Doctor Who- Unleashed - Season 2 Episode 00- 20 Years in Wales
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00:01In this one-off special, we're here to celebrate 20 years of modern era Doctor Who.
00:07In the party bag, we've got showrunners, we've got doctors, we've got companions, we've got blasts from the past.
00:18So the height of the darkness is all down to Billy Piper.
00:23We've got friends reunited.
00:26All right.
00:27And spoiler alert, I promise we've got no spoilers in this episode whatsoever.
00:34Oh, hello.
00:36Oh, hello.
00:38So strap yourselves in as the TARDIS is about to take off.
00:43My name is Stefan Powell and welcome to Doctor Who Unleashed, 20 years of new Who.
00:5720 years ago at 7pm on Saturday the 26th of March 2005, a series of Doctor Who returned to our TV screens for the first time in almost two decades.
01:17The episode was called Rose. The Doctor was played by Christopher Eccleston.
01:23I'm a doctor, by the way. What's your name?
01:24Rose.
01:25Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life.
01:28And Billy Piper played his companion, Rose Tyler.
01:30There was a lot riding on the reboot for BBC Cymru Wales and showrunner and main writer Russell T Davies.
01:40None of us had ever made a show on this scale before.
01:43It's like we're coming in, yes, we're doing monsters and prosthetics and green screen and spaceships and really?
01:48Everything was telling me not to do it.
01:50Nobody did this sort of thing. You literally don't know what happens if you put an actor in a prosthetic all day, how long before they fall over.
01:58There was no bank of knowledge anywhere. It was a bunch of Brits saying, I think this is what we do.
02:04Yeah, it was quite frightening because it was so big, there was so much interest, but it was thrilling. It was so exciting.
02:13Thankfully for all concerned, that first episode was a resounding success.
02:18And here we are, 20 years later, celebrating a cultural juggernaut that's created 15 series, 23 specials, 4 spin-off shows and multiple behind-the-scenes shows.
02:32And it all started here, with this man.
02:35Well, Russell, it is the 2nd of April, 2025. Two days ago, we were in London for the big premiere of the new season.
02:42It's all very exciting, but it's also a time to reflect and look back, right, on 20 years of Doctor Who coming back.
02:48Why are we having this conversation in this particular spot?
02:51This is the heart of, this is Cardiff Bay, in the heart of Cardiff.
02:55This is the Doctor Who's been shot here for 20 years.
02:58The programme's embedded into the town. It's time to take a look at this place and appreciate what we've got.
03:02Isn't it beautiful?
03:03It is. I mean, today is especially nice, right?
03:05Yeah, it's amazing. What a great place.
03:06You must have so many memories of the things that have happened in this vicinity when it comes to Doctor Who.
03:11That's the truth. We are standing where David and Freema once stood, in The Last of the Time Lords.
03:16The tortured base is over there. Sarah Jane ran through those streets with K9.
03:21And this place has always welcomed us very much.
03:24At the time of the reboot, Cardiff was enjoying a significant renaissance.
03:29The Cardiff Bay Regeneration Project had seen the rundown and neglected old Docklands replaced with a barrage and its enormous freshwater lake,
03:37along with 5,000 new homes and apartments, restaurants and shops.
03:42It was the perfect backdrop for many now iconic moments.
03:46But at the time, Cardiff was far from the obvious choice for a show that had always been made out of London.
03:53When you were bringing Doctor Who back, you could have based it anywhere in the UK. Why here?
03:58Well, it was important for me. Julie Gardner was made head of drama at BBC Wales.
04:03And so they put us together. We knew each other. We wanted to work together.
04:07And so it just became natural. It just became a Welsh thing.
04:10Jane Tranter was head of drama and wanted more shows made in the regions.
04:13And I spent my whole life not working in London.
04:15I'm in Manchester and I'm in Cardiff and I'm in Swansea and I make things there.
04:19So South Wales it was. Not that everyone was happy.
04:22A lot of people did not like that Doctor Who was coming to Cardiff.
04:27There was a bit of a suspicion that it was a show being driven down the M4.
04:32You know, it wasn't ours.
04:34Though thankfully, they were in the minority.
04:36Very good. Very good.
04:38I'm Welsh. I live in Cardiff.
04:40Up until that point, Wales wasn't famous for its drama production.
04:45Drama production came, they were parachuted in and then they left again.
04:48And often didn't succeed hugely.
04:51We'll have a couple of beats of that before the reaction to...
04:54Step, step, come in.
04:55So having a chance to prove that we in Wales have the skills, the talent, we've got the locations, we've got the cast to be able to service a show like this was a great opportunity to showcase what we're capable of.
05:06And it felt really important for Wales to do that.
05:09With a predominantly Welsh crew, filming began on July 18th 2004, taking the role of the Doctor, star of stage, TV and film, Christopher Eccleston.
05:24The most amazing moment in the show was when Chris Eccleston got in touch with me to volunteer to be considered to be the Doctor.
05:32He's a proper actor.
05:33He literally elevated the status of the show.
05:35And that's important amongst agents and actors.
05:37People suddenly sat up and thought, oh my God, that's a proper show, they're really making this, it's not a pastiche, it's not just for kids.
05:45You're one of Britain's greatest actors as your lead actor.
05:49Have you got a cat?
05:50No.
05:52We did have, but they're strays, they're coming off the estate.
05:56And playing the Doctor's companion, ex-teen pop star, Billy Piper.
06:00There was very much a buzz about Billy, she was kind of tabloid famous at the time, but she'd started to act, she'd already been in her Canterbury Tales and people were starting to say she was a great actor.
06:10She came and auditioned for us and was spectacular.
06:13And actually it was Lorraine Hegesy who was the controller of BBC One, when she heard what we were doing and who we were auditioning, she said, get me Billy Piper.
06:23It was my first big acting job.
06:25It was a big thing for me, I was really, really nervous.
06:28I was not so self-assured that I felt like I had the chopster apart that big on a show that big on Saturday Night TV with Chris Eccleston.
06:38I really admired him growing up as an actor and so I was quite frightened of being, you know, opposite him and being rubbish.
06:49But he was great with me and the crew were amazing and I felt a lot of warmth and camaraderie from the crew.
06:58A lot of the reaction to the casting of Billy Piper was as though it was stunt casting.
07:02And we knew how good she was.
07:04It was like having a secret for the entire first year while we shot Doctor Who of the paper saying stunt casting, stunt casting, stunt casting.
07:11And us knowing that Billy combined with Chris was one of the best acting combinations you'll ever see on screen.
07:17I moved my life to Cardiff.
07:19I was early 20s.
07:20I moved into an old schoolhouse and I lived above Charlotte Church where you couldn't get more Welsh.
07:26And I made some great friends there.
07:29Now it's hard to imagine today with franchises like Star Wars and Marvel dominating, but back in 2005, there actually wasn't that much sci-fi on the telly.
07:43And for New Who, that caused problems, but also created pioneers.
07:48Nobody working on the show really had experience of making a volume sci-fi, making a show with a huge amount of visual effects and CGI, with such a huge volume and turnaround.
08:02The learning curve was enormous.
08:04For none more so than the man responsible for the look of New Who back in 2005, Swansea-born production designer Edward Thomas.
08:1320 years on, I've come to meet Edward at a warehouse in South Wales full of props, costumes and creatures from the last two decades of Doctor Who to find out how he reimagined two of the greatest cultural icons of British television, the TARDIS and the Daleks.
08:30It was like a cottage industry.
08:32Drama in Wales felt like a bit of a cottage industry.
08:34And I don't mean to be disrespectful, but there were lots of little pockets of really talented people.
08:38But it wasn't an industry as such, in terms of what we know now.
08:43Yeah.
08:44We really had to look and search out these people, you know.
