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TARDIS pages
360° VIEWS
 * TARDIS Explorer In sounds and pictures (1.7 MB, Flash). by 30 March 2005
 * 360 View: The full room It's all around you (300k). by 27 March 2005 (360 VIEW: FULL ROOM)
 * 360 View: TARDIS Builders Men at work (200k). by 27 March 2005 (360 VIEW: BUILDERS)
 * 360 View: Console view 1 A different view (300k). by 27 March 2005 (360 VIEW: CONSOLE)
 * 360 View: Console view 2 Close up and powerful (175k). by 27 March 2005 (360 VIEW: CONSOLE VIEW 2)

TARDIS TOURS; originally called TARDIS 360° VIEWS

Explore the control room of the Doctor's time travel machine. Spin all the way around the control room of the Doctor's time travel machine.

Confidential Desktop
2005 index page between 13-15 Apr 2006 [Re-design between 20 July 2006-25 January 2007]; 2006 index page between 26 Mar-13 Apr 2007

Doctor Who Confidential

The Christmas Invasion 1. New, New Doctor 2. Fear Factor 3. Friends Reunited 4. From Script to Screen 5. Cybermen 6. From Zero to Hero 7. The Writer's Tale 8. You've Got The Look 9. Religion and Myth 10. New World of Who 11. The Fright Stuff 12. Welcome to Torchwood 13. Finale
 * THE SYCORAX
 * DIRECTOR JAMES HAWES
 * WRITER RUSSELL T DAVIES
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Zoe Rushton
 * DIRECTOR JAMES HAWES
 * MUSIC LIST
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Zoe Rushton
 * WOLF FX WILL COHEN
 * DIRECTOR EUROS LYN
 * MUSIC LIST
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Geoff Evans
 * WRITER TOBY WHITHOUSE
 * DIRECTOR JAMES HAWES
 * MUSIC LIST
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Zoe Rushton
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Geoff Evans
 * WRITER STEVEN MOFFAT
 * VISUAL FX WILL COHEN
 * MUSIC LIST
 * Video: Cyberman Paul Kasey
 * DIRECTOR GRAEME HARPER
 * MUSIC LIST
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Zoe Rushton
 * Video: Cyber Choreographer
 * Video: Art Dept. Jonathan Allison
 * Video: Andrew Hayden-Smith
 * MUSIC LIST
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Adam Page
 * Video: Location Manager
 * Video: Assistant Art Director
 * Video: Props
 * MUSIC LIST
 * Video: Runners Tim & Sarah
 * Video: Video Editor Mike Jones
 * MUSIC LIST
 * DIRECTOR JAMES STRONG
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Cat Chappell
 * Video: Storyboard Richard Williams
 * Video: 2nd AD Steffan Morris
 * Video: Lighting Mark Hutchings
 * DIRECTOR JAMES STRONG
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY
 * MUSIC LIST
 * Video: Peter Kay
 * Video: Concept Art Peter McKinstry
 * MUSIC LIST
 * DIRECTOR DAN ZEFF
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Kate Monaghan
 * Video: Rory Taylor Director of Photography
 * MUSIC LIST
 * CASTING ANDY BRIERLEY
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Geoff Evans
 * Video: Charlie Bluett SFX Technician
 * Video: Stuart Woodisse Prop Storeman
 * ERNIE VINCZE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
 * MUSIC LIST
 * Video: Edward Thomas Production Designer
 * MUSIC LIST
 * CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Adam Page

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 * It took 22 days to film, with 28 camera and sound tapes.
 * The Christmas Invasion was filmed in the middle of July.
 * 500 supporting artists were employed.
 * Clearwell Caves played the inside of the spaceship. The outside was played by a slag heap in Barry Island.
 * Harriet Jones's Christmas Speech was the first thing shot.
 * Cardiff's Millennium Centre opera house stood in for the hospital lobby.
 * David Tennant's first scene with his costume was at Cassandra's party.
 * Scenes on the ladder had to be shot carefully. It wasn't long enough for three people.
 * What's the Doctor's jacket really made out of? Actually, it's upholstery material.
 * When a supporting artist failed to turn up, a Doctor Who runner found themselves made-up in a hospital bed.
 * David Tennant's hair changes length through filming, as some scenes were shot months apart.
 * It took nearly three hours to make-up a cat nurse. These veiled sisters were simply wearing cat masks from a fancy dress shop.
 * It was so hot inside the Duke of Manhattan's costume that his fat suit had its own cooling system.
 * The first time the pod scenes were shot, the pod doors fell off.
 * The guard's horse wouldn't behave in the courtyard. So a guard had to sit on a pair of ladders.
 * The telescope wheel was actually very easy to spin. Making it look hard work was real acting!
 * David Tennant was at drama school with The Host.
