 |
On Prime: The Cast and CrewThe Cast Doctor Who: Christopher Eccleston [Added note: This is actually the cast list for Rose] 
Guest Starring Charles Dickens: Simon Callow Writers Russell T Davies (Queer as Folk, The Second Coming) Producer Executive Producers Christopher Eccleston
Considered one of the foremost actors of his generation, Christopher Eccleston was born in Salford, Lancashire in 1964 and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His television credits include Hearts and Minds, Sunday (playing General Ford), Cracker (DCI David Billborough), Our Friends in the North, Hillsborough and The Second Coming. His movie credits include Shallow Grave, Jude, Elizabeth (The Duke of Norfolk) and The Others (playing Nicole Kidman's husband Charles Stewart). Christopher Eccleston emailed co-producer and lead writer Russell T Davies to let him know he was interested in playing the Time Lord's ninth incarnation. He acknowledges that saying "yes" to reviving the Doctor was a bold move given his work in benchmark TV dramas such as Our Friends in the North and Hillsborough. "What dawned on me about Doctor Who is that I'm trying to entertain a different audience. It's exciting and funny and scary and it's aimed at families, so I'm kind of acting for children and I feel very lucky to be able to do that. For all the danger the Doctor encounters, the basic message of the show is seize life, be optimistic and see the positives. The series is written with passion and humour and there's innocence about it. It's a kind of celebration of life in all its forms. In everything the Doctor does he is saying 'it's great to be alive'. I can hear people sneering at that, but that's what he believes and it's a nice thing to say to kids, or anybody for that matter." Billie Piper
Actress/singer Billie Piper was born in Swindon in the UK in September, 1982 and won a scholarship with the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London. While still a student she was asked to record a demo-tape for a new record label keen to find a new young female solo artist and, as she recalls, "it just snowballed from there". She took the music world by storm when she released her first single "Because We Want To" which shot straight to Number One. Billie went on to release her second single "Girlfriend" which also made Number One making her the pop-sensation of '98. An acting role in the BBC's contemporary version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in 2003, opposite TV heavyweights James Nesbitt and Dennis Waterman, made people sit up and take note of Billie's talent. Billie sees her role of Rose as more of an equal to the Doctor than his previous companions. "The new series keeps the essence of the old Doctor Who, but one of the ways it has updated it is in the relationship between the Doctor and Rose. I think they're on a par with one another, more like partners, and the audience sees everything through Rose's eyes," explains Billie. "She's human, the Doctor's an alien, and she's experiencing all these alien situations throughout the series. He is constantly challenging her, trying to broaden her horizons, and she is trying to show him how to be more in touch with human emotions." Russell T Davies (Lead Writer and Executive Producer)
Persistence paid off for Russell T Davies when, after refusing to work on anything for the BBC unless it was the return of Doctor Who, his wish finally came true. A new 13-part series of the legendary Doctor's adventures travelling through time and space was given the go ahead in late 2003, with Russell on board as lead writer and co-executive producer along with the then newly-appointed Head of Drama for BBC Wales, Julie Gardner. One of British TV's foremost writing talents; Russell is also a life-long Doctor Who fan. His writing credits include award-winners such as "Queer as Folk", "Bob and Rose" and "The Second Coming" - the latter starring the man who would become the new Doctor, Christopher Eccleston. But long before Christopher was cast, along with actress Billie Piper as the Doctor's latest travelling companion, Rose, Russell knew where the new series was going. "The key word is fun," he says. "It's funny, scary, fast-moving, adventurous but above all the new Doctor Who is fun. I watch a lot of other science-fiction shows and they tend to be very pious, sombre, dark, even angst-ridden, and that would just die a death on a Saturday evening. People want to be entertained at that time, so Doctor Who is fun, fast-paced and takes viewers on a roller coaster ride." Julie Gardner (Executive Producer)Julie points to the dizzying possibilities for storytelling that Doctor Who creates as a key attraction. "There's no story that can't be told," she declares. "It can go anywhere in time and space, and the main characters are an alien and a human, with all the confusion that brings. I can absolutely see why that draws people in. But without the quality of the scripts by Russell and our other writers - Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Robert Shearman and Paul Cornell - we couldn't hope to attract the likes of Simon Callow, Richard Wilson and Penelope Wilton as guest artists." Return to the Doctor Who 2005 Promotion page
|