08:47The first thing Edward and his keen but inexperienced team had to come up with was a new TARDIS interior, fit for a new era.
08:55Every TARDIS was of its time.
08:58The 60s one was very 60s.
08:59And I didn't want that with a TARDIS.
09:01I didn't want people to tune in and go, oh, look, there's a 2006 version of the TARDIS.
09:06Because a TARDIS is potentially 500 years old.
09:10If you had a car that was 500 years old, there'd be nothing left on that car that's original.
09:15The Doctors travel through time and space, wars, battles.
09:18It's a wreck.
09:19So I just wanted it to be completely nondescript in terms of its period.
09:25But perhaps the biggest challenge for 2005 Edward was revamping the most iconic four in sci-fi.
09:32Exterminate!
09:33The Dalek.
09:34It was always a brilliant design to begin with, you know, so we were blessed to have that.
09:39I think it was really important that whilst we were making changes, we were really subtle about it.
09:43That we didn't over-enhance it or over-complicate it.
09:47And there's, you know, it's no accident that it's the height it is because there was much talk about how high they should be or how big they should be.
09:53And it was very simple for me.
09:54It needed to be the right eye height for Billy because I wanted her to actually look it in the eye.
09:59So the height of the Dalek is all down to Billy Piper.
10:03I always feel like, don't show me the Dalek because I'm not going to give you the reaction that you want.
10:10Show David the Dalek because you're going to get a lot pulled back.
10:13Yeah.
10:14You didn't have the heritage love.
10:16I don't possess that.
10:18And then I would always feel bad when they'd wheel out a new Dalek.
10:22And the cameras would have been waiting for your reaction.
10:26Waiting for your awe.
10:27It's really scary this time.
10:32Exterminate.
10:33Exterminate.
10:35Exterminate.
10:36The first time I saw the Dalek was around Russell T Davies's.
10:39I did.
10:40I fell to my knees and wept.
10:41No, I saw a rough cut of your episode with it.
10:45Around Russell's eyes.
10:46As part of the night when they then said,
10:49So do you fancy covering your information?
10:51So is that how it went?
10:52I watched your first episode and I watched a really rough cut of Dalek with this beautifully rendered Dalek.
10:58Which was very loyal to the, I'll do this bit for you.
11:00Yeah, go ahead.
11:01Very loyal to the original design.
11:04Just sort of extra, kind of solid and robust like a tank.
11:09Like it sort of always was meant to be but they didn't necessarily order the budget for.
11:13They're more than just a sort of tin can.
11:15Here we go.
11:16More than a tin can.
11:17A super slick new Dalek, The Autons, The Slitheen, cutting edge CGI, brilliant acting and the National Orchestra of Wales playing Murray Gold scores.
11:29Did the team realise they had a monster hit on their hands?
11:32You don't ever really know it's going to be a success.
11:34All you can do is make a show that you're proud of.
11:37Whether that then works is absolutely impossible to tell.
11:40But as long as you can go to sleep at night thinking, yes, I've done my best, that's good.
11:44The first episode went out and was massive.
11:48And it was massive in terms of the viewing figures and it was massive in terms of all the Sunday paper reviews.
11:55It was just a lovely feeling of something was returning and crossing generations and parents were telling their children you should watch this.
12:01And children were listening to their parents and discovering it for the first time.
12:05And there was a proper joy in there.
12:06It was lovely.
12:06I can remember as the last few episodes of season one were broadcasting, having a conversation with Russell and saying we need to do a spin-off.
12:18What should we be doing?
12:19We kind of loved working here and there were months when Doctor Who goes off air and we were very keen to keep everyone involved and busy.
12:27Within two years we had Doctor Who and Doctor Who Confidential and Tortured and Tortured Declassified and the Sarah Jane Adventures and the Sarah Jane Alien Files and all the online stuff and animated episodes.
12:39We turned into this extraordinary empire that employed so many people and brought so many people living here.
12:45There were families that exist in Wales because of people who met on set.
12:49And it's just a lovely, great, big, social, bustling, busy, happy world of Doctor Who.
12:54That's extraordinary.
12:55So the Hooniverse had begun expanding on many fronts, but change was afoot.
13:02Christopher Eccleston had regenerated at the end of Series 1, but who was going to be able to match such a mesmeric performance?
13:20Here we are then. London!
13:22We didn't meet for the first time on set.
13:24No, didn't we meet at Julie's house?
13:26I think we met at Julie's house, yes.
13:27We met at her flat in West London.
13:30Was that when it was still top secret?
13:32Yeah.
13:32Pull in the morning! Pull in the morning!
13:35I was already working with David Tennant on Casanova, and so I knew he was a Doctor Who fan.
13:40We used to sit down and trade Doctor Who jokes, and of course he was dying to know what was going on in Doctor Who, and was asking,
13:44what are we doing with the Daleks, what are they like?
13:46And I'd show him little bits.
13:48And so it just felt very natural.
13:50There was no audition.
13:51He didn't audition.
13:51Me and Julie trapped him in my house one night, and sprang it on him, said if you want to be the next Doctor Who, and his first reaction was that he was shocked and so surprised, and the first words out of his mouth were,
14:03I want to coat down to there.
14:06And then I was like, I'm sold, I'm doing season two.
14:09Well, you're not quite signed on the line at that stage.
14:11No, I didn't want to do it again.
14:13There was a bit of, I remember there was a bit of back and forth as to whether you were staying.
14:16Yeah.
14:17So thank goodness you did.
14:18I know.
14:18My Lord.
14:19I know.
14:20I'd have been lost.
14:23Between July 2005 and March 2006, David, Billy and the Who crew filmed 14 episodes.
14:31Basically, one episode every three weeks.
14:34It was just nine months of having the best time, really.
14:38Having fun.
14:39We just had fun, didn't we?
14:41We just had a lot of fun.
14:41We had fun.
14:42It's like, it just, it is my 20s.
14:45Right, yeah.
14:45That's, that's, it.
14:46My 30s.
14:48That's just what, it reminds me of being young.
14:53Now look at this.
14:559.92, take two, be camera only.
14:57We were surrounded by a load of lovely, warm, good-natured people.
15:02The joy is what I remember.
15:03I mean, joy is the word.
15:05I struggled with the Doctor Who night shoots, because they are pretty cold in Wales.
15:12The cold in Wales.
15:13The Cybermen episode.
15:14Do you remember that one?
15:14Oh, Jesus Christ.
15:15And you were in that little pinafore dress.
15:16Yeah.
15:17My jaw locked.
15:18I couldn't speak.
15:19I remember fear her on that estate.
15:22Being so cold, your eyeballs froze.
15:25It was agony.
15:27Yeah, so the night shoots were brutal, and it's a long shoot, Doctor Who.
15:30It's a long shoot, yeah.
15:31But I distinctly remember at the end of my first week on Doctor Who, on the Saturday,
15:36going, oh, I've got one week less of this before I finish.
15:42Oh!
15:42I'm feeling really sad.
15:43Have you ever felt like that since?
15:44No.
15:46Just counting the weeks.
15:49Get it done!
15:50In total, David Tennant appeared in 47 episodes between 2005 and 2010.
16:02Although, ironically, the episode that is often hailed as many fans' favourite barely features the Doctor.
16:08I was originally down to do the Dalek two-parter.
16:13That's what they asked me to do.
16:13I was very excited about doing it.
16:15But I was far too busy, and I kept delaying and delaying starting until eventually I said,
16:18Look, I can't do the Dalek two-parter.
16:20I will do a single episode.
16:22That's what I'll have to do.
16:23I will take the hit of doing the Doctor light.
16:26I will do the one without the Doctor.
16:28No one wants to do that one.
16:29What I proposed was a story I'd already written for a Doctor Who annual called What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow.
16:38So I said I could work that as one without the Doctor.
