Doctor Who's Greatest Moments

Produced by the Doctor Who Confidential team, Doctor Who's Greatest Moments is a celebration of the show and a look at what makes it so enduring. As you'd expect from the title it's choc full of fantastic clips, snappily edited to make you keep saying 'That was a good bit' for about sixty minutes. If it's from the past four years of Doctor Who and you're wondering, Does it include that great moment when..? then, yes. Yes, it does.

A voice-over by Jo Whiley gives the clips context, helped by the stars of Doctor Who offering their insight and opinions. And the Confidential team have made good use of their address book! It's lovely to get the low down from regulars like David Tennant, Freema Agyeman and John Barrowman who are all on good form and as charming as ever. But watch out as well for actors like Ryan Sampson (Luke Rattigan in series four's Sontaran episodes) whose fondness for his character's interplay with the Doctor is infectious. The first episode also has contributions from Georgia Moffett, Tracy Ann Oberman, David Morrissey, Tom Goodman-Hill and Mark Gatiss who, as usual, can be relied upon for some shrewd takes on what makes the show work.

This three-part series focuses on various aspects of Doctor Who and we kick off with the Doctor himself before his companions and enemies nudge him to one side to have their time in the limelight. Each episode is split into themed sections, so in the opener we look at several elements of the Doctor's character, such as his humour, intelligence and physicality.

Doctor Who's Greatest Moments zips along with a sense of fun and celebration - perfect viewing as we wait for The Waters of Mars!

The series starts on BBC3 on Thursday, 20th August at 8:00pm.

Tom - Show Me The Script

 

Doctor Who legend Tom Baker has been discussing the idea of a Children in Need reunion. He would like to see a script and might even consider it. He's also declared that he would want input into the script - a sure fire way of getting to the bottom of whether or not the project and producers are serious.

More interesting than his declaration of intent however are the Great Man's thoughts on kissing girls as the Doctor.

"...If people can appear and disappear and walk through walls and disappear and then carry on fencing or kissing girls, that amazes me.

"Of course they didn't do that in my days, and I don't want to be a reactionary old fart about that but in my days, it never occurred to me to try and kiss a girl."

So it never occurred to him?

Ah well, it's not as if he was married to one of his companions or anything, is it...?

June Whitfield Secrets

 

She's been around for years and while you can't fault the latent professionalism of June Whitfield, it was one of those "let something slip!" moments when she was featured in the California Chronicle today and mentioned her appearance in the final Doctor Who episodes of David Tennant.

Talking about a career that goes back longer than most of us reading this have been on the planet, Whitfield is best known for appearances in the Carry On films, starring in Terry and June on BBC TV and The News Huddlines on the radio - not to mention Absolutely Fabulous - and her casting in the Christmas specials has added a yet another degree of quality to the Tenth Doctor's swansong.

So, what did she have to say about it?

She said: "I can't say too much about it but I'm not an alien or anything like that. It was tremendous fun to do.

"I've always thought that you retire when people stop asking you to work but people haven't stopped asking. You think every job is going to be your last but I'm still going. I'm incredibly lucky I still love what I do."

Oh well.

Scoop on those final 'Who' specials

 

Tube Talk has just got off the phone with David Harewood, who you'll most recently have seen playing Friar Tuck in Robin Hood. You'll soon also be seeing him in another show we're all quite fond of. Harewood has a key role in David Tennant's final adventure this Christmas, playing a mysterious character called Joshua Naismith. What can we expect from DT's swansong? Read on for some teasers!

What sort of character is Joshua? How does he fit into the story?
"He's a rather strange individual. He wants to do something remarkable and he seeks the help of probably the most evil person in the universe. And by seeking his help, he sets in motion a series of events that could possibly bring about the end of the world."

Did you have any scenes with John Simm?
"I did, yes!"

How did the part come about?
"Well, apparently Russell T had been trying to get me on to the series for a long time but I'd just been very busy. Finally, I was available, and he basically said, 'Do you wanna come in and do this job?' I wanted to get involved, so we kind of just made it happen."

They were David Tennant's final episodes. What was the atmosphere like on set?
"I'd say it was very charged - people were in tears. It was the end of a very successful partnership. It was obviously David's last outing, and it was also Russell's last outing and Julie Gardner's last outing. So everyone was saying goodbye to what had been a very successful partnership."

How secretive was the plot kept? Were you privvy to the part of the script with his final scene?
"No - we only got four pages, so most of us didn't get to see. I think we'll all be checking in on Christmas Day!"

Did everyone want to find out while you were there?
"Not really, because we all understand what it is and everyone was playing their part and they're keen to keep it under wraps!"
Check back in with DS on Friday to hear more from David Harewood talking about his new drama Gunrush and the demise of Robin Hood.

What do you think will happen in David Tennant's final episodes? Will Joshua be hooking up with The Master? Add your comments and theories below!

Sarah's new role

 

Above: The actress is set for a visit to the Doctor

After her star turn in TV drama Freefall last month, Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding, 27, is rumoured to have landed a role in the new series of Doctor Who.

The singer turned actress is currently filming St Trinian’s: The Legend Of Fritton’s Gold with Rupert Everett and told my mole on set last week that she has been “asked along for a chat about Doctor Who”.
With the appointment of the hunky Matt Smith, it looks like the new series of the show has had a bit of a makeover and, according to my insider, producers are keen to get the best guest stars possible.
They are obviously looking to the music world for inspiration, as Mike Skinner of The Streets fame is also said to be appearing.