 * The observatory and some corridors were sets. Other interiors were at Tredegar House, which was also used for episode 4.
 * Some of the monks came from a Tredegar kickboxing club. The BBC also received an approach from a local cheerleading squad asking if there would be parts for them.
 * The MacLeish's suit of armour was a re-used prop from the TARDIS wardrobe.
 * A blue vortex means the TARDIS is travelling back in time. A red vortex means the TARDIS is going forwards.
 * Underneath the frock, Queen Victoria was wearing trainers for the running scenes.
 * Hair is the hardest thing to get right in CGI. The Mill went to a hair specialist for the wolf.
 * For the scene where Billie and Elisabeth laugh at the Doctor, James Hawes painted a surprise moustache on David's face.
 * At the read-through, producer Phil Collinson got to read the part of K9. He was over the moon.
 * All posters seen in this episode were created by the BBC Wales Graphics Department. The most obvious one says "EAT MORE CHIPS"
 * The cafe scenes were filmed at night in a really rowdy street in Newport.
 * The vacuum-packed rats were played by real vacuum-packed rats.
 * The original voice of K9, John Leeson, returned to the part. In the 1970s, he'd provide the voice live on set. This time, he was recorded months after filming.
 * Each CGI Krillitane has its own look and character.
 * When producer Phil Collinson went on holiday, exec Julie Gardner went back to the floor for a week.
 * Sarah Jane and Rose's catfight was inspired by "Sex and the City".
 * There's a little button inside each helmet for the operator to switch on the light when a Cyberman speaks.
 * Although a large number of Cyberman costumes were built, careful filming makes it seem like there are even more.
 * Elastic bands were put on the Cybermen's arms to link them together so that they would all stay together in an even line.
 * Nicholas Briggs came up with 11 different voices for the Cybermen. Option 7 was chosen.
 * The Tyler house location was only found two weeks before filming.
 * When Rose is seen on the Thames Embankment, she's actually on Newport Docks.
 * Plans to film inside a power station were scuppered when it was realised that, due to the cold Winter weather, there wasn't a period when the power station wasn't on call.
 * Noel Clarke battled with food poisoning while filming his last episode.
 * Helen Griffin was cast as Mrs Moore after impressing everyone when standing in for other parts at script readthroughs.
 * The stunt Cyberman killed by Mrs Moore was fitted with a soft "jelly" Cybersuit to avoid injuring the stuntman.
 * Originally, Mrs Moore was supposed to die earlier, but her life was extended with every draft.
 * Andrew Hayden-Smith worked with director Graeme Harper before. Graeme directed his funeral in Byker Grove.
 * No one knows what a Black Hole really looks like.
 * Only one Ood had blinking eyes and a moving head. There were 12 Ood suits in all.
 * The Ood actors were almost blind in their costumes and had to be helped around.
 * When actors were wearing space helmets, the director used radio to communicate with them.
 * It took three hours to add the tattoos to Will Thorp's face.
 * The TARDISODE for this story was recorded in the BBC Wales Canteen.
 * Effects house the Mill had a competition to design the Devil. It was won by Grant Bonser from their library.
 * For his scenes with the Beast, David returned to Clearwell Caves, last seen as the Sycorax ship.
 * Enquiries were made about hiring space suits from NASA. They were too expensive.
 * The Ood were originally going to be a new family from Raxacoricofallapotorius, home of the Slitheen.
 * The cable leading down to the Pit is supposed to be 10 miles long. It was actually 10 metres.
 * The manager of the quarry's number plate ends "OOD".
 * The door the the Sphere Chamber is the same door from the cell in Dalek.
 * Canary Wharf (Torchwood Tower) really is over 770ft high. The Sphere would be on floor 40. More or less.
 * The Doctor's Ghost Cones were based around TARDIS wall roundels.
 * One of the Cybermen is played by concept artist Peter McKinstry. Look out for him in street scenes in this episode and the next.
 * The aerial footage of London is from The Apprentice,
 * Blades were hidden in the Cybermens' gloves so they could slash through the plastic sheeting.
 * Just as they were wrapping Rose's farewell, four windsurfers strolled into shot, and had to be asked to leave. One later emailed the BBC with a poem about Billie.
 * The first cut of this episode was six minutes too long.
 * Tracy Ann Oberman fell pregnant during filming. She's proud of her "Doctor Who Baby".
 * Due to the number of cast, sets and special effects, this is one of the most expensive episodes so far made.
 * The scenes on the beach were so emotional that that, despite the extreme cold, there were loads of tears on set.
 * The Black Dalek was supposed to be kept tightly under wraps. So everyone was very surprised when it made an appearance at the BAFTA ceremony by mistake.
 * The last scenes were kept a close secret. They were missing from scripts, and only a few people from the programe team had seen them before they went out.