16:41He'd just appear on screens occasionally, so he'd have a presence in the episode, but he wouldn't require David for more than a couple of days, which is the aim of a Doctor light.
16:49I'm barely in it.
16:50It's great.
16:51It was all Carey Mulligan.
16:52There's a whole conceit in it that the Doctor's reading a whole thing off autocue, which is then put on DVD extras.
16:59And I was, of course, because they used to make two episodes at the same time, so I was filming another one.
17:04I can't remember when it was now.
17:05At the same time, and I had like a morning where I got put in a studio, and there was an autocue.
17:09So I am genuinely reading off an autocue for the bit where I'm reading off an autocue.
17:14And then we had a couple of days on set, and yet it's the one that everyone talks about.
17:19It was such a clever bit of writing.
17:21I think necessity being the mother of invention, Stephen was told you can have an episode that doesn't really have the Doctor in it,
17:27which you would imagine for a writer of Doctor Who is a bit of a conundrum or a puzzle.
17:31But, of course, because he's Stephen, he makes a virtue out of that, and it's very special, very clever.
17:38As well as an outstanding performance by the Hollywood-bound Carey Mulligan, Blink introduced us to arguably the scariest creatures in the Hooniverse.
17:46I put in The Weeping Angels because I realised the original story didn't have a monster in it.
17:51I thought, well, look, you've got to have a monster.
17:52If we're doing without the Doctor, we've got to have a monster.
17:56And I had this idea, and I had it for a while, The Weeping Angels.
18:00And I thought, OK, I'll import them into Blink.
18:03And that's how that all came about.
18:06Like almost every episode of New Who, Blink was filmed using a mixture of studio space and actual Welsh locations.
18:14Much of it was filmed around Newport.
18:17The spooky home is a house in Altaryn.
18:19The cafe was a real-life cafe on Charles Street.
18:22And Banto's DVD store was, and still is, a city centre music shop.
18:27So I'm here almost 20 years later to find out what it's like when the Hoon crew descend on your premises.
18:36The chap walked in the shop.
18:38You can tell straight away that he's not a customer because he's looking up.
18:44He's looking down like this.
18:45And he sort of said, I hope you don't mind.
18:47I've just explained he was from a production company and whatever.
18:51And they were looking for locations for a programme he was working on.
18:55And he said, well, we're actually from the Doctor Who production team.
18:59And as soon as he said Doctor Who, he thought, well, that's...
19:01Did you, straight away?
19:02Yeah, I said, that's going to be fun.
19:04It's going to be a good one to talk about.
19:06Yeah, yeah, it's going to give you stories, right?
19:08Yeah.
19:08And here we are, 20 years later.
19:09Yeah, and here we are, talking about it.
19:12The Hoon crew pitched up in November 2006,
19:15renamed and redecorated the shop not once, but twice,
19:19and spent three days filming there.
19:21It was chaos, but it was good fun, you know?
19:23I was amazed by the amount of people involved.
19:26There must have been, at one point, about 40 people in the shop.
19:29Yeah.
19:29And it's a lovely shop, but it is snug, isn't it, Paul?
19:31Yeah, it is a little tight in here, yeah.
19:33People assume that time is a strict progression of cause-to-effect,
19:37but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint,
19:40it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly,
19:43timey-wimey stuff.
19:45So David Tennant originally, of course,
19:46wasn't supposed to be part of this episode, Matt?
19:48No, absolutely right.
19:49I was kind of hoping to meet the lieutenant,
19:51and I thought, oh, it's a bit of a shame,
19:52but then it turns out there is a scene where he runs past the shop.
19:56For that small 30-second, it took most of the day, actually, to film.
20:02Yeah, it was good fun, and we got to have a little chat with David.
20:04And you got a photo.
20:05Got a photo of him on the wall there, yeah.
20:08Yeah, he was a really nice bloke, really nice.
20:10We just sat at the back drinking tea, talking about music for an hour or two.
20:15Yeah.
20:16And so if the call ever came again, Paulus Ellison,
20:19got an idea for Blink Mark 2, we need the shop again, what would you say?
20:22Why not? Let's do it.
20:24Yeah, absolutely.
20:28In 2009, after four seasons of New Who,
20:32the key players felt now was the time to move on.
20:35Jane Tranter, Russell T Davies and I all moved 6,000 miles away.
20:39We moved to L.A. We moved. We moved continent.
20:43I think probably we were running away from Doctor Who.
20:46And after three seasons in the title role, David Tennant also moved on.
20:51Their legacy, reviving a much-missed British institution
20:55and turning it into a worldwide hit,
20:58whilst also making Wales a major location and centre of excellence
21:02for international TV and film production.
21:05A further legacy was the building of Roathlough Drama Village,
21:08giving Doctor Who and a number of other BBC dramas
21:11a permanent state-of-the-art home.
21:14Meantime, the keys to the Who-iverse were offered to a familiar face.
21:18We'll go round the table and say our names
21:20just because I never tire of saying I'm Stephen Moffat
21:22and I'm the executive producer and head writer of Doctor Who.
21:26You know you're not going to say no,
21:28but you don't know if you're going to say yes.
21:30That's the sort of weird place you're in.
21:32At one point, my dad phoned me and he said,
21:34well, you're going to do it, obviously.
21:36And I said, well, I don't know.
21:37I know I'm still thinking about it.
21:39I'm lying to myself about it.
21:40And he said, OK, I'm going to send you a photograph.
21:44And I'm going to tell you that's why you're going to do it.
21:46And he sent me a photograph of me reading a Doctor Who book
21:48when I was about ten or something.
21:50I said, of course you're going to do it.
21:51And I thought, yeah, I probably am.
21:53My first thought was I wanted an older Doctor.
21:57I thought we'd had the young movie star Doctor
21:59and we'd had the tough guy Doctor.
22:01I thought, OK, well, let's try the older Doctor.
22:04We saw a lot of people, which was unfortunate
22:07because on the first day, the second edition was Matt Smith.
22:13And it was a hole in one.
22:14There wasn't any doubt about it
22:16because he was the full package immediately.
22:19He was, ooh, hello, I'm...
22:20And he's hot, he's young, but he's also a boffin.
22:24There's literally nobody else in the world like that.
22:27He's more Doctor Who than anybody else ever.
22:30Be camera.
22:31Filming began on the Stephen Moffat era in late July 2009.
22:36I remember the beginning very, very vividly
22:38because it was terrifying.
22:40You've got to remember then, David Tennant was the Doctor.
22:43David was sensational in the role.
22:45He was a national treasure.
22:47And most people, including the woman I'm married to,
22:50thought there was no possibility of replacing him.
22:53So, I mean, nobody thought we were going to succeed.
23:00I remember being rancid with exhaustion and fear.
23:03That's disgusting. What is that?
23:05An apple.
23:06Apples, rubbish. I hate apples.
23:07You said you loved them.
23:08And I was on this Cardiff train.
23:12It was late at night. It was the latest one you could get.
23:13It was bucketing.
23:14And I hadn't got to today's Rushies.
23:17So I opened my laptop and watched the Rushies.
23:20And it was the fish custard scene.
23:22I need, I need, I need fish fingers and custard.
23:27With Matt and little Amelia.
23:30I thought, are we going to sell not David, but Matt, to the public?
23:36And I thought, when I saw that scene, we're in.
23:39We've got it.
23:40It's right there.
23:41He is the Doctor.
23:42Joining the 11th Doctor on his intergalactic adventures were companions and soon-to-be spouses,
23:48Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
23:50I'd worked with Matt before.
23:52We'd done a play together called Swimming with Sharks in the West End.
23:59And we had a really good time together and got on very well and always said, oh, we'd love to work together at some point again in the future.
24:07The very first time I ever met Matt Smith was when I was auditioning for Amy Pond.
