Filming for ‘unforgettable’ Christmas special begins!
Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill and the rest of the cast and crew have returned to Cardiff today to begin production on this year’s Christmas special!
To mark the occasion, the BBC have released a press release in which they reveal two of its major guest stars – Michael Gambon, who Harry Potter movie fans will know for his portrayal of Albus Dumbledore, and renowned Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins, who will be making her acting debut in the 60-minute special.
“I’m over the moon to be involved in the Doctor Who Christmas Special,” Jenkins said as she arrived on location earlier this morning. “I can’t quite believe it as it’s a part of the family tradition at the Jenkins household. I heard the news that I got the role on my 30th birthday and it was the best birthday present ever!” On her official Twitter, she tweeted: “I can now tell you my news. This Xmas in the year 2010 I will be joining the Time Lord in the Tardis. Filming starts today. Wish me luck!”
Naturally, plot details are being kept a secret, however the press release does suggest it will be the Doctor’s “most Christmassy adventure yet”, as he finds himself caught up in a “fun-filled and heartfelt” festive story alongside newlyweds Amy and Rory. In addition, its headline, Father Who?, has sparked inevitable speculation that this will be the title of the episode, which is written by Steven Moffat. The man himself teases:
“Oh, we’re going for broke with this one. It’s all your favourite Christmas movies at once, in an hour, with monsters and the Doctor and a honeymoon and – oh, you’ll see. I’ve honestly never been so excited about writing anything. I was laughing madly as I typed along to Christmas songs in April. My neighbours loved it so much they all moved away and set up a website demanding my execution. But I’m fairly sure they did it ironically.”
Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, Ben Stephenson, has also commented on this year’s yuletide Time Lord helping, finishing: “Matt Smith and Karen Gillan captivated audiences in their debut series and Doctor Who’s clever twist on the much loved A Christmas Carol will thrill BBC One viewers this year with special guest stars Sir Michael Gambon and singing sensation Katherine Jenkins joining Amy and the Doctor for an unforgettable present!” Just 165 days to go!
Filming for the special will wrap in August. What do you make of today’s developments?
Well! Katherine Jenkins – has she ever acted before? Michael Gambon, what a coup! And a clever twist on A Christmas Carol? Um… how clever? Silly question, since it’s Steven Moffat who’s writing it, but my instinctive feeling is that I hope it’s not a retelling. As for ‘Father Who?’, haven’t we already done forgetting things? Unless we’re going to reference ‘Who says I’m not? Red bike when you were twelve’ which again I wouldn’t be too keen on.
The thing is, this is all conjecture and pessimism, and I’m absolutely sure that I will love it, whatever it is. Mr Moffat hasn’t let me down yet!
I heard that somewhere on a site in this year’s Christmas special the Doctor will ‘turn’ into a girl, intriguing much? But then again, rumours..
@Sam
That was already done for Comic Relief with Joanna Lumley, wasn’t it? Still, who knows…
@Sam
Said website also says that the episode is co-written by RTD, so we know how valid it is ;)
I am still waiting for the news about the Yeti!
“The doctors most chrismassy episode ever”…so more chrismassy than The Christmas Invasion..
Oh I cant be cynical about the dr who xmas special :) its always part of my xmas and i do love it so much so lets hope moffats xmas episode has as much fun and festive fun as RTD’s episodes (apart from the next doctor of course…that was a weak one, sorry russell)
@Sam
read the exact same thing for 2008 special on that same site
@Steve
Moffat has officaly said that the picture of the Yeti was for the doctor who dvd filed magazine, sorry to disapoint lol
But anyway, this episode is going to be good…im 100% sure :)
Here’s hoping this is going to be good as past xmas ones have been sub standard imo, but Moffat has the midas touch so looking forward to this one.
I know it is an xmas special and everything, but i would quite like a xmas special that isnt themed around xmas for once and just be a random special.
@Tom Ford
A non Christmas themed Christmas special?
Could work…
@pirko
I thought The Next Doctor was on one of the best of the christmas ones. Voyage of the Damned on the other hand was very not good things…
@Tom Ford
Yes, I don’t see why it HAS to be Christmas themed? Why not just aim to tell the biggest, most thrilling story possible, regardless of whether or not there are Christmas trees on screen?
just watched the dr who Movie for the first time, man that was awful….
doctor who christmas specials are always terrible, in my opinion “The Runaway Bride” was the best, cuase it actully had at least half a storyline..
hopfully this years is better :)
@The 13th Doctor
The Paul McGann one? I’ve always rather liked it. It looks great, the Tardis is wonderful, McGann is just perfect; it’s fun. It’ doesn’t really make sense, no, but it is fun!
I think all the christmas episodes have been great! Loved The Xmas Invasion and Runaway Bride the best. Wasnt wowed by Voyage of the Damned, thought that was poor but the rest were great! Hopefully this years will be just as good.
@ Carn
I didnt mean I hated The Next Doctor, I very much enjoyed it, but it wasnt as special as the other 3. I personally loved The Runaway Bride, it was the right story following such a sad Series 2 climax
I wasn’t too keen on The Next Doctor, though I’ve never been able to pin down why. The Christams Invasion was brilliant, and would still have been a brilliant experience even if the episode itself had been terrible, just because it was the first Christmas Special! The Runaway Bride, I thoroughly enjoyed. Voyage of the Damned I felt was a little predictable. For example, as soon as it was agreed that Astrid could come with the Doctor, my father and I both went “Well, she’s going to die then.” My sister looked at us and said “That was obvious from five minutes in.” And the End of Time… I’m not sure. I think the Christmas-ness of it was a little forced, and pointless.
All that said, I love sitting with my family on a Christmas evening to watch Doctor Who. It’s as much part of the day now as too much to eat and a present of clothing that’s at least three sizes too big…
@TSG
I think one of the reasons I did’t like The Next Doctor as much was the gigantic “Cyberking” thing controlled by a crazy lady stomping around Victorian London. That, and the fact that Cybermen just aren’t my favorite DW aliens. But there were plenty of funny (and sad) bits, so it wasn’t a total loss.
The Christmas Invasion and The Runaway Bride are tied as my favorites, the first because I immediately fell in love with DT’s Doctor, and the latter because Donna is probably my favorite companion. I thought the way David and Catherine interacted was brilliant.
Can’t wait for this Christmas! This special will be the first one with both the same Doctor and companion from the previous series. Interesting!