 * There was some discussion about whether Rose would be saved by Mickey or Pete.
 * This is the first time the Daleks and the Cybermen have met in Doctor Who's history.

Confidential details
THE SYCORAX by Russell T Davies The original Sycorax dwelt far-off, in an asteroid in the JX82 system, known to local space-travellers as the Fire Trap. The intellect of the species was rapidly advanced when a spaceship crashed near the Sycorax Homelands of the Helvinor tribe, on the Gratsutchi Archipelago. The Sycorax Leader of that era enslaved the survivors, and made them teach the United Tribes about their technology. The asteroid itself was adapted so that a natural volcano became its engine, and the Sycorax created other such travelling asteroids, from which they could begin raiding other worlds. From that point on, the Sycorax travelled far and wide, though a story that one of the moons of Uranus bears their name because an early Sycorax ship crash-landed there is thought to be largely apocryphal. With their armada stationed in permanent, invisible orbit around the Jewel of Staa Crafell, the Sycorax are the most feared of space-faring scavengers. They want only to pillage and plunder, with no interest in invasion. And with a lifespan of over 400 years, their memories - and their appetite for revenge - are strong. Earth should beware, lest the Sycorax should ever return... Where did you dream the Sycorax up from? I just did! I wanted very real, physical aliens - so we took that to extremes and make them all raw skin, muscle and bone! I'd seen a photo of a horse's skull that sort of lodged in my head (though what that says about my head, I dread to think). And then the whole costume look - part regal, part scavenger - just seemed to grow naturally from that. It was a good team effort, with Neill Gorton, Louise Page and Sean Gilder all working together brilliantly. The Sycorax leader and a few other Sycorax are the creation of the prosthetics team at Millennium FX. It took two full hours for the Sycorax face to be built up. With the heat of the burning summer sun, the conditions for Sean were made very difficult.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060414163633/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/x/sycorax.shtml

RUSSELL T DAVIES What were the difficulties of filming an episode set at Christmas in the summer? Wherever we went, we had to put up tinsel and Christmas trees, in shop windows and people’s houses, so that it looked Christmassy (and bear in mind, when we’re filming non-Christmas episodes in December, we have to do the opposite and take people’s decorations down!). But in many ways, filming in the summer is easier, 'cos it’s warmer and there’s more daylight. Everyone likes summer filming. Wait till you see Rise of the Cybermen – everyone is clearly freezing! Although it helps makes the adventure seem icy and scary, so it works well on screen. How did you come up with the idea of Scary Santas? I've always thought of Santa as a bit scary. All that enforced jollity, that permanent smile, that's got to be trouble. A strange man who sneaks his way into children's bedrooms at night. Honestly, I could write a slasher movie called Santa Attacks. I bet someone has already. But I didn't really think kids would find it that scary – the younger audience is very clever and savvy about this stuff. I think it would've been trouble if we'd used a real man – if a real old bloke with a white beard had started murdering people, I would've had doubts. But because our Santas had metal masks, it was quite clear they were Doctor Who-type monsters. And I like the fact that we never fully explained them – I might even bring them back one day... Tell us about your inspirations for the Christmas Invasion Blimey, that's like asking "where do you get your ideas from?" I just think of them! I just thought that the arrival of a new Doctor had a sort of rebirth theme to it, which meant that regeneration fitted Christmas very well. I knew that to make regeneration work, I'd have to take the Doctor out of the action for a good 40 minutes, so that Rose and the audience would really be demanding his return. So once that decision's made, it just made sense to come up with a big, public, worldwide threat to fill the space until the Doctor's back on his feet – there's an obvious Independence Day theme going on there! (I love that film, much underrated.) Plus, I was dying to work with Penelope Wilton again, 'cos I knew I could take the character of Harriet Jones a lot further. So I just brought all those elements together, and let them cook. '''Tell us how you shot the ultimate fight scene between the Doctor and the Sicorax leader? Where was it filmed?''' That was out near Barry, 'cos we needed somewhere with a sort of infinite horizon – ie, we couldn't see buildings in the background, 'cos the swordfight was meant to be taking place way above London. Barry’s right next to the sea, not far from Cardiff. All that open space and wind genuinely makes it feel as though the fight is taking place somewhere wild and extreme, which feels so much more dangerous than a studio. If you lowered the camera just an inch on some of those shots of the Doctor and the Sycorax leader, you’d see the boats and waves in the background! Of course, it was a hell of a lot of work for David and Sean Gilder – one in pyjamas, one in latex, it couldn't have been worse! They rehearsed hard and the entire crew sweated to make that scene convincing. Then the Mill (our FX house) added the spaceship, and I completely love the end result. Any stories about the filming of The Christmas Invasion? To be honest, I'm rubbish at stories about filming, 'cos I'm the one who's safely tucked away at home, writing the next script, with no idea of the nightmares they're going through on set! And quite right too. I get the rushes every day, but that's pretty close to the finished material, I don't know what sorts of problems they had to endure to get that material on tape. I'm not kidding – sometimes I watch Doctor Who Confidential, and see for the first