24:14And I walked into the room and then he greeted me and gave me a hug.
24:18And I was like, okay, people are friendly in this industry, I guess.
24:22Yeah, I was like struck by just like how charismatic he was.
24:25I was like, this, this guy is very charming.
24:28And then we read together and kind of, it just really worked.
24:34Oi, you sit still.
24:39Cricket bat.
24:40I'm getting cricket bat.
24:43You were breaking and entering.
24:44My first impression with Karen was, my God, she's so tall.
24:46And I think she was wearing heels, but she kind of towered over me.
24:50I couldn't quite work her out at first because she's like both really elegant and really silly at the same time.
24:58The first time I met Arthur Darville would have been on our first day of filming together on the 11th hour.
25:07Amy.
25:08Hi.
25:09Oh, this is Rory.
25:10He's a friend.
25:11Boyfriend.
25:12Kind of.
25:13He'd gotten the role as Rory.
25:15And I remember on my first day, I was like really energized and, you know, buzzing with adrenaline.
25:21But he took a nap on his first day.
25:24And I was like, this guy is relaxed.
25:26Oh, I did not napping.
25:28Oh, did you?
25:29What, did you actually do?
25:30Yeah.
25:31That's how.
25:32And I did actually dribble.
25:34That's how professional he is.
25:35So, uh, he goes, he goes the whole way.
25:37We all really played off each other and just, it stopped becoming work very quickly and just became fun because we all got to hang out with each other.
25:44Show them the belly dance.
25:45We were just so playful, like the whole time.
25:49I just remember getting to the point where we were filming so much that I would not really register that they had shouted action and would just like be doing the scene anyway.
25:58But then they would say cut and we would just continue with the like ridiculous, silly voices we were doing or something.
26:05Um, and Alex Kingston would come in periodically and she, she described us as like three puppies that just found each other for the first time.
26:13And that's what we were like for, you know, the years that we were doing it.
26:16I just love Wales.
26:19I had the best time.
26:21I mean, truly the best times were had, um, in Cardiff making Doctor Who.
26:26You're Amelia.
26:27You're late.
26:28Amelia Pong, you're the little girl.
26:29I'm Amelia and you're late.
26:31Because everything was so new and we were making something that was so beloved.
26:35Uh, people really cared about what we were making.
26:37The passion around it was so exciting and working with all the crew and everyone.
26:41We filmed in every castle in South Wales, which I love castles.
26:47So that was great.
26:49I remember being in so many castles and I remember how cold they were.
26:54Oh my God.
26:56It was like walking into a fridge.
26:58Um, but I'm Scottish, so I'm no stranger to castles.
27:01I should have known.
27:02Come on, Arthur.
27:03Let's do it.
27:04Oh, it's okay, Arthur.
27:08It's okay.
27:09Man up, old bean.
27:11I'm so proud of it and it was so much fun that I love talking about it, actually.
27:15And it was such a kind of formative thing in my life.
27:18And I just think it's really good.
27:21And that's, you know, obviously testament to the work we did on it, but really testament to the scripts and to what Stephen did with it and keeping it just really classy and fun.
27:31And I think it really stands up as a piece of television.
27:37Matt Smith played the Doctor to great acclaim.
27:39He regenerated in 2013, leaving Stephen with a mild regret.
27:44One of the great advantages that the classic series had was you had John Pertwee for five years, who was magnificent, and then Tom Baker for seven years, and you had 12 years of just two doctors who were both magnificent.
27:57And this lot, you know, they disappear after three years, they don't have to.
28:02I mean, they do, they're exhausted, but I mean, I don't want them to.
28:05I don't want them to.
28:09You all right, mister?
28:11No, I'm fine.
28:12It's okay.
28:13This is all perfectly normal.
28:14So I can tell you that I just, because today as I sit here is the 15th anniversary of when the 11th Doctor fell to earth and ate fish custard.
28:27And I WhatsAppped Matt this morning saying it's 15 years.
28:31He said, I wish I was on that set now.
28:33See?
28:34You see, Matt?
28:35Don't leave.
28:36But Matt Smith did leave, and in 2013, Stephen had to find a new doctor.
28:42So I knew that Peter Capaldi was a Doctor Who fan.
28:46I also knew that, as everyone knows, he's a phenomenal actor.
28:50He's quite different from Matt, and yet he has something of the doctor about him.
28:56He does.
29:00Shush.
29:03Doctor?
29:03I was being chased by a giant dinosaur, but I think I managed to get the slip.
29:09I knew it was a radical step.
29:10Many people would think it was too radical a step, because we'd established the idea of a younger doctor.
29:15But we told Peter that we were auditioning what he liked to audition.
29:19Now, we were auditioning.
29:20We were auditioning.
29:21What he didn't know is we were only auditioning him.
29:25Between the two of us, Peter and I, I don't think either of us had a day off for, like, ten months, so it was crazy.
29:30But we had a great time.
29:31It was really fun.
29:32And he's so, like, clever and brilliant.
29:35I hadn't done any TV before.
29:38It was amazing, like, being able to, like, learn from such an incredible actor.
29:43I hadn't really spent any time in Wales.
29:45It's such an amazing place to film, because there's so many different places, like, different locations and stuff.
29:51You know, we did a scene filming in the Brecon Beacons on the top of this hill.
29:54And Peter and Matt and I were the only cast on set, but, you know, we had all the crew.
29:58And it was freezing, and we were all in, like, you know, crammed into the TARDIS, which on set often isn't bigger on the inside.
30:06And it was just the silliest time.
30:09We just ended up having, like, the silliest day.
30:11Again, in that episode, actually, there's some, like, caves.
30:14And I was like, I guess we're just going to make some caves then in Rothelok Studios.
30:20And no, they didn't.
30:21They found some caves, and we shot in the caves.
30:24I mean, it's hilarious.
30:25They did such a great job.
30:26Still to come on Doctor Who Unleashed.
30:32We meet Shuti Gatwa and Farada Seithu at the Season 2 premiere.
30:38There's more to come from Billy.
30:40It never feels like it's over.
30:42So coming back is really good fun.
30:45But first, it's time to catch up with the 13th Doctor.
30:48On October 31st, 2017, filming began on series 11 of New Who.
30:59And it was all change on the TARDIS.
31:02Peter Capaldi was gone, and Stephen Moffat had handed the showrunner baton
31:06onto Doctor Who and Torchwood scriptwriter Chris Chibnall.
31:10We would meet up regularly for a drink or a bit of food every year
31:15when he tried to get me to write an episode, and I'd often be doing something else.
31:18And then we had one dinner where it was much more like,
31:22we'd like you to take over the show.
31:24And that was a shift.
31:27I mean, it's amazing because you're being asked
31:30from one of the greatest shows in the history of television.
31:33Once installed as showrunner, Chris cast the first female Doctor,
31:38Geordie Whittaker.
31:39So Chris and I had worked together before on Broadchurch.
31:42And so that gave us, I suppose, a kind of shorthand into the energy
31:50and the characterisation of the 13th Doctor.
31:54But I think the most beautiful thing for me,
31:56which felt like kind of the biggest compliment you can ever get,
32:00was that essentially all Chris ever said to me during the audition process
32:03was, just be you.
32:04I was so fearful of playing the Doctor because I thought,
32:16oh my God, this needs to be, how do you play the Doctor?
32:20But essentially what Chris and I chatted most about
32:23was my in-between hyperactivity and inability to focus on anything
32:28for more than two seconds.
32:29But being really excited about everything
32:31was exactly kind of the energy he wanted for the 13th.
32:35She is more like the Doctor than she is most of the other characters
32:38that she plays.
32:39She's full of energy.
32:40She's really funny.
32:41She's really hopeful, dynamic, energetic.
32:44So I knew that she had it in her.
