Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, Preview, TV | Tagged: bbc, bbc four, david tennant, doctor who

Doctor Who: BBC Four Special with David Tennant Set; #WhoSpy Returns

On November 1st, BBC Four's Talking Doctor Who sees David Tennant exploring the show's 60-year history & #WhoSpy is back with another clue.

We have two very different & very interesting updates to pass along regarding Showrunner Russell T. Davies, BBC & Disney+'s upcoming Doctor Who three-episode 60th Anniversary special event. We have another clue posted by #WhoSpy – an interesting one that teases some regular testing that has been going on – but for what? And by whom? And who or what is being tested? But before we get to that, we wanted to pass along an upcoming anniversary event for BBC Four that you will definitely want to check out. Produced by Simon Goretzki & Simon Catt and set to premiere on November 1st, BBC Four's Talking Doctor Who sees David Tennant taking viewers on a trip back through the long-running show's illustrious history. "As part of the 60th-anniversary celebrations of 'Doctor Who,' David Tennant time travels back through the BBC archives to tell the story of the Doctor's classic era, with a selection of rarely seen interviews and clips covering William Hartnell's first incarnation right through to the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy," reads the official overview for the program. "On the way, David compares some of his own experiences with the actors who came before him and shares special archive moments that reveal, amongst other things, how to film a regeneration, which actor was a master of modern gadgetry – including a collapsible caravan – and what the factors were that helped to decide how a Doctor selects his own individual and distinctive costume."

Joining Tennant & Tate for the anniversary episodes are Neil Patrick Harris in the big bad role as The Toymaker and Yasmin Finney as Rose – the daughter of Donna Noble and Shaun Temple (Karl Collins), with Jacqueline King returning as Sylvia Noble. In addition, Ruth Madeley is set to appear as Shirley Anne Bingham, and Bernard Cribbins is set to posthumously appear, reprising his role as Wilfred Mott. Fans of the comics can expect to see Beep the Meep (voiced by Miriam Margolyes) and the Wrarth Warriors play a major part, and – as if all of that wasn't enough – Ncuti Gatwa is expected to debut as the Fifteenth Doctor. And let's not forget that Jemma Redgrave will be returning as UNIT head Kate (Lethbridge-) Stewart.

With all three episodes written by Davies, we learned the episode titles during this weekend's Eurovision 2023 broadcast: Special One: "The Star Beast" (directed by Rachel Talalay), Special Two: "Wild Blue Yonder" (directed by Tom Kingsley), and Special Three': "The Giggle" (directed by Chanya Button).

Button, Kingsley & Talalay on Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Episodes

Directors Button, Kingsley & Talalay shared their reactions to first reading Davies's scripts with Doctor Who Magazine. "Each special has a really different flavour. It feels like Russell [T. Davies] flexing his muscles and showing all the different things 'Doctor Who' can do," Kingsley shared – a sentiment shared by all three directors. Here's a look at some of the highlights:

Kingsley Discusses "Absolute Nightmare" Episode, Teases "Aliens" & "The Thing" Comparison: "I opened mine and just tore through it. Even as a reading experience, it was so exciting. But I kind of got to the end of it and thought, 'Well, I pity whoever has to direct that cos it's an absolute nightmare!' I was planning to email my agent the next day and say, "It's amazing, but… no way." But when I woke up the next morning, I was still thinking about it, and I started to figure out: 'Well, how could you actually do this?' Because a lot of my episode is quite weird. Even at the readthrough, Rachel, your episode went down so well, and I was really jealous of you getting to direct it. Because there are so many complicated stage directions in mine, the reaction in the room was a bit like, 'Um, sorry, what?' Which made me think it was going to be a disaster. But of course, when you come to film it, it's actually really cool. It's got a lot of similarities with two of my favourite films, 'Aliens' and 'The Thing.' It's a little bit of the DNA of those mixed in with 'Doctor Who.'"

Talalay Read All Three, Outlines Some Key Differences Between Them: "I read all three, and my first reaction was, 'Wow!' The first one is classic family 'Who.' It's bringing back that world that Russell left [in 2010] with David and Catherine. And then after that, it becomes much more expansive, with Russell really throwing his massive imagination at it while also being thoughtful about setting up the next series.

Talalay's Episode Allowed Director a Chance to Embrace "The Stuff That Scares You": "My episode features lots of people in lots of scenes. There's soldiers, there's battles, and I thought, 'I haven't always succeeded in doing the action stuff, with loads of extras, that well in the past. This is really scary for me.' So I was determined to do that part really, really well. It's all about embracing the stuff that scares you."

Button's Episode "Was Just the Most Expansive Thing" That the Director Has Ever Read: "It was just the most expansive thing I've ever read. Every page I turned, it was a different world and a different idea and a different sort of bonkers and inspiring adventure. It was just the ultimate luxury to read it and go, 'This is a writer at the very peak of his abilities, completely unbound and confident in what he's putting on the page.' Which, as a director, is really empowering. It's challenging, in the most positive way possible, for someone to go: 'Here's a big idea; let's see how you do it.'"

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