time how difficult certain shoots were, and I'm gobsmacked. If I knew that much in advance, I'd set every episode inside a cupboard. So I’m gonna stay blind and ignorant! About Russell T Davies, by Russell T Davies Born at a young age in Swansea, Russell went to Olchfa Comprehensive School, then read English at Worcester College, Oxford. First job in TV was directing the kids on Why Don’t You – which I loved! I even cast a 12 year-old Ant McPartlin as one of the Newcastle Why Don’t You gang. Brilliant show to work on, I stayed for about 5 years, and working in Children’s was great – everything’s so cheap and cash-strapped, that you end up being trained in every single area of production, cos there’s no one else to do it. Within about six months, I’d been thrown into the mysteries of editing, dubbing, film, OBs, studios, live transmissions, the works. By the age of 27, I was a Producer and Director. But I was really interested in writing, so went to Granada, which provided the best training in the world. I also became Producer of Children’s Ward while I was there, and got my first proper drama commissions from Children’s BBC: Dark Season (1991) and Century Falls (1994). I then summoned the nerve to leave the day-job and become a full-time writer in 1994. And haven’t looked back since! Productions I’ve created include Revelations (1994-5), The Grand (1997-8), Queer As Folk (1999-2000), Bob & Rose (2001), The Second Coming (2003), Mine All Mine (2004) and Casanova (2005).
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060415124249/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/confidential/x/russell.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Zoe Rushton "One take wonder." As soon as those words are uttered... a whole cast and crew start to quiver in fear. One take wonders are things like explosions, blowing doors off, smashing through windows.. you get the general idea, or in this case.... blowing up AND knocking down a 30ft Christmas Tree! Picture the scene... a freshly sunkissed crew gathered outside the huge Howell's department store in Cardiff City Centre, anxiously trying to get cameras set and special effects in place, all in time for night-fall. The Christmas lights come on, much to the bewilderment of the last of the shoppers passing by in short sleeves and vest tops. Barriers had been erected but inevitably the crowd of onlookers was getting larger and larger as dusk settled in. There were even a few paparazzi desperate to get their money shots of Billie and David; after all, the filming of The Christmas Invasion was in its infant days and David was of course still very much "The New Doctor". Darkness came and our small Confidential team of four filmed the crew setting up and got great reactions from the Any FX guys, James Hawes (director) and other cast and crew members... however, the big finale was what we were all holding out for... the colossal Norway Spruce that stood like 'Goliath' over fifty or so 'Davids'... and it was up to Mike and his special effects team to sling the shot. My heart went out to them that night! The team pondered over their carefully calculated dimensions. Inches too far and the tree would have crashed through the huge glass windows of one of Cardiff's most prestigious department stores! It was a mammoth task. Eventually, the three cameras were in place, the stage was set and they were ready to rumble. A loud silence. Only James' voice... "and we're turning over..." "sound speed..." "everyone happy?" I don't think people were even breathing at that point. I certainly wasn't! And then it came... "and... action!" Sparks... and an echoing creak as the looming beast fell majestically and landed with an almighty thud and grounded just inches away from the doorway! Perfect! Cheers and back slapping and the long awaited exhales of breath. It worked a treat! What an achievement... and what a way to spend a hot summer's night in Cardiff. Zoe Rushton is an Assistant Producer on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20090427140221/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/x/diary.shtml

DIRECTOR JAMES HAWES Is there a brief to make this series bigger and better? No I think what comes off last year is it has been a bigger success than anyone dared hope, and the first note from Russell as the major creative force on it was that it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But we also know that more of the same isn’t quite enough. It’s got to be at least as good and better because people will be coming back expecting it to start at the pitch that episode 13 left it at. Does it help having done series one? We’ve all learnt a massive amount from the first series.There are established relationships, we’ve learnt from our mistakes, but you get this feeling from the scripts of 'well they did that, so now let them try this'. And how do you feel about working with a brand new doctor? I am tremendously excited about David Tennant. Chris has been a fabulous doctor but you also knew that David was absolutely poised to inhabit his skin. You've just finished the tone meeting, you start shooting next week. What happens between now and then? We have seven days from now to start shooting. I don’t think anybody you saw there will be taking any time off. Next week is full of rehearsals, we’ve got a full read through of the scripts, we’ve got the beginnings of the blocking for the big fight sequence that comes at the end of the Christmas episode, the design team are already building sets. The location team, they’ve got one or two last locations to pin down. It's frenetic. People are literally working from seven in the morning until well into the wee hours again.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060423012445/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/1/hawes.