Ahead of the start of the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials, showrunner and writer Russell T Davies has given fans some insight on how his interest in the series came to be.
Davies is a self-proclaimed Doctor Who mega fan, often acting like an encyclopedia of knowledge for the long-running franchise. While writing for The Guardian, the Welshman expressed how he became interested in the series in the first place, crediting the TARDIS in particular. “But Doctor Who’s greatest idea is that the TARDIS can land anywhere,” Davies said. “I’d walk home from school wishing I could turn the corner and see that blue box and run inside to escape everything. I don’t think that wish has quite gone.”
Davies went on to describe the first time he ever watched Doctor Who. “I was agog. Terrified. OK, I barely knew what was happening, but I felt a deep, unnerving sense of strangeness and fear twisting in the pit of my heart. Did that moment shape my entire life? Well, here I am,” he said, referencing his role as showrunner and the fact he’s spent years of his life working on the series.
Ncuti Gatwa Reveals Huge Cameo Appearance
Last week, incoming Doctor Ncuti Gatwa revealed a huge spoiler about what Davies has been planning for the new episodes of the show. Gatwa was speaking at event of GQ when he said that he would be sharing the screen with William Hartnell, who played the First Doctor all the way back in 1963. “I shouldn't say this,” Gatwa stated, “but I shot a scene, somehow, with the first-ever Doctor, William Hartnell. We end up in the same scene together at some point.”
As of now, it’s unclear if Gatwa is referring to the First Doctor appearing via the use of advanced technology, like how the Star Wars, Marvel, and DC franchises have recreated past heroes. The First Doctor has been played by David Bradley in recent years, and the actor most recently played him in The Power of the Doctor last year, which was also the last episode featuring Jodie Whitaker. Therefore, Gatwa could be appearing alongside a digitally recreated version of William Hartnell, or he could be sharing the screen with lookalike David Bradley. It's also possible that Hartnell returns via archive footage from the original episodes of the series.
Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary specials begin airing on November 25.
Source: The Guardian