And the geek shall inherit the earth..
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- Publication: Daily Record
- Date: 2013-08-06
- Author: Marc McLean
- Page: 12
- Language: English
Peter was pest to show bosses And the rest of time & space
DOCTOR Who superfan Peter Capaldi pestered producers of the show in the 1970s - and even tried to hijack the official fan club.
The Scots actor bombarded the BBC with letters asking for memorabilia, details about the making of the show and information about future episodes.
But Sarah Newman, who was secretary to Doctor Who producer Barry Letts, quickly got fed up with the barrage from the self-confessed Tardis geek.
In 1972, Peter wrote to producers asking for photographs - and cheekily nominated himself to secretary of the official Doctor Who Fan Club.
Keith Miller landed the coveted role, which meant visits to the BBC set and regular contact with the producers.
He later published a book, The Official Doctor Who Fan Club, which details Peter's bid for control of the fan club.
Keith wrote: "Ah, dear old Peter Capaldi, star of The Thick of It, Local Hero, Torchwood and, of course, Doctor Who ? and all-time pain in the butt.
"He haunted my time running the fan club. He was quite indignant he wasn't considered for the post and Sarah couldn't stand him. She made no bones about telling people.
"Cloister bells will alert us when he is in the vicinity."
A copy of a letter Sarah wrote Peter on June 20, 1972, is also published in Keith's book. She said: "Firstly, the pictures aren't ready, and secondly, I'm afraid we have an official Doctor Who Fan Club secretary. I'm passing your letter on to him and expect he will send you a newsletter himself."
The 55-year-old Scot, who will be the 12th actor to play the Doctor, admits hounding the BBC.
In an interview five years ago, Peter revealed it paid off in 1972 when he received a surprise package as the show entered its ninth season.
He said: "When I was a kid, I was a huge Doctor Who fan and wrote numerous letters to their office, largely inquiring about how the show was made.
"I was thrilled to get a large package from the BBC delivered containing two studio scripts for the Jon Pertwee serial The Mutants, which they were making at the time.
"It also contained set designs, studio floor plans for episodes and a delightful letter from Barry Letts giving me an idea what all this stuff was. It was a fantastic and exciting insight into both Doctor Who and television production. I'd never seen a script in any form before then and was immediately fascinated by the documents. "Barry's kindness was a trigger to my ambition to work in TV."
In 1995, Peter won an Academy Award for his short film, Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life, which he wrote and directed. The film featured actor Crispin Letts ? which led to a meeting with one of Peter's heroes.
Peter said: "I knew Crispin's name was Letts but never thought any more about it until at dinner one night he revealed that his dad was a producer and had produced, among many other things, Doctor Who.
"Subsequently, I was able to meet Barry and thank him personally."
In 1976, Peter wrote an article in the second issue of Doctor Who International Fan Club magazine.
He wrote: "Watching the abstracted light forms and patterns which appear in the opening sequence of Doctor Who has become a familiar ritual for all of us. "The wonder of the opening is that manages to capture in only a very few moments of screen time the atmosphere Doctor Who."
A few years later, when he was asked a celebrity to do a drawing for charity, drew a cartoon of Tom Baker as the Timelord in his Tardis. Peter has 80s band Spandau Ballet thank for his big acting break, which came in Bill Forsyth's 1983 movie Local Hero.
As a student at Glasgow School of Art, Peter had been the vocalist in a post-punk band called The Dreamboys and was invited to support Spandau on their first UK tour in 1982. Forsyth saw the young actor at their show in Glasgow and offered him the part of Danny Oldsen.
Peter went on to star in more than 40 films and TV shows. His most famous role came as foulmouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in political comedy The Thick Of It. He won BAFTA and a British Comedy Award for his performance in the series in 2010.
Before landing his dream Doctor Who role, Peter appeared in the show as Roman sculptor Caecilius in 2008 episode The Fires of Pompeii.
'When I was a kid, I wrote numerous letters to Dr Who office' PETER CAPALDI
GRAPHIC: BIG BREAK Elaine was in 1980s BBC comedy City Lights
FANBOY Letter by Peter which appeared in the Radio Times
ARTWORK A cartoon of Tom Baker as Doctor Who, drawn for a charity by the new Doctor
HIS TIME HAS COME Peter Capaldi has landed a role he has always wanted
CHILDHOOD Peter at the age of five
CURT A reply from the Dr Who office A from Dr office
READ ALL ABOUT IT Peter arrives at his London home yesterday - with groceries and the day's newspapers
OBSESSED An article Peter wrote which appeared in Doctor Who Fan Club magazine
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- APA 6th ed.: McLean, Marc (2013-08-06). And the geek shall inherit the earth... Daily Record p. 12.
- MLA 7th ed.: McLean, Marc. "And the geek shall inherit the earth..." Daily Record [add city] 2013-08-06, 12. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: McLean, Marc. "And the geek shall inherit the earth..." Daily Record, edition, sec., 2013-08-06
- Turabian: McLean, Marc. "And the geek shall inherit the earth..." Daily Record, 2013-08-06, section, 12 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=And the geek shall inherit the earth.. | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/And_the_geek_shall_inherit_the_earth.. | work=Daily Record | pages=12 | date=2013-08-06 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=21 December 2024 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=And the geek shall inherit the earth.. | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/And_the_geek_shall_inherit_the_earth.. | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=21 December 2024}}</ref>
- Title: And the geek shall inherit the earth..
- Publication: The Sunday Mail
- Date: 2013-08-06