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Zoe Rushton As a Swansea Jack born and bred, it was a treat to learn that some of Episode 1 would be filmed in the Gower. The locals were dead chuffed and there was something printed about Doctor Who in the local rag pretty much every week. The city still revels in the fact that Russell T is one of "our boys." It was inevitable that I would accompany Gillane (Series Producer) and the Confidential crew to set that day to capture all the highlights of filming. I'd spent a lot of time on the beaches around that area as a kid so I knew it like the back of my hand. GPS Sat Nav probably wouldn't get you to Worm's Head in Rhossili anyway, so it saved a lot of awkward map reading and faffing around! I'd been raving to everyone about how gorgeous the sweeping bay and the cliffs were at Worm's Head for weeks now but of course, in my mind, these were memories of summer holidays and picnics and swimming in the glistening turquoise sea. I now realise this was a severe attack of nostalgia. We arrived early on Monday morning greeted by gloomy skies, a force five gale and murky grey sea. Hardly the place I'd described to our guys! I got out of the car and looked out towards Worm's Head itself which juts out into the Bristol Channel. It's a quirky little causeway; much photographed, much mentioned in the works of Dylan Thomas and much frequented by puffins and even seals! Only today, something totally alien sat on the skyline. It was a quite a sight. A blue 1950's police public call box... So, the battle against the elements began. Hair and make-up were pretty much immaterial as the wind was so violent. Lights had to be clung on to for dear life for fear of them disappearing into the Atlantic. It was crazy! The poor sound department, despite their heroic efforts, eventually had to succumb to help in post production because nothing could be heard above the howling wind. A production team's worst nightmare. On top of all this New Earth was supposed to be glazed with golden sunbeams and china blue skies. I couldn't fathom how the CGI team at The Mill were going to pull this off. Needless to say they did and I was gobsmacked to see the results in Episode 1. Not only had they seamlessly placed a futuristic hospital on Rhossili Bay, but more astonishingly they'd managed to transform a doleful and dismal 2005 day in South Wales into a rainless and radiant day five billion years in the future. Zoe Rushton is an Assistant Producer on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060423012448/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/1/music.shtml
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060422173552/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/1/diary.shtml

WEREWOLF EFFECTS - Will Cohen, Visual Effects Producer Where did you start with the design of the werewolf? Russell T Davies called us and asked what the feasibility was in making a CGI werewolf. Within minutes, two of our senior team members had done sketches. They knew exactly what they wanted to do. We were all in agreement when Russell wanted the werewolf to be extremely powerful, muscular and a little sexy! And at least eight feet tall. What were your influences for the finished design? Various artists, movies, and comic books - basically, everything our team had gleaned about werewolves after a lifetime of thinking about them! Plus we wanted to do something fresh - a Russell T Davies werewolf. And mangy dogs from Marseilles. Talk us through the various elements of the finished product. Live-action background plates were shot, and then lighting references were taken for us to recreate the set-up in the computers at the Mill. We also had a man in a white leotard upon which his muscle groups were drawn, to help us as a reference in the way his muscles moved in the scene. He had a hat on with a stick and a ball on top of that. This provided the actors with an eye line and the director with the ability to frame a character who was eight feet tall within a shot. It also meant that the editor and director could have some rough werewolf action to use their initial cut for timings. The Mill also provided Euros with some rough pre-visualisations of the FX for his edit, and for trying to lock timings. He then came and briefed us, almost as if we were an actor, as to what he wanted to happen with the werewolf, shot by shot. We then went on to finish up the shots! What are the difficulties with a full CGI monster that appears in nearly every scene? Actually the werewolf is only in about 40 odd shots but it is down to Russell and Euros Lyn's credit that you feel the presence of it throughout the 45 minutes. The challenge is, as ever, the time in which we have to do the work. With the werewolf it was in particular the hair. Hair is hard, but like many things in CGI (such as water) it is beginning to become easier. Getting the hair to render was a lot of fun, but once we had cracked it everything was fine! The other challenges are the sheer amount of time, skill and effort it takes to animate some pixels in the shape of a werewolf to look like a living, breathing creature. It is really easy to ruin the illusion with some unrealistic movement. Then the shots have to be lit, rendered and composited to match and sit with the live action. It is really important to have some physical interaction with the set to sit the werewolf in the scene.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060423190908/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/2/cohen.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Geoff Evans This was my first day back on the set of Doctor Who since the end of the first series - and it was going to be a great one. Wire tricks, flying Ninja Monks and martial arts; all in one day. We were on location in the courtyard of Penllyn Castle, which was the perfect location for Torchwood House in 1879. The art and props departments had been very busy making this location look as authentic as possible. They even had an animal handler there with a number of chickens, which he would send out into the court yard just before each take. Chickens don't take direction very well. Dave Forman was the fight co-ordinator working with the director, Euros. They had spent a lot of time preparing for this fight sequence. Dave's experience working on The Last Samurai and the Ninja Turtles movie was evident, because the fighting was very realistic, incorporating a number of different martial arts. In fact, Dave played Leonardo the turtle in the 1990 film. The fight was an awesome sight. Three Ninja Monks were being lifted into the air by three portly gentlemen jumping from the back of a lorry with ropes in their hands. Although this looked a little strange on set, the final result is fantastic. Stuntmen were kicked onto breakable boxes and thrown around. One ended up with his head in a trough! You don't get to see things like this every day, so it was a brilliant way to be reintroduced to the world of Doctor Who. Geoff Evans is an Assistant Producer on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060423180400/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/2/diary.shtml