32:48And then when she read, it was like, oh, wow.
32:50And she's got so much more than that.
32:52She can do anything.
32:54Ta-da!
32:56Ooh.
32:58She'll be fine.
32:59I were really lucky because Jodie was my Doctor
33:02and she became one of my best friends.
33:03And to work with her was such an honour for all that time.
33:08And we knew it was an amazing job.
33:10But she was just so special.
33:12And so to have worked with her for so long was amazing.
33:16Mandate were really hard to work with and we did not get on.
33:21Literally speak to her every day.
33:22That poor girl will regret that decision for the rest of her life.
33:26Audition for Doctor Who.
33:27That girl made me laugh from start to finish.
33:30And she's brilliant.
33:31So I was like, that's the package of dreams for me.
33:35Of course, there's one more element that any doctor needs to perfect
33:39to complete their package of dreams.
33:41is their costume.
33:44Pontypris-born Ray Holman designed costumes for the 11th and 12th Doctors
33:49and collaborated with Jodie Whittaker in dressing the 13th Doctor.
33:56Basically, I'm not there to do a drawing and say,
34:02that's what you're wearing.
34:03You can't do that with the doctor.
34:05The doctor is the actor.
34:07That costume has to define them.
34:10She brought me this amazing reference from the 1980s of a woman crossing the road
34:17in braces and the short trousers and the boots and a T-shirt.
34:22And I found a really good coach reference.
34:25And the brilliant thing about Ray is, Ray really comes up with all the ideas,
34:30but in such a generous manner that he made me feel like I'd done loads.
34:34Actually, when I think back on all of the meetings about it,
34:37I think they were all seed-planted and drip-fed,
34:39and I came to that brilliant actress conclusion where I was like,
34:43I'm a genius, I've come up with this.
34:46We really like the rainbow across the front
34:48and what the rainbow kind of signifies,
34:51the inclusivity of the Doctor Who world.
34:55Everything it represented came from him
34:59and was a celebration of, I think, who we both are
35:02and what we wanted that doctor to be.
35:04And there was one final element that Ray managed to sneak in.
35:09I was always trying to get something Welsh into a doctor's costume.
35:15And I found a Welsh company and I knew that they knitted socks.
35:22So they knitted the socks and we loved them.
35:25And when we were doing Jodie's first series,
35:28her initial costume was just a T-shirt with a rainbow on.
35:30So I thought, well, why can't we knit a jumper with it
35:33and keep it a bit warmer?
35:34So then it went into jumpers,
35:36and then we did Christmas episodes,
35:39and I went into the big, long scarf with the rainbow on it.
35:42And so finally there was something Welsh,
35:46made in Wales, on a doctor, that went out around the world.
35:51Matt Smith's costume wasn't quite so easy.
35:54We didn't know what we wanted, none of us.
35:57And so I wanted him to try on loads of things,
36:01different periods, different styles.
36:05We were running out of time and we hadn't licked it.
36:09And so we ditched all the complicated stuff
36:12and started looking at tweeds.
36:15We had the boots,
36:17the rolled up East London trousers,
36:20braces and the tweed.
36:22So in the fitting room,
36:24the executives are there,
36:26Matt is there.
36:27The shirt had an open collar.
36:29We were like, what we're going to do?
36:30We're going to put a T-shirt under there.
36:32Then the bow tie idea came up
36:34and we all went,
36:35and I went,
36:37no, let's try the bow tie.
36:40Found the bow tie.
36:42It went on Matt.
36:43And suddenly,
36:45it was just like that light bulb moment
36:47where everybody went,
36:49that's it.
36:51That is it.
36:52Huey, we got there.
36:54Yeah, it's cool.
36:55Bow ties are cool.
36:57Throughout the last 20 years,
36:59the majority of the main cast
37:00lived in Cardiff during the week,
37:02then returned home for the weekend.
37:04But in Geordie's era,
37:05the stars kept it strictly local.
37:08We as a family decided to move.
37:10So not only was I coming
37:13to join the Doctor Who family,
37:16but I was also moving
37:17my actual family to Cardiff.
37:20Well, everyone will know
37:21that I absolutely love Cardiff.
37:24It was like I worked for the council.
37:26I was like, I love it so much.
37:28I want to live here
37:28for the rest of my life.
37:30Everyone's like,
37:30are you not going home
37:31at the weekend?
37:32I was like, home?
37:33I was like, what do you mean?
37:34Like, I've got everything in my flat.
37:35Like, this is my home.
37:37The most amazing thing
37:38joining the show
37:40was the fact that
37:41B, Mandip, Brad and Tossim
37:44joined with a ready-made crew.
37:48They'd been doing Doctor Who for years.
37:50So when we turn up,
37:51we're the little newbies
37:52and you walk onto a set
37:54with an incredible sense
37:58of love and friendship.
38:01The crew become part
38:02of your social circle.
38:03Like, you know their family and friends
38:05and what they got up to
38:06of an evening.
38:07And like, I was hanging around
38:08with them on weekends.
38:09We were making plans
38:10after.
38:11I absolutely love Wales.
38:13I think it's beautiful.
38:14I think the people are amazing.
38:16And it just so happens
38:17that Doctor Who
38:19was one of the best jobs
38:21of my career.
38:23And Judy's become
38:24my best friend.
38:24Like, we had
38:25such an amazing time.
38:26But I mean,
38:27with the rest of them,
38:27Tossim, like Brad, John,
38:29we had such an amazing time together.
38:32Not just us as actors,
38:34it's the crew
38:35that really make that job.
38:36It was absolute family to me.
38:39And that is the biggest grief
38:41walking away,
38:42is you don't just leave the series,
38:43you leave the people
38:44and the place.
38:45The place, of course,
38:49is Cardiff,
38:50capital of the Hooniverse.
38:52But beyond the city,
38:53so much of Wales'
38:55scenic landscape
38:56has provided
38:57a natural backdrop
38:58down the years.
39:01Coastlines,
39:02castles,
39:04quarries,
39:05stately homes,
39:06forestry,
39:07mountains.
39:08We might be a small country,
39:10but we're a mighty film set.
39:12And if you were to
39:13twist my arm
39:14and ask me my favourite location,
39:16it's this one,
39:18West Ysk Lighthouse
39:19in Newport.
39:21This is where
39:22one of the 13th Doctor's
39:23most iconic
39:24and talked about scenes
39:26was shot.
39:28More of which in a minute,
39:29because the glorious setting
39:30for this plot twist
39:31also happens to be the home
39:33of Frank and Danielle Sheehan.
39:35So how does it work then, Frank?
39:38Do you get a letter
39:39from the post?
39:40Do you get a phone call?
39:41Does someone knock on your door?
39:42What happens?
39:44It was a location chap
39:46that actually came about
39:48two years earlier
39:49and they wanted to use
39:50the dining room
39:51and the idea was
39:52that a Dalek
39:52would fly out
39:53of the French windows.
39:55But unfortunately
39:56we didn't have
39:57any French windows.
39:58And then two years later,
40:00that location chap
40:02or manager
40:02got in touch with us again
40:04and said,
40:05look, we've got another
40:05possibility of using
40:07the lighthouse.
40:07I used to go up for it.
40:09And I said,
40:10yes, of course we are.
40:11I'd love to be on Doctor Who.
40:12You know,
40:12it's always been my dream
40:13to have the lighthouse
40:14on Doctor Who.
40:15And it all kicked off
40:16from there.
40:17Danielle,
40:18when Frank says to you,
40:19so we've been asked
40:20if about four lorries
40:22and 80 crew
40:24and some of the most
40:25well-known actors
40:26in the UK
40:26are going to turn up
40:27at our house
40:27for a couple of days.
40:28How do you react to that?
40:29Oh, yeah,
40:30no, it was great fun.
