Tenth Doctor Month: David Tennant & Others On The Early Days Of The Tenth Doctor



David Tennant on The Early Days Of The Tenth Doctor:

On his first scene as the Doctor David says:
"It was odd, although at least I had a couple of lines. Some Doctors have been introduced just lying on the floor... At least I had a tiny bit of a scene to do, although without Billie - Rose was a strip of gaffer tape stuck on one of the TARDIS columns so I had an eyeline."

On taking over the role as the Doctor:
"It seemed so surreal, and absurd that this show which I loved so much was even back at all, and it was back so robustly. So to be asked not to have a little part in it, which is what I had been angling for, but to take over from Christopher Eccleston...It seemed absurd. And very funny."

On his iconic coat:
"I only had one question. 'Can I have a long coat?' There were a hundred sensible, practical questions I could have asked, but all I wanted was a long coat."

On choosing the Tenth Doctor's costume:
"The glasses were one of those things that just kind of arose. As we put together the look, it was becoming this sort of geek-chic thing. It seemed to make sense to add a pair of specs to that. I quite like the idea of there being a speccy hero."

On reading the script for The Christmas Invasion:
"When I first read the script, it was interesting because of course I'm not in it for a long time. There's a lot of expectation, waiting for the Doctor to wake up and hopefully save the day. So it was a curious one, reading it for the first time and thinking, 'Do I come into this?' And then of course, when I do arrive, I don't stop talking for five pages. Lying in bed, pretending to be ill and sweating gently for exorbitant sums of cash is every bit as easy as it looks, yep."

On his entrance as the Tenth Doctor:
"I wake up. I talk for five pages; I press the button nobody is allowed to press; I break the monster's staff; I haul away his whip. And then just to top it all off, I have a swordfight with him on the wing of a spaceship. My hand is cut off; I grow it back, and then bring down the Prime Minister of Great Britain - all within ten minutes. You can't really ask for a better entrance than that!"

Others On The Early Days Of The Tenth Doctor:

"By the time the Doctor and the Sycorax leader were having a sword fight, David was the Doctor." - James Hawes, Director

"There was no competition and no discussion about who else it might be. We all agreed one hundred per cent that it should be David, right from the word go. No one else was ever seen or thought about." - Andy Pryor, Casting Director

"In David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, you've got a Doctor who is nimbler, who can turn on a sixpence, who is overtly compassionate and empathetic and burdened with the responsibility of looking after all humanity." - Jane Tranter , Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning.

"With David, no one ever has a bad day or a cross word. He's forever happy and brings such energy to work. He is the engine of the show, welcoming the guest stars in, welcoming the directors in." - Russell T Davies, Writer and Executive Producer

"I'd looked at some of the old Doctors and talked about what we might achieve with the new Doctor and that he should be sexy and maybe a bit eccentric. The boys should want to be him and the girls should want to fancy him. David came to the costumiers, and I literally had to rows of clothes from different periods, suits and shapes to try on him, and pretty much from that fitting, we came up with the basic silhouette of the coat. I ordered the fabric for the coat that day, and also the ideas for the suit came from that too. We'd send stuff to Russell, and he said, 'No I think it's too wide, I think it should be narrower.' I said, 'But he'll end up looking like a pencil!' and Russell said, 'Actually, you saying that appeals to me, I quite like the idea of a pencil.' - Louise Page, Costume Designer












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