in quarries next door to each other at one stage. They were in a quarry shooting the Sontaran episode, and we were literally over the road in the woods shooting The Pact."
Pressed on whether he could reveal anything about what his episode might have included, he admitted that it didn't focus on any classic monsters but responded: "I’ll hold on to it, because Doctor Who ideas are never dead.
"Hopefully one day I’ll get to use it."
Pete McTighe's The Rising premieres on Sky Max and NOW on Friday 22nd April.
Doctor Who will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year. All 13 seasons of Doctor Who are also available to watch now on Amazon Prime Video – sign up for a Prime Video free trial.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
