Radio Times - The Next Doctor

We have been sent information and the cover of tomorrow's issue of the Radio Times. The issue is a Doctor Who special, with a fantastic cover. The main cover shows the Doctor and 'The Other Doctor' (David Morrissey) in a promotional picture, in a graveyard. You pull out an inside bit to 'find out who they are up against'. They are up against th Cybermen, of course! But also, Miss Hartigan. Is she the new leader of the Cybermen? Also on this part of the cover there is the slight redesign of the Cyber Leader, showing its brain and a black part of the face. The 'CyberKing' has yet to be revealed, but that should be worth waiting for! Of course, having a Doctor Who Radio Times tomorrow does not mean that is will be earlier than expected. It is just a preview, leding up to Christmas, like they do every year. There will be another issue, with something different the next week, then a bumper 2-week Christmas issue. Below, you can see the full cover, including the fold-out;

A preview for the issue has also been released, and you can view that below;

So this is Christmas. We’re at Cyber HQ in London 1851 - in reality a set at Cardiff’s Upper Boat studios in April 2008. This is Torchwood’s Hub cunningly redressed for this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special as a sort of huge Cyber-Victorian engine - all cogs, chains, furnaces, pipes and steam. Think steampunk. Or a huge version of the board game Mouse Trap.

Street urchins are shovelling coal into buckets, pouring oil into funnels and trudging up and down rickety wooden stairs. “No smiling, please,” says director Andy Goddard. “You’re not supposed to be enjoying this. It’s hard and tiring. It’s the worst Christmas you’ve ever had.”

At the time of giving the Christmas special its title, The Next Doctor, Davies knew the news of Tennant’s departure would have become public [Tennant announced in October that he’s leaving after filming four more specials next year]. “Hopefully, that creates a bit more intrigue,” says Davies, “and hints at interesting developments in the show’s future. Let’s just say that regeneration is a complicated process, and never as simple as it seems.”

“The Doctors become great friends,” he says. “In this episode the Doctor [Tennant] doesn’t have a companion, which is rare, and my Doctor fills that gap. But all those questions my Doctor wants to ask about himself and his past have to be put aside to save London from destruction.”

Tennant and Morrissey have also worked together before - in the 2004 BBC1 drama Blackpool. “What David’s done with the Doctor is so special,” says Morrissey. “He has moved it on - not just the character, but also how he’s taken on the role publicly. We were filming in Gloucester with 400 people watching. When I got out of the car with David it was like being with a member of Take That! They were shouting, ‘We love you!’ and he was so warm-hearted towards them.”

Morrissey explains his approach to nailing his Doctor: “There has to be an inner truth for me, something at stake, and you have to play that for real.” So did any former Doctors influence his performance? “When I look at Tom Baker and William Hartnell, there’s a truth to their performances; Patrick Troughton as well. They never saw it as a genre show or a children’s show.

Would Morrissey consider a return to Doctor Who? “Oh yeah. Definitely. I love it. I’ve had a great time.” As speculation gathers pace about who’ll take over from Tennant, Morrissey is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the bookies’ favourite. “If they asked me back,” he says, with a twinkle in his eye, “I’d jump at it. I think it’s a great character, and I’ve loved every minute.”

The issue covers the week starting the 6th to the 12th of December. It costs £1.05, and should be avaliable at all good magazine retailers.
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