Son of Dr Who
- Publication: West Lancashire Evening Gazette
- Date: 1998-12-02
- Author: Austin Macauley
- Page: 6
- Language: English
A new book celebrating 35 years of Dr Who has been a labour of love for its author - a former Arnold School pupil. AUSTIN MACAULEY reports
WHENEVER work gets Gary Gillatt down he just thinks back to when he was a 13-year-old fanatic of Dr Who and imagines what that little boy would think of his job-writing about his favourite TV sci-fi.
Now editor of Dr Who Magazine, his passion for Daleks. Cybermen and time-travel has become a full time profession, and an exhausting one.
The young boy who used to hang around the Dr Who exhibition opposite Blackpool's Central Pier is now the person most turn to when they nee need an expert's view on the hugely popular show.
Gary, now 27, lives in South London and has released what could be described as the culmination of a lifetime's work-Dr Who culmination From A to Z.
Commissioned by the BBC, the book is a celebration of the show's 35-year history and personal triumph for the former Arnold School pupil.
It was through an article in The Gazette that Gary found out about a club called Enlightenment - a group formed for Dr Who fans who wanted to meet up following the closure of the exhibition in Blackpool in 1986.
From there he started writing articles From about the show and after university and other magazine work he landed his dream job with Marvel Comics.
"It has taken me through a little route from boyhood, hanging around the Dr Who exhibition in Blackpool, to being editor of Dr Who Magazine now," he said.
"I think the show attracted a certain type of viewer. In particular, brighter kids who want ed something a bit crazier and more well imagined than most kids' TV was at that time.
I met friends through it who shared the same passion. I think it grips you for life. My brother is mad about Blackpool Football Club, he follows them round the country and even runs a Blackpool FC website-but I can't see the appeal.
"Dr Who is the same. It's one of those things you either get or you don't." Gary "got it" big time as a result, several years after first being hooked on the show as a child, he now makes TV and radio appearances as an expert in his field.
Proud mum Lucy Gillatt, who lives in South Shore, is the first to point out that Gary's job is a serious business-not the stuff of science fiction.
"For him it was a dream job when he got it, but the book is the ultimate. It has taken a year of hard work while he has had the full time job as well.
"There's nothing he doesn't know about the show. It's not a childhood obsession now - it's a serious job."
As to the future of the world's most famous Time- Lord, Gary can see the scarved traveller making a return in the 21st century.
The cheap and cheerful sets and special effects do not detract from its attraction even today, in his opinion And to prove that he showed an episode of Dr Who from 1975 to a class of 10-year-old children at a school in in London.
"They couldn't see anything wrong with the effects. They said it was great because the storyline was clever," he said. "People will forgive a great deal if a programme is made with enthusiasm and imagination.
"Given the way the TV industry is opening up more and more channels it's only a matter of time before people look back at things they once had success with and try again. But I think it has to be made for a new generation."
Part of his first editor's note in Dr Who Magazine after taking over in 1995 read: "I was eight years old when my big brother brought home the first issue of Dr Who Weekly to cheer me up during a bout of the measles.
The demand on Gary during Dr Who's 35th birthday week to talk about Daleks. Davros and The Doctor should be enough to make him ill all over again - or at least sick of the show.
But a bit of mental time travel is all he needs to put things into perspective.
"Every time I get a bit jaded about work I imagine my 13-year-old self and how chuffed he would be to know what I'm doing now."
Caption: The Daleks arrive at Blackpool North rail station, inset in 1965 ... before Dr Who author and fanatic Gary, above, was born!
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Macauley, Austin (1998-12-02). Son of Dr Who. West Lancashire Evening Gazette p. 6.
- MLA 7th ed.: Macauley, Austin. "Son of Dr Who." West Lancashire Evening Gazette [add city] 1998-12-02, 6. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Macauley, Austin. "Son of Dr Who." West Lancashire Evening Gazette, edition, sec., 1998-12-02
- Turabian: Macauley, Austin. "Son of Dr Who." West Lancashire Evening Gazette, 1998-12-02, section, 6 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Son of Dr Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Son_of_Dr_Who | work=West Lancashire Evening Gazette | pages=6 | date=1998-12-02 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Son of Dr Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Son_of_Dr_Who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 March 2025}}</ref>
