One for the Ladies
50th anniversary special
23 November 2013
- You Can't Destroy the Doctor
- Doctor Doctor ...
- Who's That Doctor?
- The Man in Charge
- The Grumpy Old Man Who Spawned a TV Legend
- How Charlie Chaplin Saved Doctor Who
- The Comedian Who Wanted to Be Taken Seriously
- The Time Lord Saved Me from the Building Site
- Fans Invade the Tardis
- Totally Tasteless
- No More Ferrets for Me
- The Doctor Hits America
- The Man Who Said 'No'
- One for the Ladies
- The Geek Inherits the Universe
10th (1973) | 20th (1983) | 30th (1993) | 40th (2003) | 50th (2013) | 60th (2023)
- Publication: Radio Times
- Date: 2013-11-23
- Author:
- Page: 48
- Language: English
MONSTER MASH
As an homage to the tenth anniversary Who special, RT lined up the Doctor's friends and foes in 2006
Who & Me
Stephen Merchant, Comedian and writer
The girl companions weren't that interesting to me back in the 1970s but I loved K-9 (below). I once tried to make my own K-9. I think I'd found the blueprints in a book of Doctor Who monsters or something, but instead of doing the sensible thing and getting sheets of wood and hammering them together, I decided to carve the whole thing out of a single block of wood. I went in the shed, got a chisel, chipped out one chunk, almost took my thumb off, got scared and instantly gave up. From Behind the Sofa: see p25
Who knew?
Dumbing up?
A 2008 survey for the National Trust revealed that nine out of ten children could identify a Dalek - but only 53 per cent could name an oak leaf.
Capaldi's first entrance
This year's Christmas special sees Peter Capaldi taking over in the lead role, but it won't be his first appearance in Doctor Who. In 2008 he played merchant Caecilius in The Fires of Pompeii, also featuring on the cover of RT. Colin Baker played another Time Lord before becoming the Doctor in 1984 - he debuted as the Gallifreyan Commander Maxil in 1983 story Arc of Infinity.
Must-see moment (2008)
For only the second time in his life the Doctor is shot by a Dalek. His distraught companions rush him into the Tardis where he starts to regenerate. This shock cliffhanger helped ratings soar for the following week's finale (10.57m), placing Who at No 1 in the charts, beating even the Wimbledon finals.
DAVID TENNANT
Years 2005-10 Episodes 46 also in The Day of the Doctor 2013)
Who is he? Born in Bathgate, West Lothian, 1971, David McDonald took his stage name Tennant from Pet Shop Boy Neil. His star potential was spotted in BBC's Blackpool and Casanova. Now he's one of the most popular actors on TV and the stage.
Doctor profile Dazzling, dishy Doctor in suit and long coat who fell for Rose and took the series to new heights of popularity.
Key companion Rose (Billie Piper) Iltimate foe The Daleks, whose actions farted him from both Rose and Donna.
Age now 42
Doctor Who made me want to be an actor
THERE'S NO DOUBTING that David Tennant's energy, talent and good looks brought in a whole new audience demographic. "Without wishing to stereotype anyone, I have to say that this is one for the ladies," said Alison Graham in her RT Choice for 2006 episode The Girl in the Fireplace. "It's probably the closest we'll ever get to a Doctor Who romance?' She was talking about the Time Lord's dalliance with Madame de Pompadour (Sophia Myles), but there'd be many more romantic entanglements for him. Tennant told RT, ever modest, that "It was watching Doctor Who that made me want to be an actor."
Former RT editor Gill Hudson spotted that "the quick-fire banter and obvious chemistry between David Tennant and Billie Piper is proving the ratings winner". And by the end of his first series, the nation was blubbing when Rose and the Doctor were parted. There'd be unrequited love with Martha, full-blown romance with school matron Joan (Jessica Hynes) and an unexpected future love, River Song (Alex Kingston).
But nothing topped the Doctor and Rose. RT reader Judi Regan wrote: "You can forget your Jane Eyres and Mr Rochesters, your Heathcliffs and Cathys, even your Romeos and Juliets - give me the Doctor and Rose Tyler every time. The perfect tragic romance?' PM
The love Doctor
"There's no hanky panky in the Tardis," declared 1980s producer John Nathan-Turner, and in 1978 Tom Baker told RT: "It would be an absolute disaster to have an emphasis like that. The Doctor must be above any emotional involvement." But off screen there have been many liaisons across five decades...
Peter Purves (19605 companion Steven) revealed in his autobiography: "I had a short fling with the two leading ladies, Adrienne [Hill] and Jean [Marsh]. The trouble with our business is that one meets interesting and attractive people all the time, and sometimes it's hard to resist." Tom Baker wed Lalla Ward (above), his companion Romana, in 1980, a marriage that lasted 18 months. Since 1986, he's been married to Sue Jerrard, a former film editor on Who, and Ward married Richard Dawkins, who appeared in Who as himself in 2008.
David Tennant met Peter Davison's daughter Georgia Moffett (right) in, aptly, The Doctor's Daughter (2008). They married three years later. PM
"David's Doctor is wittier, sharper, faster" RUSSELL T DAVIES, RT 2006
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- APA 6th ed.: (2013-11-23). One for the Ladies. Radio Times p. 48.
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- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=One for the Ladies | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/One_for_the_Ladies | work=Radio Times | pages=48 | date=2013-11-23 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=15 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=One for the Ladies | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/One_for_the_Ladies | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=15 April 2025}}</ref>