40:31Yeah, we loved it.
40:32And they came
40:33and messed up our house.
40:36They made it look so old
40:37and derelict
40:39and they painted
40:40the walls inside.
40:42Everything was covered
40:43in...
40:44Old materials.
40:46Yeah,
40:46in dusty materials.
40:48But we loved it.
40:49It was just,
40:50it was a magical time
40:51and they were here
40:52for two days
40:52filming.
40:5380 people
40:54with so many vehicles
40:57parked up there.
40:59So tell me about
41:00this particular spot then,
41:01Frank.
41:02Why are we stood here?
41:03This was the very spot
41:05that the TARDIS
41:07was buried
41:07and discovered.
41:09And I remember
41:09it was about
41:11this much out of the ground.
41:12Yeah.
41:13But of course,
41:13with the prop,
41:14it was only about that deep.
41:15Obviously,
41:16they didn't dig a hole
41:16to put a whole TARDIS in there.
41:17But we did see
41:19the batteries going into it
41:20and we did see
41:21the light working.
41:23Yeah.
41:23But then we were told
41:24to leave.
41:25We cannot...
41:26I think the head office
41:27said no,
41:27we've got to make sure
41:28that we left.
41:29Yeah, yeah.
41:30Because we would have
41:31then understood
41:31the twist.
41:32Yeah, keep the secret.
41:33So they kept the secret
41:34from us.
41:35Ah, yes.
41:36The secret.
41:38This was the moment
41:39the 13th doctor
41:40discovered
41:40she was not alone.
41:42Hello.
41:43I'm the doctor.
41:45And it's made
41:46the lighthouse
41:47a bit of a pilgrimage
41:48site for Houvians.
41:50Do fans come
41:51and visit this spot?
41:53They do.
41:54Sometimes they knock
41:54on our door
41:55to ask us specifically
41:56where it was.
41:57Other times
41:58you just see them
41:59here,
41:59they're founded,
42:00you know.
42:01But generally
42:02I think 90% of them
42:04have actually dressed up
42:05in some kind
42:06of a costume.
42:07Normally one person
42:08is playing the doctor
42:09and there will be
42:10someone filming it
42:11or they'll be
42:12dressed up as aliens
42:12and they'll be
42:13filming the alien things.
42:15But quite often
42:16they will knock
42:16at the door
42:17and I'll make
42:18them a cup of tea
42:18and I'll say
42:19I'll be with you
42:19in a minute,
42:19I'll show you
42:20where it was.
42:20They're very appreciative.
42:22Yeah.
42:22So I've got plenty
42:23of time for any
42:24Doctor Who fans.
42:24And so you've
42:25enjoyed being part
42:26of Doctor Who
42:28history,
42:28Doctor Who law
42:29then?
42:29Yeah,
42:29of course.
42:30Yes,
42:30Frank wants them
42:31to come back.
42:32For years
42:32I've been wanting
42:33to be,
42:34the lighthouse
42:34had to be on
42:35Doctor Who
42:35and it was a dream
42:36come true.
42:37Yeah.
42:37It really was.
42:38I was over the moon.
42:39And so if that
42:40location manager
42:41picks up the phone
42:42again and says,
42:43Frank,
42:43we've got this idea,
42:44we want to come back
42:45to the lighthouse.
42:46Oh,
42:46open arms,
42:47open arms,
42:48definitely with open arms.
42:49The 13th Doctor
42:56regenerated in 2022
42:58and in arguably
42:59the most explosive
43:00plot twist
43:01in its 60-year history,
43:03the 10th Doctor
43:04returned as the
43:0514th Doctor.
43:08Off-screen things
43:09were equally
43:10topsy-turvy,
43:11Russell T Davies
43:12was back as
43:12showrunner
43:13and main writer.
43:15When you're not
43:16on Doctor Who,
43:16everyone keeps asking
43:17you when you're
43:17going back to
43:18Doctor Who.
43:19And you sit there
43:19going,
43:19no,
43:20no,
43:20no,
43:20because it would
43:20just be rude
43:21while someone else
43:21is doing the job
43:22and say,
43:22oh yeah,
43:22I'd love that.
43:23But the truth is
43:24you never stop
43:24thinking about
43:25Doctor Who
43:25because I'm a
43:25Doctor Who fan.
43:26I've been thinking
43:26about it since
43:27I was three.
43:28And then the
43:2960th was approaching
43:30and me and David
43:31and Catherine Tate
43:32had a laugh online
43:33doing this thing
43:34called a tweet along
43:34and it was Catherine
43:36Tate who said,
43:36what would it be
43:37laugh if we went
43:37back and did
43:38another one?
43:39And then David
43:40said,
43:40yes,
43:40wouldn't that be good?
43:41And I actually
43:41kind of seriously
43:42thought,
43:42oh,
43:48come and tell them.
43:49So I did that
43:50and there was a silence
43:52and I think
43:53during that silence
43:53they were like
43:54running around
43:54and then they came
43:55back to me
43:56with a plan
43:56sort of saying
43:57that actually
43:58they wanted to
43:58take Doctor Who
43:59out into the
44:00streaming age
44:01to find a partner
44:02and to make it
44:03bigger and to get
44:04a bigger budget
44:04and are you
44:05interested in that?
44:05And I just thought,
44:06yes,
44:06it just felt very
44:07natural to say,
44:08right,
44:08I'll go back.
44:10Julie Gardner,
44:11Jane Tranter
44:12and Phil Collinson
44:13were also on board.
44:15Then,
44:17after a short stint
44:18in the 360th
44:19anniversary specials,
44:20the 14th Doctor
44:21bi-generated
44:22into the 15th,
44:24Shuti Gatwa.
44:32Shuti has given us
44:34two seasons
44:34of further
44:35memorable adventures
44:36in time and space.
44:38All of it
44:38covered in exquisite
44:40behind the scenes detail
44:41by Doctor Who Unleashed.
44:42This has been
44:43an absolute
44:45joy.
44:48Shout out
44:49to the crew
44:49because it's,
44:51I mean,
44:52someone built this.
44:53We're in a huge,
44:54this is huge
44:55that we're in right now
44:56and someone
44:57has built this.
44:58Someone designed
44:59the sonic screwdriver
45:01and put Rwandan
45:03proverbs on it
45:03translated into
45:04Gallifreyan text.
45:06Like,
45:06there's so much
45:08work
45:09and commitment
45:10and talent
45:11that goes into
45:12the show
45:12that the audience
45:13will never see.
45:15Actors,
45:16writers and directors,
45:17we all get like
45:18our praise
45:19and all of that.
45:20But like,
45:21there's an army
45:22of people
45:23that make
45:24the magic happen
45:25from page to screen.
45:28Crew here
45:29at Bad Wolf
45:29as well
45:30are very much
45:30like,
45:31it's like a family.
45:33And that was
45:33very beautiful
45:34to witness
45:35such a tight unit.
45:37And we caught up
45:38with Shuti
45:38and Varada
45:39before the 15th
45:41Doctor's
45:41mic drop
45:42regeneration
45:43at the premiere
45:44of the current series
45:45to ask them
45:46what memories
45:46they'll treasure
45:47of Wales.