ALL ABOUT EUROS, by Euros Lyn When I was about seven years old, me and my gang had a den at the top of the street called The Damblue, which was to become the venue for my directorial debut; a production which brought together the two shows which dominated my childhood. Doctor Who and The Muppets was to star The Doctor, played by my best friend, Glen. I was going to play his trusty assistant, Kermit The Frog. I started building a Dalek out of chicken wire and paper maché and the TARDIS was drawn with fat felt tips onto the big cardboard box in which my mum's new washing machine had arrived. Unfortunately (being set in Wales) it rained; the den got flooded and the TARDIS and the Dalek were washed away forever into the Menai Straits. At school, I knew I loved theatre and directed and acted (badly) in school plays. I studied a drama degree at Manchester University which although was an academic course, gave me plenty of opportunities to make short films and direct dodgy Shakespeare productions in seedy nightclubs. But by the time I graduated, I knew that film and TV were the media for me; the magic of being able to escape into another world, the inspiration of the hero's journey, the satisfying tidiness of the happy ending were all utterly seductive. I wrote to all the film and TV directors I had heard of telling them I wanted to become a director; and though I was a little bit surprised that no-one replied saying "Here's a big Hollywood film, will you come and direct it?"" (I really did think someone might say that!) a few kind people wrote back saying I could come and be a runner on their sets. So I went along to make the tea and pick up the actors from their hotels in the morning - and I watched and learned how people made TV and films. Three years later, I thought 'I now know how it works', so I rallied round my friends and begged, borrowed and stole cameras and film stock to make a 12-minute short film which got shown at film festivals across the world. And with that film under my arm I went knocking on the doors of TV producers in my home town of Cardiff, asking for a job. You only need one person to say 'Yes'; and finally I got a chance to direct a teenage drama series set in a school. After that, I worked on a few genre shows; a cop show and a detective series, which was brilliant experience for learning how the nuts and bolts of TV drama works. Some of my work has been for a channel called S4C which makes lots of good programmes only Welsh-speakers get to see. Other shows I've worked on recently include Casualt and Cutting It. And now, 25 years after my first attempt to direct The Doctor, my dream of travelling with him through time and space has at last come true. But this time his assistant is far cooler and sexier than Kermit The Frog.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060423175917/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/2/lyn.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Zoe Rushton 28th August 2005: The hour long journey to Fitzalan High School in Cardiff was a surprisingly pleasant one today. Today already had a definite feel-good factor about it. I arrived at Unit Base (actually the school playground) and immediately sensed an air of delight. Most of the crew seemed excitable and a bit giggly today; on the catering bus (a vintage double decker), the snippets of bacon-n-egg conversation I overheard all had a common theme. I wondered if the subject of these discussions had any idea how much of an impact she was having even before she’d made her appearance. Somehow I doubted it. Though too young to remember her in the series, my research for Confidential meant I had watched pretty much every episode Elisabeth Sladen had been in. Today was going to be her first day of filming on the new series. And then it happened. So quickly I hardly had time to take it in. Out of the people-carrier and into the trailer before I could even whoop with delight. She was here... and so was I! I love my job! An hour later and cameras were set, fresh tapes loaded, and sun cream applied. (The crew were already pink from the day before!) If this had been a movie, the next bit would have happened as follows... slowly bring up the music (I’m thinking one of John Barry’s romantic scores), nostalgic sepia-effect applied, heads turn in slow-mo, cut to a dramatic turn of head by said star towards camera, hair windswept and eyes wide, cut to Doctor Number 10, and the most amazing schoolboy grin you could ever imagine. Instead, big hugs all round and we were ready to roll. Sarah Jane Smith was back in action. The scene was a relatively simple one. The Doctor and Sarah Jane run out of the red school doors, engage in some brief banter then head off. A gentle one with which to get going. A wise move by the director, James Hawes. "Cut!" and James, with a look of pure 'dead-chuffedness' shouted, "round of applause for the lovely Lis Sladen’s first scene back on Doctor Who!" Cheers and more hugs rippled throughout the crew and I really had to concentrate not to let a couple of tears escape; something I’d normally be embarrassed about but I swear, a lot of big and hairy full-grown men were doing the same thing – not that they’d ever admit it. We interviewed Lis on the steps of her trailer and she was of course as delicate and charming as always. She seemed genuinely thrilled to be a part of it all again and was quite touched at the overwhelming reception. Driving back along the M4 that night, I really felt like I’d witnessed something special. It was something familiar. Something nostalgic. Something I’ll remember fondly for a long, long time. Zoe Rushton is an Assistant Producer on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070221223821/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/3/diary.shtml

