14 Doctor Who Urban Legends That Are Actually True

6. Medieval Mishaps

BBC

Fans are often hearing about writers whose attempts to contribute to Doctor Who were destined to go down like a lead balloon and this is one of the more regrettable examples. Comedian, actor, writer, presenter and activist (you name it and he€™s probably done it) Stephen Fry is one of many notable names whose efforts to lend their creativity to the timey-wimey proceedings were ultimately in vein. In his case it was for an episode that was originally slated to form part of NuWho€™s second series - David Tennant€™s first in role as the Tenth Doctor - back in 2006. The programme€™s then head writer Russell T Davies eventually decided, however, that the adventure Fry had envisioned was far too ambitious for the constraints of the show€™s current budget to handle. By the time Fry got around to making the necessary changes, the role of the Doctor€™s coveted companion was no longer inhabited by Billie Piper and he just didn€™t have the time to redraft the story for the show€™s new co-star Martha Jones. According to speculation, though, the episode in question would€™ve been set in the 1920s while other conflicting reports suggest that it would€™ve been loosely based on a medieval poem about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This is Doctor Who, of course, so it could€™ve easily been both. A tantalising case of what could€™ve been.

Doctor Who Editor
Doctor Who Editor

Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.