When the series returned in 2005, it sent Christopher Eccleston's leather-clad, laddish Time Lord straight to Auntie Beeb's spiritual home for an Auton-based adventure taking in council estates, fine restaurants and the Millennium Eye. The Ninth Doctor met his new companion in the dingy basement of a department store before going to a girly flat to meet the formidably flirty Jackie Tyler. Yes, much of the action got filmed in Cardiff, but writer Russell T Davies ensured the crew went out onto London Bridge for some thrilling shots of Eccleston and Billie Piper charging about the place in a bid to stop the resurrected Nestene Consciousness. The small matter of mannequin mayhem outside a (fake) Tube station sent another clear message that the Whoniverse was back, and striking at the heart of the nation! Seventh Doctor script editor Andrew Cartmel claimed credit for introducing recognizably urban elements into Who in the late Eighties, but this was the refined version. The TARDIS had landed slap bang in the twenty-first century, and London became the venue for the EastEnders-inspired antics.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
