This is how Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi would fix the BBC
The Doctor wants the corporation to travel, though probably not in a blue phone box
Recently RadioTimes.com got to spend some time catching up with Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi, and amongst all the chat about new companions, series 10 and how long he’ll stay in the Tardis, we couldn’t resist asking one extra question – what one thing would he do to help the BBC, currently faced with massive changes during their charter renewal?
The answer, as partially discussed in this week’s Radio Times magazine (on sale now), shouldn’t have surprised us – because all the time traveller wants is for the BBC to, well, travel a bit more.
“I’d have more regional drama,” Capaldi told us. “As the BBC is paid for by the entirety of the nation, that should be reflected in its content more. High-quality writing and production should be both encouraged and experienced by people all over the country.”
Capaldi, whose wife Elaine is executive producer on Scottish island-set drama Shetland (which might give him a bit of insight), explained what he thought were the issues of the corporation’s focus on southeast England.
“There’s always been a slight problem of gravitation to the southeast or to the centres of production,” Capaldi said, “which not only locates that economic favour in those areas, it also reduces the experience that people in the rest of the country have of actually making television.
“You know, of actually making, writing, acting, producing, directing and being in it… in actually learning how to do it.
He concluded: “So it’s the learning how to do it that has to be spread more evenly.”
So there you have it: the Doctor has prescribed exactly what he thinks the BBC needs. We’ll leave it at the chemist for them right away.
Doctor Who series 9 is now available on DVD and from BBC Store
