Russell T. Davies has been giving new interviews on his and David Tennant’s departure from Doctor Who, discussing the End of Time and much more.
Speaking with The Mirror, RTD says he’s become used to the idea of leaving the show:
“From New Year’s Day I should feel happy, but could feel terrible. I shed a tear when I finished writing it - it is emotional. Saying goodbye, for me and David, has been a long process. If it had happened overnight I’d bereft and grieving but we’ve had a long time to get used to the idea.”
And the showrunner has high praise for David Tennant:
“I could watch it forever. We finished it a month ago and there are sequences I could watch a million times. The music, the acting, everything. It’s emotional. The last episode is gutting. Absolutely gutting. It’s just lovely, everything you want for David at the end - he’s at his funniest, and bravest and loveliest - and he does the heartbreak so well. It’s all subtle. I think that David going is like somebody dying. You are never going to see that person again, he can never come back. At one point in the show he actually says, ‘It’s like death’. It says everything I want to say, I’ve loved the show for so long. I can remember watching Doctor Who when I was three. Vividly. I think the six-year-old me would be happy with what I’ve done.”
RTD also highlights meeting Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace but jokes his limelight was stolen!
“It was with Prince Charles and he has a man by his side who leans in and whispers who you are as you walk towards him. He was lovely, but all we talked about was David Tennant because he’d been to see him in Hamlet. I was standing there thinking, ‘What about me? This is my moment’. Actually all I could think was that my two sisters were sitting there wearing the funniest hats. It’s bizarre. Too strange. But they loved it, they had a brilliant day.”
Despite his departure meanwhile, Russell says Doctor Who is in safe hands with Steven Moffat:
“It’s not like I’ve handed it over to a bunch of strangers. With Dr Who, you’re like the landlord for a while, looking after it, like being the curator of a museum. What’s great about Steven is that he already has his own mark - he does the scariest monsters. I think that under him it’ll be a much scarier show. There’ll be kudos in school over who managed to watch the whole thing. I think he could do an X Factor and make Doctor Who even bigger. If we could just turn a corner there’s another six or seven million viewers who are there to be grabbed.”
The outgoing showrunner is certain that no matter what happens, Doctor Who‘s place is assured:
“We were make or break. If we’d failed you’d never have seen it again, apart from cartoon versions. Now I think it’s pretty unbreakable. Say in five years the production team stumbles, all they would do is rest it a while, then bring it back. It’s longevity is in-built now - as long as the BBC is still around.”
Speaking to The Guardian meanwhile, RTD says he owes a debut to The X-Factor:
“It was the biggest Saturday night show then. We used to gather around at a friend’s house to watch the final and vote, and I wanted to do that with drama. If we could have the voice at the beginning of The X Factor introducing each episode I would do it.”
Let’s just leave it there shall we Russell? :)
Doctor Who returns tomorrow night with The End of Time Part One, concluding on New Year’s Day with the concluding Part Two.
