Armando Iannucci, who cut his creative teeth on such wondrous radio fare as the news lampoon On the Hour, revealed recently that the inspiration for creating his era-defining political satire The Thick of It, was the Iraq war. He was infuriated by what he saw as Prime Minister Tony Blair’s willingness to “twist the narrative” in order to justify his support for what many regarded as a woefully ill-thought-through conflict.
Jessica Raine (Patrick Melrose) and Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who) will the lead the mind-bending six-part series. They will be joined by Nikesh Patel (Starstruck), Meera Syal (Yesterday), Alex Ferns (Chernobyl), Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso), Barbara Marten (Sanctuary), Thomas Dominique (Blood Drive), Rhiannon Harper-Rafferty (The Donmar Warehouse's All-Female Shakespeare Trilogy), John Alastair (Swimming with Men), Sandra Huggett (Coronation Street) and newcomer Benjamin Chivers.
The Doctor Who Bot offers a unique interactive digital experience called The Saviour of Time, in which players are given the chance to become the Doctor's companion on an exciting adventure through time.
The interactive experience immerses the new companion in a special six-part Doctor Who adventure that is centred around the hunt for a mysterious artefact known as the Key To Time, which has been scattered into fragments throughout time and space.
The RTS digital team headed to London's South Bank, where the tardis had landed to ask Doctor Who fans about their best moments from the sci-fi series, who their favourite Doctor has been and who they would like to see in the role.
John Simm will be returning as The Doctor’s nemesis The Master in the upcoming series of Doctor Who.
The Master was last seen on New Year’s Day 2010 when The Doctor foiled his plans for world domination before sending him back to the Timelords’ home planet of Gallifrey.
John Simm (Mad Dogs, Life on Mars) said, “thanks to the power of time travel I’m back. It’s always a pleasure to work with this great team of people and I can’t wait for you all to see what The Master gets up to in the next series.”
The upcoming series will be Capaldi’s last as the irascible Twelfth Doctor. He said “From our brilliant crew and creative team working for the best broadcaster on the planet, to the viewers and fans whose endless creativity, generosity and inclusiveness points to a brighter future ahead. I can’t thank everyone enough. It's been cosmic."
The upcoming series will also be the last for showrunner Steven Moffatt who is giving up the mantle to Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall.
The show launches with a double episode, released simultaneously on the channel.
Class is set in Coal Hill School, a regular time-travelling hotspot since the Doctor first arrived there in 1963.
Years of time travel have caused the barrier between space and time to wear dangerously thin, and something frightening has been waiting on the other side…
The series is darker than previous Doctor Who spin off The Sarah Jane Smith Adventures, and is suggested to be more in line with adult sci-fi hit Torchwood.
At its most basic casting involves finding actors to play roles in TV and film, however there is far more to it as it is one of the few television roles that seems to bridge the creative and the technical sides of television.
“It’s very much a taste-based role” Andy says. “What people don't see is the enormous amount of work that you put into casting a show – in terms of researching and trying to pull the whole thing together, getting the right people seen, managing expectations and then negotiating the artists contracts.”
The RTS sat down with Doctor Who casting director Andy Pryor who has worked on the show since it was resurrected in 2005. He gave us the low-down on the new face in the TARDIS.
Since the departure of Clara Oswald, played by Jenna Coleman, at the end of the last series, the Doctor has been flying alone. Coleman has gone on to play Queen Victoria in the forthcoming ITV drama Victoria, hitting screens later this year.
By many people's reckoning, Armando Iannucci is one of our greatest and funniest TV satirists. The political classes and the grammar and conceits of television have proved fertile ground for Iannucci's wit and his team of gifted collaborators, notably Steve Coogan, Rebecca Front and Chris Morris.