WRITER TOBY WHITHOUSE Rose vs Sarah Jane Rose had always known in an abstract way that there had been assistants before her, in the same way that anyone in a relationship knows that there were boyfriends and girlfriends before that person. I think what really unsettles Rose is the way Sarah Jane talks about what has happened to her since. It's that realisation that the Doctor can have an incredibly intense relationship with somebody, it ends, and he forgets about them. Suddenly Rose projects herself into that position and says "Is that what's going to happen to me?" It suddenly clarifies a lot of things about the Doctor’s relationship with Rose. I think it's fair to say his relationship with Rose is different to the relationship he's had with previous assistants and he is kind of trying to articulate that, when they are being attacked by the Krillitanes. I think that’s the most unsettling thing for Rose, the fact it's so easy for the Doctor to move on. Shed that assistant; move on to the next one, in that kind of serial monogamist way. What do you think the audience will like about School Reunion? We’ve taken a huge story about a race of evil aliens trying to deconstruct time, space and matter and become all-powerful beings. Such a huge, expansive story. And we've set it in an incredibly mundane school. Russell has said that what would be fantastic, is that children can go into school and say "I think she's an alien". It kind of expands the imagination of the children so they can be in any kind of normal everyday setting and be thinking, "I wonder what is going on?"
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060620015818/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/3/toby.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Geoff Evans This was the most interesting set build I’ve seen during this series. I read the script and wondered how on earth they were going to have a revolving fireplace in-between an 18th century French bedroom and a spaceship. To my surprise, the production design teams built the sets,exactly as described in the script. Two large sets with a hydraulic revolving fireplace right in-between! A large area of the Newport warehouse was taken up by these sets. The most interesting day was seeing all of the futuristic props being put into the spaceship set; flashing wall panels, long pieces of black tubing and the main control panel. Many of the props had been built by the team using just about anything they could get their hands on. Even the chairs on the spaceship were once ejector seats from a jet. Just feet away, it was a different story. Reinette’s bedroom was beautifully decorated and contained authentic antique furniture that Dave Morrison and his team had found. This included part of the fabulous revolving fireplace, which was integral to the story of this episode, and very heavy. It took several people to lift the fireplace, but they managed to carry it onto set and place it onto the spinning platform. I’d be lying if I told you the spinning fireplace worked first time, but the team got the job done and the finished result is fantastic. Geoff Evans is an Assistant Producer on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070221062301/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/4/diary.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Zoe Rushton Night shoots can sometimes be a real struggle. One thing that always keeps you going (apart from a certain caffeine-fuelled, sickly-sweet energy drink) is if the scenes you're filming are high adrenaline, fast-paced and full of action. Tonight's party gate-crashers were a prime example. I think the climax to Episode 5's party will become iconic - in fact, it should have 'classic TV moment' scrolling along the bottom of the screen! All the essential elements are there: the return of an old foe, a grand location, a moonlit night, and most importantly some good old-fashioned scare-mongery! Cybermen smashing through huge glass windows, screams of panic filling the night air and metal monster carnage throughout – brilliant! That's what Doctor Who is all about! Fifty or so supporting artists were all packed into the grandiose drawing room of an exquisite country home nestled in the beautiful Glamorganshire countryside. All the crew were wearing blue shower cap thingies on their feet to protect the palatial carpets from their well-worn size 9's. The huge window panes had been replaced with breakable glass. Cybermen stunt doubles had been kitted out by Neill Gorton's team and we all waited with baited breath for Graeme Harper's call of "Action!" David Tennant had his camcorder out and was capturing every moment. Shaun Dingwall was next to him, in good form as always, joking around and settling the nervous tension. We were all set. Bang! They came thundering through. Fake safety glass splintered into a million pieces and showered the whole cast and crew. Screams from the supporting artists were alarmingly real and their faces were a picture. The Cybermen had smashed their way back into the world of Doctor Who and they'd done it with style. When the cameras were cut, the whole room erupted with a mixture of applause and cheers. Next to me, David and Shaun were laughing hysterically. What a night! Definitely one to tell the grandkids. Zoe Rushton is an Assistant Producer on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070221223830/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/5/diary.