45:48It was so mad
45:51but also really fun
45:52to recreate
45:521950s Miami
45:54if not
45:54pretending
45:56we're in like
45:56a thawmy
45:58kind of
45:59humid
46:01super tropical
46:02while it's
46:03like five degrees
46:04but it was
46:05a lot of
46:06that's
46:07still one
46:07of my fondest
46:08memories
46:08it was just
46:09running around
46:10and being silly
46:11and
46:11I think the first
46:13time we got to
46:13film on location
46:14as well maybe
46:15yes it was
46:17so much fun
46:18and what about
46:19filming in
46:20little old Wales
46:20I don't think
46:22Wales should
46:23think of itself
46:24or Cardiff
46:24should think of
46:25itself as little
46:25at all
46:26it's full of heart
46:28and also
46:28you can see
46:29why so much
46:30gets filmed there
46:31it's so beautiful
46:32so beautiful
46:33and so like
46:34perfect for a
46:35sci-fi show
46:35as well
46:36there's so much
46:37love that goes
46:38into it
46:38when I think of
46:40Cardiff
46:40I just think
46:41of the biggest
46:41heart
46:41and I'm so
46:42glad that we
46:42get to share
46:43that with the
46:43world
46:44and geographical
46:45beauty
46:46Wales has
46:48in abundance
46:49so it feels
46:50cool
46:50so what has
46:5920 years of
47:00Doctor Who
47:01done for Wales
47:02well the hard
47:03stats and facts
47:04show the impact
47:05has been huge
47:06in 2023
47:08a BBC report
47:09found Doctor Who
47:10had contributed
47:11more than
47:12£134 million
47:13to the Welsh
47:15economy
47:15but the legacy
47:17has been
47:18much greater
47:18than that
47:19since 2004
47:21when the cameras
47:22began rolling
47:23on New Who
47:23the TV
47:24and film industry
47:25has grown
47:26significantly
47:27in 2023
47:29the turnover
47:30was
47:31£460 million
47:33in 2004
47:36there was only
47:36one permanent
47:37drama set
47:38in Wales
47:38the Welsh
47:39language
47:39soap opera
47:40Pobl a Cwm
47:41at BBC
47:42Llandar
47:42today
47:43as well
47:44as the BBC's
47:44Roth lock
47:45there are
47:46a further
47:46five major
47:47TV and film
47:48studios
47:49across Wales
47:50making multiple
47:51dramas
47:51for the
47:52international
47:53and UK
47:53markets
47:54it's probably
47:55a bit of a
47:56stretch to say
47:57that all of
47:58this is because
47:58of Doctor Who
47:59but it is no
48:00stretch to say
48:01that it was the
48:02catalyst
48:02Doctor Who
48:03gave the world
48:04a window
48:05on Wales
48:06since then
48:07everything from
48:08Harry Potter
48:09and the Deathly
48:09Hallows
48:10to House of the
48:10Dragon
48:11have used
48:12Welsh locations
48:12and just as
48:13importantly
48:14Welsh crews
48:15when I first
48:16walked onto
48:17the set of
48:17Doctor Who
48:18three years ago
48:19I was immediately
48:20struck by the
48:21number of
48:21Welsh accents
48:22speaking the
48:23Welsh language
48:23since 2004
48:25so much
48:26Welsh talent
48:26has blossomed
48:27on Doctor Who
48:28some like
48:29Eros
48:30Edward
48:30and Ray
48:31now work
48:31on major
48:32productions
48:33worldwide
48:34others
48:35like production
48:35executive
48:36Stefan Morris
48:37have been
48:38at New Who
48:38since the off
48:39your first ever
48:41day on set
48:41of Doctor Who
48:42can you remember
48:42what it was
48:43what was going on
48:44yeah we filmed at
48:44the CRI
48:45Newport Rhodes
48:46and we shot
48:48the season
48:48out of order
48:49so we started
48:50with the
48:51Slitheen episode
48:52and it was the
48:53day that Jimmy V
48:54was on set
48:55dressed as
48:56a pig
48:57so yeah that was
48:58our first experience
48:59of Doctor Who
49:00Stefan started life
49:02on Doctor Who
49:03as second
49:03assistant director
49:05and then worked
49:05his way up
49:06to first assistant
49:07director
49:07then production
49:08manager
49:08then line
49:09producer
49:10and now he has
49:11the grand title
49:12of production
49:13executive
49:14which basically
49:15means he's
49:15so experienced
49:16he's the guru
49:17who advises
49:18everyone
49:19on what's
49:19the best
49:20and most
49:20cost and
49:21time effective
49:22way of
49:22making each
49:23episode
49:23did you get
49:25a sense
49:25that all
49:26easier later
49:26you'd still
49:27be involved
49:28in a big
49:29way in
49:29Doctor Who
49:30no
49:30it's been a
49:31delight
49:31I've gone
49:31on a journey
49:32with it
49:32but it was
49:34there's a level
49:35of excitement
49:35and intensity
49:36with the show
49:37that keeps
49:40you buoyed
49:40no
49:41it's
49:42different
49:42it's
49:42unique
49:43it's
49:43an anthology
49:43show
49:44so
49:44every
49:45episode
49:45is
49:45something
49:45new
49:46don't
49:47make
49:48me
49:48laugh
49:49and that's
49:52part of the
49:53delight
49:53that you get
49:54to capture
49:55the imagination
49:55on a weekly
49:56basis
49:57and deliver
49:57and when we get
49:59it right
49:59it's brill
49:59and then sometimes
50:00we're going
50:01oh ok
50:01we'll do it
50:02better next time
50:02every series
50:04of Doctor Who
50:05employs
50:05between
50:06150
50:07and 200
50:07people
50:08that means
50:09new talent
50:09has to be
50:10brought on
50:10constantly
50:11across the
50:12two series
50:13that I've been
50:13presenting
50:14Unleashed
50:14Screen Alliance
50:15Wales
50:16and Bad Wolf
50:16have facilitated
50:18150
50:19work
50:19shadowing
50:20placements
50:20on Doctor Who
50:21giving young
50:22people
50:22who'd like
50:23to work
50:23in television
50:24the chance
50:25to experience
50:26how the
50:26industry works
50:27they've also
50:28taken on
50:2921 trainees
50:30including
50:30Danny
50:31and Cudsai
50:32who both
50:33appeared
50:33in the work
50:34experience
50:34section
50:35of Unleashed
50:35and the very
50:36first person
50:37I did work
50:38experience with
50:38second assistant
50:40Sound
50:40and Harad
50:41also got her
50:42first job
50:42as a trainee
50:43on Doctor Who
50:44thanks to a
50:45Skills Cymru
50:45apprenticeship
50:46I came on
50:47nine years ago
50:48as an apprentice
50:48so I probably
50:50wouldn't have been
50:51accepted on a show
50:52as big as that
50:53straight out of
50:53school like I was
50:55at 18
50:55but they do
50:57accept their
50:57apprenticeships
50:58in little
50:59trainee schemes
50:59so it was a way
51:01of me getting
51:01into the industry
51:02when you were
51:03growing up
51:03in the valleys
51:04when you were
51:05younger
51:05did you think
51:06that working
51:07in film and
51:08telly was
51:08something you
51:08could realistically
51:09do
51:10not really
51:11I think
51:12it was always
51:12something I was
51:13aware of
51:14and something
51:14that I would
51:15like to do
51:16but in the valleys
51:18I never really
51:19saw any film
51:19crews knocking
51:20about
51:20and there's not
51:21much going on
51:22in terms of
51:23film and TV
51:24there
51:24so I didn't
51:25really think
51:25it was
51:25something
51:26that was
51:26that achievable
51:27but then
51:28when I got
51:28off of my
51:28apprenticeship
51:29I was like
51:29oh okay
51:30maybe it is
51:31something that
51:31I can actually
51:33do and actually
51:34do as a career
51:35If we were to go
51:36another nine years
51:37into the future
51:38where would you
51:38like to get to
51:39what's next?
