10 Doctor Who Scenes You Didn't Realise Were Tricking You

The golden rule of the Weeping Angels is that they can’t move when you’re looking at them. That means the actors playing them have to stay really still, right?

Well, yes. But there are also a couple of tricks the show has used over the years to make them look even more convincing.

For starters, not every Weeping Angel is played by an actor. Some are actual props that will stand unwaveringly still without much issue. Static props have also been used to bolster the ranks in more Angel-heavy episodes, going back as far their debut story, Blink.

The rest of the Angels are played by actors – usually from a dance background, which means they’re used to keeping their balance and holding awkward positions. But with the best will in the world, even they can only stay so still.

That’s why another trick is utilised in post-production: namely, digitally freezing the Angels so that they don't wobble, even slightly.

It might not seem like much, but Steven Moffat, the mastermind behind the Angels, believes this hack is crucial to making them a credible threat.

“You see one version and the statues are all bit wobbly,” he told the Blink DVD commentary. “And then you see them absolutely frozen. And at that point it becomes frightening.”