Dr Who and the secret Laois connection!
- Publication: Laois Nationalist
- Date: 2013-11-26
- Author: Donna Dempsey
- Page: 8
- Language: English
With the smash hit television series Doctor Who celebrating 50 years on air, transition year student Donna Dempsey, who was working in the Laois Nationalist newsroom on work experience, looks at one of the actors who starred as a version of the famous Doctor and his connections with Laois
FORMER Laois resident John Hurt made an appearance in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special The day of the Doctor, which was aired on Saturday 23 November on BBC1. Hurt played the part as a version of the Doctor known as the 'War Doctor', who is an incarnation of the Doctor. In the series, he is forced to engineer his regeneration in order to become a warrior known as the War Doctor.
The multi-award-winning actor, who lived in Laois from 1991 to 1996, said at the time: "The minute I put foot in Dublin, I said, 'home'. The feeling was so immediate."
However, in a 2007 episode of the popular genealogical television series Who Do You Think You Are, he said that he was thoroughly disappointed when he realised that he had no Irish ancestors.
After living in Wicklow with the Guinness family and when The Field was finished filming, Hurt went to an auctioneer in search of a quiet country dwelling. Ballintubbert House, which is just off the Stradbally to Athy road, was shown to Hurt.
He immediately decided to visit the building, bought it and lived in it with his wife and two sons, Alexander and Nicholas, for the next six years. Indeed, Laois can claim his youngest son as one of its own, because he was born in the maternity ward of Portlaosie hospital on 5 February 1993.
It was during the family's time in Ballintubbert
House that the restoration of the gardens began. John has a great interest in nature and the wilderness. His wife Joan was a keen gardener, too, and rebuilt the small walls surrounding the house.
In 1995, the marriage between John and Joan began to fall apart and they separated in 1996, followed by John leaving Laois to go to Dublin.
While living in Laois, he involved himself with local charities and would often help out Laois Hospice. Hurt recorded Lewis Carroll's The Jabberwocky for Ballyadams NS back in 2000 for a CD fundraiser which took place in the school. This track was then used for the school production of The Jabberwocky in 2008, which won a special merit award in an all-Ireland schools' film competition.
Caption: John Hurt pictured with his wife Joan Dalton in their house in Ballintubbert, where they lived from 1991 to 1996
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.: Dempsey, Donna (2013-11-26). Dr Who and the secret Laois connection!. Laois Nationalist p. 8.
- MLA 7th ed.: Dempsey, Donna. "Dr Who and the secret Laois connection!." Laois Nationalist [add city] 2013-11-26, 8. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Dempsey, Donna. "Dr Who and the secret Laois connection!." Laois Nationalist, edition, sec., 2013-11-26
- Turabian: Dempsey, Donna. "Dr Who and the secret Laois connection!." Laois Nationalist, 2013-11-26, section, 8 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Dr Who and the secret Laois connection! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dr_Who_and_the_secret_Laois_connection! | work=Laois Nationalist | pages=8 | date=2013-11-26 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=17 June 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Dr Who and the secret Laois connection! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dr_Who_and_the_secret_Laois_connection! | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=17 June 2025}}</ref>
