Sometimes it's the general audience and not the dedicated fans who get hot under the collar about a line in the show. Take Matt Smith's first scene as the Eleventh Doctor in The End Of Time Part 2 which managed to upset several parents of ginger haired children. Even without a knowledge of the Tenth Doctor's wish to be ginger in The Christmas Invasion, Matt Smith's delivery makes it pretty obvious that the line "still not ginger" is uttered in regret rather than relief. Nonetheless the BBC received 143 complaints that it was offensive towards redheads. The BBC overplayed its response by rather amusingly pointing out that on the contrary the Doctor has a bit of a thing for the lady with ginger hair (Donna Noble, Amy Pond - though they could have also mentioned Mel as played by Bonnie Langford). Fans speculated that it was a hint that the twelfth Doctor will be ginger. Among those heavily rumoured to be in the running for the iconic role included Ben Daniels, Rupert Grint and Daniel Rigby.
Paul Driscoll is a freelance writer and author across a range of subjects from Cult TV to religion and social policy. He is a passionate Doctor Who fan and January 2017 will see the publication of his first extended study of the series (based on Toby Whithouse's series six episode, The God Complex) in the critically acclaimed Black Archive range by Obverse Books. He is a regular writer for the fan site Doctor Who Worldwide and has contributed several essays to Watching Books' You and Who range. Recently he has branched out into fiction writing, with two short stories in the charity Doctor Who anthology Seasons of War (Chinbeard Books). Paul's work will also feature in the forthcoming Iris Wildthyme collection (A Clockwork Iris, Obverse Books) and Chinbeard Books' collection of drabbles, A Time Lord for Change.
