Doctor Doctor ...

50th anniversary special
23 November 2013

Radio Times anniversary specials
10th (1973) | 20th (1983) | 30th (1993) | 40th (2003) | 50th (2013) | 60th (2023)

http://cuttingsarchive.org/images/d/d1/2013-11-23_Radio_Times_p27.jpg

Publication: Radio Times
Date: 2013-11-23
Author: John Naughton
Page: 27
Language: English

For fans it's a dream team, but how did Matt Smith and David Tennant work together?

EVERYTHING IS so familiar and yet utterly different." David Tennant, sitting beside his successor, Matt Smith, is discussing the incongruity, the disorientation, the downright oddness of returning to the role that made him a household name, for this one-off appearance in The Day of the Doctor.

"The first day I arrived, the costume's hanging there like it used to every day," he says. "It feels like, Where have I been? Have I just woken out of a dream?'"

After four years away, which have seen him in hits like Broadchurch - which he'll be reprising in America - Tennant admits to feeling "trepidatious" at the prospect of working with Smith, but when it's suggested that the pair have probably been like a pair of rutting Springwatch stags battling over territory, he politely rejects the idea.

"There's been none of that," he laughs. "Matt has been so up for this and so welcoming. I've had a ball."

THE EERIE SENSE of familiarity only increases, however, when he's asked what he's allowed to tell us about this episode. "I can't tell you a thing," he offers apologetically. "That is what I remember about Doctor Who more than anything. People want to talk to you about it more than anything else and you can say absolutely nothing."

"Or we just lie," interjects Smith, who, at this point - in April - is sitting on the secret that he is about to quit the show and usher in the era of Capaldi.

"Well, to be honest, everyone thinks I've been lying furiously," replies Tennant, a touch shamefacedly, recalling earlier denials that he would appear in this

THE FIRST REUNION William Hartnell, Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton joined forces in 1972

episode. "I suppose I've told a couple of white lies, but until quite recently this was all a bit up in the air, so I haven't been lying quite as hard as everybody thinks."

Judging by the pair's natural rapport, it's a shame this double Doctor experiment won't be repeated. They're already finishing off each other's sentences and appear to have bonded over a mutual love of Game of Thrones and a shared admiration for the physical prowess of their cameraman.

"I think it's difficult to be punchy and close," reasons Tennant of the challenges of shooting this 75-minute special in 3D. "At least, that's what I'm hearing. Plus the camera is a bit unwieldy, just because it's bigger. But Joe our camera operator covers that just by having very powerful thighs."

"He also has the biceps of a demigod," adds Smith. "He's like that big Drogo guy."

Discussion of Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) from Game of Thrones leads the pair to speculate that, if they can't work together again on Doctor Who, perhaps there might be an opportunity for them on HBO's tale of sex and slaughter. On balance they think not.

"Would it work?" asks Smith rhetorically. "Nah, we're not tough enough. We'd only flounce around!"

Doctor Doctor ...

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