Bradley Walsh wore a wig to film the new series of Doctor Who
Filming commitments on ITV's The Chase meant that the new Who companion had to rely on a wig to make him look 'older'
Doctor Who is known for turning actors into weird and wonderful alien creatures, with the behind-the-scenes team delivering incredible monsters week after week.
However, in the new series the hair and make-up artists had a surprise extra duty – because new series companion Bradley Walsh ended up wearing a wig for the entire shoot, due to the need for his character Graham to look older.
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Yep, that’s right – in every single shot you'll see of Bradley Walsh in Doctor Who, that’s not really his hair.
“I had to wear a wig, because fortunately at this precise moment at my age I'm not too grey,” Walsh told the crowd at the Doctor Who series 11 premiere for The Woman Who Fell to Earth.
“I needed to be much much greyer.”
Normally, this would be a simple matter of hair dye – but because of Walsh’s ongoing commitments as presenter of The Chase on ITV (which is filmed at the same time as Doctor Who), the production had to come up with a different solution.
“Rather than colour my hair – because of another job I do – I had to have a wig made,” Walsh explained. “I've never worn a wig before; I quite liked it!
“I liked the transformation – it was really good, excellent.
“And I'm now having one made for weekends,” he joked. “But blonde.”
Bad hair days aside, Walsh ended up having a ball on the BBC sci-fi series (following the screening of series 11’s first episode, he noted it was the first time he’d seen the series in colour) and said he felt “privileged” to be a part of Jodie Whittaker’s Tardis team.
“Look, it's an iconic show, it's a global phenomenon,” he said.
“Everyone knows Doctor Who. It's an extraordinary thing to be in. And I'm very proud and privileged to be part of it.
“Not just the fact that it's going in a new direction. It looks sensational. We've got people like Jamie Childs who want to come and direct it. Chris Chibnall, my old boss from Law & Order, wanted me to be in it.
“So consequently, I feel very proud a) to have been asked, and b) to have been assembled alongside Jodie, Tosin [Cole] and Mandip [Gill].
“We've become pals through this,” he concluded. “And I actually can't wait to see the rest of the series.”
We’re sure plenty of Doctor Who fans would agree with him – if nothing else, we REALLY need to get a good look at that wig.
Doctor Who returns to BBC1 on Sunday 7th October at 6.45pm
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
