You Can't Say Goodbye to Doctor Who

60th anniversary special
25 November 2023

• Doctor Who will follow me for the rest of time
• This is the calm before the storm
• I'm Mildly Contemptuous of the other Doctors
• I wasn't going to fall on my face
• You Can't Say Goodbye to Doctor Who
• Ten Questions with Jodie Whittaker
• We tend to think of David Tennant's debut as the Doctor as being relatively recent

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

• http://cuttingsarchive.org/images/2/2b/2023-11-25_Radio_Times_p17.jpg

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• Publication: Radio Times
• Date: 2023-11-25
• Author:
• Page: 17
• Language: English

Carole Ann Ford Susan Foreman 1963-64

Mandip Gill Yasmin Khan 2018-22

It's been 60 years since you first appeared in Doctor Who, Carole, and you're still asked about it. How do you feel about that?

CAROLE At the beginning I resisted it. I wanted to do more work, not Doctor Who. I thought, "I've got to cut the strings." But you can't say goodbye to it. It's impossible. They won't let you!

MANDIP I totally understand Carole wanting to cut ties because you want to be known as something else. But I think you can do both - you can be known as something else but also be part of this family that just gets bigger and bigger.

When you were filming in the 1960s, Carole, could you have imagined the show would still be going 60 years later?

CAROLE No - the only person who did was William Hartnell. He said, "This is going to carry on for ever. Because why would it stop?" And he was quite right. The possibilities are endless. The Doctor never dies, you can go anywhere, into any time, any place.

What was it like working with your Doctors?

CAROLE Everybody had different experiences with Bill, and mine was a really good one. We got on terribly well. But he took his grandfatherly role incredibly seriously. So much so, he'd often tell me how to live my life, or tell me I'm too young to drink. I used to say, "Bill, I'm not actually 15 years old! I'm a married woman with a child!"

MANDIP Jodie [Whittaker] is now actually one of my best friends, so we speak very often. I thought she was an amazing lead actor. She really looks out for you on set. If something isn't right or fair, she brings it to your attention.

CAROLE Bill was like that.

Mandip, how have you found those two years since you last filmed the show?

MANDIP They went really fast. There's always an opportunity to talk about the show, and you travel the world with it, meeting fans. You never know who's a Whovian!

CAROLE Do you get lots of fan letters?

MANDIP Fan letters, fan art. There was a will they/won't they? relationship between myself and my Doctor, and they've drawn us in some "interesting" art.

CAROLE Good interesting or bad interesting?

MANDIP Interesting!

CAROLE When you did it, was it as you were expecting?

MANDIP

Originally to me, it was just work. It was only when it came out that you realised, "Oh my God, this is way bigger than I thought, and part of something much, much bigger." It changed everything. I've done loads of stuff on my CV and I don't talk about them. But this one show, two years later, I still talk about it all the time.

CAROLE How about me - it's 60 years later!

From your perspective, Carole, what's the biggest difference between 60s Doctor Who and the modern version?

CAROLE How lucky they are! I was always trying to find my light, which I never could do because they didn't light individually. I actually went to Cardiff a few years ago to watch some filming and I was sitting there, green with envy, because there you were, having your own light sorted out! I was in permanent shadow! And of course, the sets were solid. The Tardis doors didn't keep opening and closing by mistake...

Would either of you consider coming back?

CAROLE I'd absolutely love the experience that Mandip has had, doing it on a big scale with lots of money chucked at it! Whatever the regeneration is, the Doctor will always be Susan's grandfather. I don't know how they would do it, but I would love it.

MANDIP I would love to go back if it made sense. I don't know if that would be any time soon. But I know I'm going to watch these new specials and be like, "Oh my God, I miss it so much!"

What advice would you give to new companion Millie Gibson?

MANDIP Enjoy it. It's a rollercoaster. You spend years filming it, so it's a massive part of your life, but when it comes out, it's over so quickly. It's seven, eight, nine episodes - a couple of months later, you're not on screen any more. Enjoy the whole process. And enjoy everything that comes after it.

Caption: ACROSS TIME Carole Ann Ford as Susan and William Hartnell as her grandfather, the first Doctor in 1963. Right: Mandip Gill as Yaz and Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor in 2022

Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org

• APA 6th ed.: (2023-11-25). You Can't Say Goodbye to Doctor Who. Radio Times p. 17.
• MLA 7th ed.: "You Can't Say Goodbye to Doctor Who." Radio Times [add city] 2023-11-25, 17. Print.
• Chicago 15th ed.: "You Can't Say Goodbye to Doctor Who." Radio Times, edition, sec., 2023-11-25
• Turabian: "You Can't Say Goodbye to Doctor Who." Radio Times, 2023-11-25, section, 17 edition.
• Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=You Can't Say Goodbye to Doctor Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/You_Can%27t_Say_Goodbye_to_Doctor_Who | work=Radio Times | pages=17 | date=2023-11-25 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 April 2025 }}</ref>
• Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=You Can't Say Goodbye to Doctor Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/You_Can%27t_Say_Goodbye_to_Doctor_Who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 April 2025}}</ref>