Reuniting the TARDIS dream team
DAVID TENNANT AND RUSSELL T DAVIES ON A DOCTOR WHO COMEBACK LIKE NO OTHER
"IT'S LIKE THE band getting back together for one last hurrah," says David Tennant. The band, in this case, led by Tennant himself as the hugely popular one-time frontman of Doctor Who, with backing from Catherine Tate as his companion, Donna Noble, all orchestrated by Russell T Davies, the returning showrunner. The last time this particular trio worked together was the hugely popular 2010 New Year's Day episode, which also featured a host of cameos from Doctor Who seasons past.
Now this band of three Who legends is reuniting for three special episodes to celebrate the show's 60th anniversary. "It was a very casual conversation between us initially," Tennant tells Empire ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike earlier this year. During lockdown the three of them took part in Doctor Who 'Tweet-alongs', watching old episodes together, and according to Davies, it was Tate who was the first to say, "Wouldn't it be a laugh if we made some more?" "I never thought anything would come of it," Davies says, "but I had to email the BBC and let them know David and Catherine were up for doing something." A few months later, Davies was invited to a Zoom meeting with BBC Drama big cheeses, hoping they'd commission a 60th anniversary special. "The next thing I know, they're asking for three specials and also if I'd like to show-run it again," says Davies. "But this time on a bigger platform, working with a streamer. And much to my surprise I said, 'Yes!'"
Davies' first big creative decision was that Tennant would play the 14th Doctor, following straight on from Jodie Whittaker's number 13, before Ncuti Gatwa's 15th Doctor arrives this Christmas. "That was the first exciting piece of mischief that Russell created," says Tennant. "That I was going to be Doctor No. 14 rather than Doctor No. 10 again. You'll just have to wait and see why the 14th Doctor is so much like the 10th."
Intriguingly, the first of the specials, which also feature Neil Patrick Harris in a villainous role, is based on The Star Beast, a Doctor Who comic strip from 1980 centred on a fluffy little alien known as 'The Meep' (to be voiced in the special by Miriam Margolyes). "I needed to bring Donna back into the story," Davies explains. "Which meant setting it in London, which meant something alien landing on top of London, and I automatically thought of Star Beast as the best way to tell that story." Yes, Davies is so steeped in Who lore, he immediately thought of a 43-year-old comic strip as inspiration for his first story as returning showrunner.
"I was surprised," admits Tennant, also a Who fan since childhood, "when I saw what that first script was based on, then I read the second script, which is unlike any Doctor Who episode ever. These new specials are Russell off the leash." Expect a blazing encore, then, for this band's last hurrah.
THE DOCTOR WHO 60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIALS WILL BE ON BBC ONE AND BBC iPLAYER IN NOVEMBER
Caption: Clockwise from left: Big returns: David Tennant as the Doctor; Villain Neil Patrick Harris; Donna Noble (Catherine Tate); New addition 'The Meep'; Russell T Davies.
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