Who's a bit camp
- Publication: Daily Star
- Date: 2005-03-10
- Author: Peter Dyke
- Page: 4
- Language: English
It's Carry On Doctor as Time Lord saves the world with a snigger
TV BOSSES have made the new series of Doctor Who as camp as a Carry On movie. The cult sci-fi hit is littered with witty one-liners that could have come straight from Barbara Windsor or Kenneth Williams.
And when Dr Who bounces back on our screens on Saturday March 26 - after an absence of 15 years - fans will be sniggering at the gags slipped in by 41-year-old writer Russell T Davies, who penned the gay telly smash Queer As Folk.
Among the jokes and put-downs from Christopher Eccleston as the Time Lord and Billie Piper as his sidekick Rose are:
- "Excuse me do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world" - the Doctor to a man who breaks wind.
- The Doctor beating a hasty exit - in true Kenneth Williams style - when Rose's mum tries to seduce him by purring: "Here I am in my dressing gown with a strange man in my bedroom... where anything could happen."
- "If you're an alien, why do you sound like you're from the north?" Rose to the Doctor (who has a Manchester accent).
- "It's going to take a better man than me to get between you and the Doctor" - a camp in-joke because the line is uttered by Bruno Langley who played gay Todd Grimshaw in Corrie).
Butch
Last night even actor Chris, 40, admitted he had played the role of the Time Lord in a flamboyant style.
He said: "I'm certainly different from previous doctors.
"I wanted the flamboyancy and eccentricity to be part of my performance." However he claimed he refused to wear any silly outfits and instead opted for a more butch look of jeans and black leather jacket.
Billie Piper, 22, admits that she had had a tough time handling the filming while her marriage to media tycoon Chris Evans was breaking down.
Billie - who is set to divorce Chris, 36 said: "I don't know how I coped but I managed to. I threw myself into my work because it was a massive commitment." In the first of 13 episodes, viewers will see the Doc and Rose fight the terrifying Autons - shop dummies who come to life and plan to take over the world.
Later, fans will enjoy the return of the legendary Daleks - which are now able to fly - as well as a host of new enemies for the Time Lord including giant lizards, evil demons, huge spiders and even ghosts.
The BBC are so sure the show will be a hit they have lined it up against ITV rival Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
10 things you never knew about Who
- Christopher Eccleston has admitted that he didn't watch Dr Who as kid. He said: "I never really got into it. I used to watch Star Trek. But now I'm converted."
- Billie Piper had to use a body double towards the end of the series when she hurt her knee. She said: "They had to get someone else to do all the more physical stuff."
- The Daleks have a new catchphrase now they can fly. As well as their famous cry of "Exterminate!", when they want to lift off the ground, they shout: "Elevate! Elevate!"
- Naughty Billie has admitted that she nicked props from the Dr Who set. She said: "I'd sneak wires out of the Tardis and make them into bracelets. I haven't managed to sneak a Dalek out yet, but I'm working on it."
- Scriptwriters are already working on plotlines for the second series - and hope to bring back the Cybermen.
- Chris claims his first day on set was memorable. He said: "I had to chase this small actor dressed as a pig who was wearing a spacesuit down a corridor. It was very surreal."
- Writer Russell T Davies said he still wants kids to hide behind the sofa when the show is on. But he added: "It's a family show. We don't want to leave kids so terrified that they're ringing Childline."
- Billie thinks Rose marks a real turning point for the show - because she's not a helpless wench. She said: "In the past Dr Who has been quite chauvinistic and patronising to women. But this time Rose and The Doctor are equals."
- Angry Eccleston has blasted the pirates who got hold of the first episode of Dr Who and put it out on the internet for fans to download before it is transmitted on BBC1. He said: "I think it's sick what they did. They had just better not come round to my home."
- Billie won't be watching the first show when it airs on Saturday, March 26. She said: "I can't watch it. I get nervous. I shall watch it later on when I am not so emotionally involved and can't change anything."
Captions:
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper take on aliens tike the mob 'from the year 5 billion, left
GOING BUTCH: The new-look Doctor Who shows he's got a trick or two up the sleeve of his leather jacket
MONSTER MENACE: One of the space weirdos that threaten Rose and her pal Mickey (Noel Clarke)
TROUBLE IN STORE: Shop window dummies come to life, above, and create havoc around London in the first episode of the new Doctor Who series — which also features a strange new collection of aliens that includes Jabe the Tree, left
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- APA 6th ed.: Dyke, Peter (2005-03-10). Who's a bit camp. Daily Star p. 4.
- MLA 7th ed.: Dyke, Peter. "Who's a bit camp." Daily Star [add city] 2005-03-10, 4. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Dyke, Peter. "Who's a bit camp." Daily Star, edition, sec., 2005-03-10
- Turabian: Dyke, Peter. "Who's a bit camp." Daily Star, 2005-03-10, section, 4 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Who's a bit camp | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_a_bit_camp | work=Daily Star | pages=4 | date=2005-03-10 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=21 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Who's a bit camp | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_a_bit_camp | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=21 April 2025}}</ref>
