Although one of the scariest Daleks we’ve seen on screen in years, it turns out the tinpot terror of Doctor Who New Year special Resolution had an absolute rubbish codename during filming: Kevin.

That’s right, to keep the return of Skaro’s deadly alien species a secret from fans, it turns out that showrunner Chris Chibnall christened the Reconnaissance Dalek with the name Kevin when he was writing the script. Which, let’s face it, doesn’t sound too scary. Especially if you say it in a Dalek voice.

Turns out killer Kev caused quite the confusion for actor Nikesh Patel, who played Mitch in the episode.

“I got a call from my agent saying they’d love you to be in the Doctor Who Special. I asked them to send me through a script and it was a cracking read, but also a confusing read,” he told Doctor Who Magazine.

“It was a really tense horror thriller, but this buried, ancient tentacled evil was only referred to by a codename! As someone who’s not a die-hard Who fan, I thought, ‘That’s a step too far, surely?’”

“In the read-through, Jodie [Whittaker] stuck with the codename”, he said with a laugh. “Although with hindsight she did it with a wry smile.”

And while revealing the codename was indeed Kevin on Twitter, Charlotte Ritchie – who played Lin in Resolution – suggested the moniker took the fright out of the alien.

https://twitter.com/Charitchie/status/1093595790046572544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1093595790046572544&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.radiotimes.com%2Fnews%2Ftv%2F2019-02-08%2Fdoctor-who-dalek-codename%2F

To our minds, however, handing a ridiculous moniker to any terrifying Who monster is a fantastic way to dial down its scary. Petrified by a Weeping Angel? Name it Gary. Having nightmares about a Cyberman? Call it Moe. Hunted down by, say, a tooth-faced Stenza in Sheffield? Wave hello to Tim Shaw. We’ve got the feeling it’s exactly something The Doctor would do.

With thanks to The Radio Times.

For well over a decade, Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat were at the heart of Doctor Who, both showrunning the popular sci-fi series through some of its most successful years – but despite often being compared, the two screenwriters say they never feel like they were in competition.

“I think people half expect us to be rivals and enemies, but we love each other,” Davies told RadioTimes.com when Moffat unexpectedly joined the interview at the Radio Times Covers Party in Claridge’s Hotel, London.

“We do, hooray. It’s all that Doctor Who nonsense.”

“I love this man too,” Moffat said in an exclusive video conversation which you can watch below – but that didn’t stop him teasing his former Doctor Who colleague about the time they worked together, especially now that both men have handed over showrunning duties to Broadchurch’s Chris Chibnall.

When asked if he still found himself coming up with Doctor Who ideas, Davies was a resounding “No,” much to the chagrin of his fellow writer.

“He never did at the time, frankly,” Moffat joked. “I had to do it all!”

“I used to get his factory sweepings – that’s all I had!” agreed Davies.

“I still think of monsters,” Moffat added. “Do you never think, you see something scary and think ‘that could be a Doctor Who monster?’ I do think that, I honestly do.”

“No, it stopped with me like that,” Davies replied. “Bang. Though I do see films and I think ‘That’s Doctor Who-ey’ and stuff.

Frankly, Davies explained, he’d been more than happy just experiencing the series as a fan since his departure in 2010, a perk that successor Moffat had only recently been reintroduced to after handing over the top job to Chris Chibnall at the end of 2017.

“It’s not a new experience, watching from the sidelines,” Moffat said.

“We grew up doing that, and it would be awful if it was not on. That’s the nightmare. The idea that Doctor Who would not be on.”

“It’s not strange, it’s lovely, because it’s Doctor Who,” Davies said. “After all, I used to sit and watch our own! On a Saturday night I’d sit and watch it going out like a viewer.”

And even if they did want to be involved, the pair joked that new boss Chris Chibnall wouldn’t let them.

“We’re sitting outside those gates in Cardiff, crying ‘Let me in!’” Davies laughed.

“Chris…Chris….I’m in your garden. This tent its leaking, let me in,” added Moffat.

“He’s in South Africa tonight. Are we allowed to say that? He’s filming Doctor Who” Davies continued.

“In my day we scheduled the filming around this party. Come on! What’s more important than this? Actually we didn’t go to South Africa for 10 weeks in my day! Bloody ‘ell. Very nice.”

The pair went on to chat about their admiration for Chibnall and leading lady Jodie Whittaker’s new vision of Who, and shared some tips for other TV shows – they’re both enjoying Star Trek: Discovery and Money Heist, if you’re looking for recommendations – before hinting at some tantalising gossip about stars who turned down Doctor Who roles during their tenures.

