Doctor Who Season 8: 10 Ways They Could Screw It Up

3. Stunt Casting

Frank Skinner Doctor Who It€™s absolutely a necessity that Doctor Who attracts big name talent, especially when it€™s competing with small name talent on ITV. There are some occasions, however, when this can veer into disaster. Comedians just don€™t seem to get sci-fi- see Peter Kay in Love & Monsters, if you can stomach it- which is why the casting of Frank Skinner smacks ever so slightly of stunt casting. Now, Skinner is a fully paid up Doctor Who fan, but he€™s not known for dramatic work of any kind, so his inclusion in Series 8 can, at the moment, be considered nothing but a play for tabloid attention. Dodgier still is news that Foxes will be acting/singing in one episode. Yes, that Foxes. That Foxes that no-one has heard of. Apparently she€™s a lady pop star, but isn€™t everyone these days? Now, lest we forget, the history of singers in Who is even less distinguished than that of comedians. There€™s Leee John enunciating woodenly in Enlightenment. Much later, we got Kylie in Voyage of the Damned and Katherine Jenkins in A Christmas Carol, both of whom were€well, they were what they were. Pretty, but not overly gifted in the thesping department. The flipside is Billie Piper, a much better actress than she was a singer. But Foxes isn€™t playing the new Rose Tyler. She€™s in one episode and she€™s singing a song in it. If she had any fans, would even they want that?
Contributor
Contributor

I am Scotland's 278,000th best export and a self-proclaimed expert on all things Bond-related. When I'm not expounding on the delights of A View to a Kill, I might be found under a pile of Dr Who DVDs, or reading all the answers in Star Wars Trivial Pursuit. I also prefer to play Playstation games from the years 1997-1999. These are the things I like.