The new Doctor Who, actually
- Publication: Daily Mail
- Date: 2004-03-20
- Author: Tara Conlan and Tania Shakinovsky
- Page: 16
- Language: English
BILL NIGHY is to be the new Doctor Who when the BBC brings back the cult sci-fi show.
The revelation of the casting of the Love Actually star ends months of speculation over who would land the role.
After weeks of negotiations, BBC executives whittled down the contenders to three, with Nighy finally beating off competition from Richard E Grant and Jonathan Creek star Alan Davies. Nighy, 53, who will be the ninth incarnation of the TV Time Lord, has been a respected actor for more than 20 years. He first found fame in 1991 playing a womanising lecturer in steamy BBC2 drama The Men's Room. Recently he was acclaimed for his performance in BBC1 thriller State Of Play and last month won a best supporting actor Bafta for his role as a washed-up rock star in Love Actually.
In the new series - expected to be broadcast in Doctor Who's traditional Saturday evening slot from next year - the Time Lord will be joined by a feisty young assistant called Rose Tyler, who is still to be cast.
It has not yet been decided whether his old enemies the Daleks will return.
In one episode Nighy will be joined by actor Alfred Molina when the Doctor goes back in time for a plot involving Joan of Arc, with scenes to be filmed in Normandy.
The BBC is in talks with the star of French film Amelie, Audrey Tautou, to play Joan.
The executive producer and writer of the new series is Russell T Davies, who wrote the sexually explicit Channel 4 drama Queer As Folk.
The part of the Doctor was created in 1963 by William Hartnell. Since then it has been played by actors including Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker.
The series ran for 26 years, before being cancelled in 1989 when Sylvester McCoy was playing the seventh Doctor. Paul McGann took the role for a one-off television film in 1996.
Nighy, who recently recorded the voice of Dylan the rabbit for a film version of The Magic Roundabout, is the son of a psychiatric nurse and a mechanic who grew up near Croydon, Surrey.
A former alcoholic, he once said that if he had not stopped drinking in 1992 he would be dead by now.
He has been with actress Diana Quick for 23 years. The couple, who have never married, have a 19-year-old daughter.
Captions:
Bill Nighy to play the Time Lord as the Tardis materialises once more
Fourth Doctor: Tom Baker
Taking over the Tardis: Bill Nighy
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- APA 6th ed.: Shakinovsky, Tara Conlan and Tania (2004-03-20). The new Doctor Who, actually. Daily Mail p. 16.
- MLA 7th ed.: Shakinovsky, Tara Conlan and Tania. "The new Doctor Who, actually." Daily Mail [add city] 2004-03-20, 16. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Shakinovsky, Tara Conlan and Tania. "The new Doctor Who, actually." Daily Mail, edition, sec., 2004-03-20
- Turabian: Shakinovsky, Tara Conlan and Tania. "The new Doctor Who, actually." Daily Mail, 2004-03-20, section, 16 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=The new Doctor Who, actually | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/The_new_Doctor_Who,_actually | work=Daily Mail | pages=16 | date=2004-03-20 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=30 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=The new Doctor Who, actually | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/The_new_Doctor_Who,_actually | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=30 March 2025}}</ref>
