Doctor Who: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About The End Of Time

13. Cribbins' Own Life Inspired A Monologue

Doctor Who The End of Time
BBC Studios

How dare Bernard Cribbins lure us all into a false sense of security with decades of novelty songs and bedtime stories, only to drop one of the finest dramatic performances in British TV at the age of 80.

Wilfred Mott's heart-wrenching conversation with the Doctor aboard the Vinvocci ship is preceded by him reminiscing about his time in the army.

He talks about the time he served in Palestine in 1948, dodging a blizzard of bullets during a skirmish. Perhaps the reason Cribbins was able to deliver this monologue so well was because he wasn't acting – he was remembering.

The "blizzard of bullets" he describes was an actual blizzard he endured while serving in real life, one of many extraordinary moments from his extraordinary history.

 
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Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.