51:39Oh gosh
51:39in nine years
51:41I'd like to be
51:42a sound recordist
51:43because
51:43I've never
51:45actually
51:45I know of
51:46women sound recordists
51:47but I've never
51:48worked with one
51:48myself
51:49so I'd like to
51:50be a sound recordist
51:51that would be
51:52the ideal
51:52During the filming
51:57of this
51:5820th anniversary
51:59special
52:00we asked
52:00every contributor
52:02what they would
52:03put the
52:03longevity
52:04of the show
52:05down to
52:05the response
52:07was unanimous
52:08What's great
52:09about this show
52:10is that
52:11it is the fandom
52:11every science fiction
52:12franchise will
52:13tell you about this
52:14but it's there
52:15it's passionate
52:16and it's thriving
52:17and it's brilliant
52:17and it's me
52:18I am that fan
52:19I literally know
52:19how that feels
52:20Doctor Who
52:21just occupies
52:22a little part
52:23of the brain
52:24with which you think
52:25then that's brilliant
52:26if the Daleks
52:27pop into your head
52:28if the TARDIS
52:28is there
52:29if the Companions
52:30are there
52:31if the Master
52:31is there
52:32or Missy
52:32is there
52:33what a great
52:34rich thriving
52:35brain you've got
52:36with those great
52:36ideas floating
52:37about in it
52:38Doctor Who fans
52:39they love the show
52:41with such a passion
52:43and they feel
52:44incredible ownership
52:46over it
52:46and that can go
52:47both ways
52:48fans love
52:50some things
52:51and then
52:51they hate
52:52other things
52:52and they're right
52:54they're perfectly
52:54within their right
52:55to tell you so
52:56so meeting fans
52:57is always
52:58an incredibly
52:59rewarding experience
53:00even when they
53:01want to tell you
53:02that you've done
53:02the wrong thing
53:03the fans are so
53:05like they're so
53:06amazing
53:06and they're so
53:07like
53:07whether you did
53:09it 10 years ago
53:1025 years ago
53:112 years ago
53:12I think the loyalty
53:13is
53:14I mean
53:15it's a strong
53:16quality of
53:17Whovians
53:17you know
53:18it's so moving
53:19like the amount
53:20of times I've like
53:21been so close
53:23to tears
53:23because
53:23I love what I'm
53:25doing
53:25but then to meet
53:26people that also
53:27love what I'm
53:28doing
53:28is so special
53:30but it means
53:31so much to them
53:32they don't mean
53:32oh my god
53:33your mandate's
53:34amazing
53:34they are so
53:36attached to the
53:36character
53:37or the character
53:39has done so much
53:40for them
53:40I've never been
53:42that affected
53:43apart from by
53:44Beyonce
53:45not liking
53:47myself to Beyonce
53:47but by something
53:50on TV
53:51and that is
53:51like
53:53it can make me
53:54speechless
53:55I think the beauty
53:57of it is
53:57is that you meet
53:58like young fans
53:59who are like
53:59you weren't even
54:00born when this
54:02series came out
54:03and they're like
54:03yeah
54:03you know
54:04I watched it
54:05with my mum
54:05and my dad
54:06and you know
54:07it sort of gets
54:08passed on
54:08generation to
54:09generation
54:09it feels
54:11like the show
54:12is for everybody
54:14and it's the
54:16most hopeful
54:18and inclusive
54:19in its storylines
54:21and its adventures
54:22and I think
54:23that that means
54:24that this show
54:25will always reach
54:26out to so many
54:27different people
54:28of so many
54:28different generations
54:29and that's
54:29what I really
54:30love about it
54:30you can be
54:31anywhere
54:31in the most
54:32random of places
54:33and you'll
54:35meet a Whovian
54:35and they're
54:36an absolute
54:37joy to be around
54:38because they
54:39love the thing
54:39you love the
54:40most as well
54:40it's a family
54:41thing as well
54:42I think the idea
54:43that you can sit
54:44down with your
54:44family and watch
54:45it is very
54:46appealing
54:47it gives it
54:48longevity
54:48I like the
54:49memory of how
54:50it felt when I
54:51watched it with
54:52my kids for the
54:53first time when
54:54they were little
54:54guys you know
54:55and it's it's
54:57kind of like
54:57holding on to
54:58that memory I
54:59think for a lot
54:59of people
55:00but also the
55:01material is
55:02generally brilliant
55:04yeah
55:04yeah
55:06and it's moving
55:07as well and I
55:08think people want
55:09to watch things
55:10that kind of
55:10move them to
55:11tears
55:11and there's
55:12something comforting
55:13in the familiarity
55:14of it because it's
55:15been around for 60
55:16odd years
55:16everyone sort of
55:17has a sense of
55:18what it is
55:18and yet at the
55:19same time it
55:19keeps being
55:20surprising
55:20the whole show
55:21is about change
55:22and embracing
55:22change right
55:23so kind of
55:26built into his
55:26DNA there's like
55:27an evolution
55:28involved and I
55:29think that's
55:30really exciting
55:31for people so
55:31just at the
55:32point where you
55:33get bored with
55:33it or even
55:35just at the
55:36point where you
55:36go this show
55:37could never be
55:38anything other
55:39than this it
55:40switches it on
55:41its head and
55:41changes it
55:42what's great
55:43about the
55:43premise is that
55:44you can change
55:44the lead actor
55:45and nobody
55:45questions anything
55:46so that's
55:47perfect it means
55:48you can kind of
55:49give a refresh
55:50to the show
55:51you can mix
55:52things up you
55:53can keep
55:53everyone on
55:54their toes
55:54and interested
55:55there's no
55:56danger of it
55:56becoming stale
55:57it is to be
55:58strictly observed
55:59that everyone
56:00who works on
56:01Doctor Who
56:01does it for a
56:02while not
56:03forever you
56:05must get you
56:06must process out
56:07the door and
56:07another lot come
56:08in that's really
56:09quite important
56:10so I feel that
56:11quite strongly
56:11about Doctor Who
56:12is that one of
56:14the reasons it's
56:15the immense
56:16survivor that it
56:18is is because
56:19every so often
56:20it is completely
56:20different
56:21it's both
56:22constant and
56:22ever evolving
56:23it's not really
56:25the same show
56:25it was back in
56:261963 but it
56:27absolutely is at
56:28the same time
56:29so it constantly
56:30renews it
56:31constantly changes
56:32it constantly
56:33evolves
56:33showrunners come
56:34and go
56:35doctors come
56:36and go
56:36companions come
56:37and go
56:37monsters
56:38nemeses come
56:40and go
56:40but it's
56:41but it's still
56:42at its heart
56:42this show about
56:44adventure
56:45about optimism
56:46about hope
56:47and about this
56:47insane figure
56:49with a TARDIS
56:50Doctor Who
56:51the show
56:52that constantly
56:53renews
56:54changes
56:54and evolves
56:55much to the
56:56delight
56:57and the fury
56:58of the fans
56:59when we were
57:01shooting this
57:02episode
57:03the Unleashed
57:03team had
57:04absolutely
57:04no idea
57:05about Billy's
57:06return
57:07so it only
57:08seems right
57:08to play out
57:09by sharing
57:10some of the
57:11cheeky little
57:11hints she gave
57:12us during our
57:13interview
57:13yeah I would
57:15I would come
57:16back
57:16what's funny
57:17is that I
57:18never feel like
57:18I've left
57:19Doctor Who
57:19because there
57:20is this huge
57:21Doctor Who
57:22afterlife
57:23which is
57:24yeah obviously
57:24people still
57:25really want to
57:25talk about it
57:26there's it's a
57:27massive fandom
57:28so we do
57:28conventions
57:29we meet lots
57:30of the fans
57:30and there's
57:32always features
57:33it never
57:34and it's always
57:35on the TV
57:36on some channel
57:37and a new
57:41generation pick
57:41it up
57:42so it never
57:42feels like
57:43it's over
57:44like it does
57:45with all the
57:46other jobs
57:46I've done
57:47so coming back
57:50is really good
57:50fun but I
57:51also and so
57:53I would do it
57:53but I still
57:55feel like I'm
57:55in it
57:56just a lot
57:57out
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