There is a list. A list of infamy, of people I will NEVER work with,” joked Moffat.

“Oh there are, but you just don’t name them, do you?” Davies added.

“No, I can’t. You can’t name them, because you journalists would turn up at their door tomorrow morning going ‘why didn’t you want to be in Doctor Who?’

“There was one surprising one who I’m not going to name, but I used to think ‘Wow – they don’t want to be in Doctor Who!’ I’ll tell Steven later. He probably tried as well.”

And after their all-too-brief reunion, the pair went their separate ways for the night – and clearly, they still had Doctor Who on their minds.

“I’m off to see Chris, he lets me in now,” Moffat deadpanned as he said goodbye.

“In South Africa?” asked Davies.

Well, he says to YOU he’s in South Africa…” Moffat replied.

Now we just have to get all three of them together next time…

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 in 2020

Some members of the Doctor Who Series 12 Writers Room have been discovered.

So far, including showrunner Chris Chibnall, they are two Doctor Who Series 11 writers set to return, Ed Hime and likely Vinay Patel.

Ed Hime’s online CV lists “DOCTOR WHO (SERIES 12).”

Vinay Patel’s connection to Doctor Who Series 12 is slightly more tenuous and based on this tweet:

This happened in the Roath Lock canteen the other day. Horrifying

— Vinay Patel (@VinayPatel) January 31, 2019

Patel’s recent presence at Roath Lock Studios, where they film Casualty and Pobol y Cwm(a Welsh language show) as well as Doctor Who is a very good indication that he is once again involved in the writers room for Doctor Who. Patel has never previously written scripts for Casualty and wouldn’t write for a Welsh language show.

Two new writers, Victoria Asare-Archer and Prasanna Puwanarajah were also discovered.

New writers in the frame for #DoctorWho series 12: Victoria Asare-Archer https://t.co/kSRQzQ4SPz and @PrasannaBanana https://t.co/gGEj82n4am

— Ruther (@Ruther2) January 20, 2019

The Doctor Who Magazine 2019 Yearbook gave some insight from some of the Series 11 writers on how the Writers Room for Doctor Who works.

Ed Hime gave the best description of how the process works:

“Chris [Chibnall] explained why he’d brought us in to help him. People would pitch ideas and he would maybe pick a tiny piece of an idea and encourage us to focus on that. We’d rework that and try to take it to a new place together. But once that idea reached a certain point it would be given to a writer, and then it would be their responsibility to bring it in as script. Along the way the original idea might change a lot.”

“He was very clear about his vision and where he wanted to take the show. Chris told us he wanted Doctor Who to be accessible and inclusive for everyone. He said we should especially remember the eight-year-olds who would be watching, and that we had to bring the next generation of viewers to the show. A big reference point for that was ET-era Spielberg; those stories of wonder and innocence that had scares and real danger. That was the touchstone that really resonated with me.”

Vinay Patel:

“…it was clear to me from the start that Chris [Chibnall] was interested in direct, character-led storytelling and that helped me to adjust my approach. I was also particularly taken by what felt like Chris’ desire to inject hope into this incarnation of Who.”

Joy Wilkinson:

“[Chris Chibnall is] just brilliant and genuinely collegiate. He really wants to empower you as a writer. He wants you to be as involved as you can be. I’ve worked in telly a fair bit but before this I’d never been in the grade for something I’d written, or in the sound mix. The degree to which Chris invites you to be part of the process is unique, in my experience. There was never the sense that your job was done once you delivered the script.”

There is no word yet on whether Malorie Blackman, Joy Wilkinson or Pete McTighe returned to the Doctor Who writers room for Series 12.

Doctor Who Series 12 airs very early in 2020.

Clive Swift has died aged 82. He played Hyacinth Bucket’s long-suffering husband Richard in Keeping Up Appearances, Mr Copper in Doctor Who’s Voyage of the Damned, Mr Jobel in Revelation of the Daleks and so much more. He passed away this morning after a short illness, his agency has confirmed.

Born in Liverpool in 1936, he had three children with his ex-wife, the novelist Margaret Drabble.

Swift’s many roles included a part in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1972 film Frenzy and as King Arthur’s adopted father in 1981 film Excalibur.
Many years later, he would play Hitchcock in a BBC radio play called Strangers on a Film.

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