The Ultimate Tardis

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Publication: Radio Times
Date: 2023-11-11
Author: Huw Fullerton
Page: 6
Language: English

BEHIND THE SCENES OF DOCTOR WHO

In Tales of the Tardis on BBC iPlayer, Doctor

Who stars revisit old adventures with the power of time travel to mark the show's 60th anniversary. It's not just a clip show; there are brand-new scenes filmed in a recently built Tardis, constructed from original and re-created props from Who history.

"It's a mashup of loads of different Tardis sets," Pete McTighe — who wrote two episodes of the Tales — tells RT on a visit to the set in Cardiff. "If you look closely in the background, there's loads and loads of little Easter eggs that are relevant to the stories that we're seeing, but also plenty of other stories as well."

"It was like a lumber room with loads of stuff that you put in — and then later you pick up things and remember," adds seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy, who returns to revisit 1989 story The Curse of Fenric with co-star Sophie Aldred, who plays companion Ace. "It's chaotic. But fascinating good fun."

The "Remembered Tardis", created by designer Phil Sims, was also re-dressed for every episode. McTighe insisted that key props from the McCoy years were included in the background of his episode, while other stories starring fifth and six Doctors Peter Davison and Colin Baker had their own character-specific callbacks.

"For The Curse of Fenric I specified the chess set, which is crucial in the story," McTighe says. "Also in Sylvester's I made sure we had a kite from [1988 story] The Greatest Show in the Galaxy... Ace's baseball bat from Remembrance of the Daleks, you have to have that... and Sylvester's brolly, obviously!"

We've picked out some favourite old props and sets, but how many more can you spot?

Tales of the Tardis is available now on BBC iPlayer

ROOF ROTOR

"My console was upside down, on the roof. So that was kind of strange," says Sylvester McCoy. But the inverted time rotor still works — in the finished episode of Tales of the Tardis, McCoy uses his umbrella to work the buttons.

EIGHTH WONDER

It's not just main Tardises that get a nod — these supports have only appeared once, in 1996's Doctor Who TV movie, as part of eighth Doctor Paul McGann's console room. "It's a great distillation of everything you remember from different Doctors, looks and eras," says Tales of the Tardis producer Scott Handcock.

TARDIS CONSOLES

Multiple eras of Tardis interiors are spilling from the walls, from 60s-style to Matt Smith's first console from 2010 and beyond. "There's bits of the Peter Davison console in there," says writer Pete McTighe, "bits of the Eccleston/Tennant console. There's bits of the Jodie Whittaker Tardis. There's even bits of the [future Doctor] Ncuti Gatwa Tardis in there."

IN THE ROUND

The Tardis's iconic "roundel" decorations are taken from all eras of the show, from the early Doctors right up to Jodie Whittaker's hexagon-shaped versions.

WHAT A DOLL

A box of dolls of the 11th Doctor Matt Smith — made by Karen Gillan's Amy Pond in a 2010 episode — are just one of many old props that are moved in and out of the set depending on the episode.

CRYSTAL CAMPFIRE

Every episode of Tales of the Tardis is a kind of "campfire story" — and the fire the Doctors and companions sit round is a small model of 13th Doctor Jodie Whittaker's 2018-22 Tardis set. "It's a great little device," says Pete McTighe. "It's cute."

Caption: FRIENDS REUNITED The seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) with Ace (Sophie Aldred)

The Ultimate Tardis

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