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Adam Page Following a day in the life of Noel Clarke behind-the-scenes has been one of the highlights in a series already packed full of highlights! The first day in which Mickey met Rickey, was the same day Noel met his 'body double' Carey. Starting the day in the make-up trailer to ensure that their hair cuts were exactly the same, there was a lot of double-taking before getting used to two Noels on set. The majority of the day was spent filming inside a disused manor house in south Wales that had an authentic 'bunker' type feel that was perfect for the Preachers hideout, complete with steaming vats of soup! The team painstakingly had to match the eye lines of the two Noels, which made for fascinating filming. Poor Noel had double the amount of work to do, rapidly changing into his Mickey persona with a quick change just off set... there was no space for dressing rooms! As if that wasn't enough, Noel was coping with the after-effects of food poisoning, so he really was going through the journey 'from zero to hero' in more ways than one! By the time the crew wrapped at 10pm, the scenes were in the can. Ricky had well and truly met Mickey, the challenges of eye lines had been overcome and Noel could return to his sick bed knowing that his job was well done. For now the Preachers' war would have to wait. Even the Cybermen need their sleep... Adam Page is a Producer/Director on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070221135901/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/6/diary.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Cat Chappell Pinewood Studios. Wow. The home of British film, and today a set for Doctor Who. We arrived very early in the morning for the very last day of filming on Doctor Who. The wrap party had taken place the night before, so everyone felt a bit delicate, but were on top form regardless. We found ourselves watching a large water tank with underwater Cameraman Mike Valentine filming Myanna Buring’s demise in episode eight. In order to create the look of floating in space, they took Myanna underwater. Bravely she went into the tank with her regulator to help her breathe, and was tied down 15 feet underwater in the tank to stop her floating up. They set the camera running; she took away her regulator and floated motionless without air whilst they filmed her. It was amazing day being able to watch it all happen, and it shows in the end results of the final edited show. As well as being present on set, a lot of the work for Doctor Who Confidential takes place in the office. For most of my days I sat next to an Ood head in the office. It is one of the most disgusting and yet compelling things I have ever seen. Everyone in the office (me included) saw it, made disgusted noises and then proceeded to touch and squeeze it, fascinated. We’ve now become so attached to it we don’t want to return it to the Doctor Who art department. We weren’t the only ones - when the on-set rushes came back to the office David and Billie were caught on camera trying to squish passing Oods. When I found out that the Impossible Planet’s surface was going to be mainly filmed in a quarry, this became a for our research, as Doctor Who has a rich history of quarry action. You know you have a good job when you spend your days watching Doctor Who episodes looking out for classic quarry shots, as the Doctors and their assistants scrabble over gravely planet surfaces. And then straight on to my work on episode nine, where I spent ages researching… well you’ll have to wait…. Cat Chappell is a Researcher on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070221125915/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/8/diary.shtml

JAMES STRONG - BIOGRAPHY James’s first dramatic experience was as an actor appearing in a number of plays at Sussex University and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After graduating he was a employed as a reporter for HTV West and presented the local what’s on programme ‘Spotlight’, this was before being picked to be first intake of Granada TV’s prestigious director’s’ training scheme. This offered James his first taste of TV drama observing the likes of Coronation Street, Prime Suspect and Cracker, as well as making friends with one Russell T Davies (more of him later). It was in factual programmes he began his TV directing career, working on This Morning, The Clothes Show, the Holiday Programme and Top Gear. He then made the move into documentaries by returning to Granada TV with World In Action and then Tonight With Trevor Macdonald. His passion for comedy led him to write and direct a short film Sold which was short listed for a BAFTA in 2002. An opportunity to direct his first drama series soon followed, with work on Doctors and Holby City. James also developed the ITV1 strand Real Crime with a series of high-profile drama-doc’s including the RTS nominated Blood On Her Hands (The Tracy Andrews Story), A Killer’s Code and Lady Jane with Kaye Wragg and Patrick Baladi. He also wrote and directed Nothing But The Truth, a dramatic reconstruction of the Jill Dando murder trial, described by the Times as ‘the most important thing on TV this year.’ Further work followed, directing on Mile High, Casualty, The Afternoon Play (nominated for an RTS award) and wrote and directed Billie Jo. In 2005 he directed Rocket Man with Robson Green He is currently developing his first feature film – The Busby Babies which re-tells the true story of the Munich air crash which devastated the Manchester United team in 1958. His new short film Talking To Strangers will also be premiering at the 2006 London Film Festival.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20110428173237/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/confidential/8/director.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Kate Monaghan Researching for this episode was an interesting task! Because this week’s Doctor Who was such an unusual episode, Doctor Who Confidential decided that ours had to be different too, so we were given the task of looking at ‘The New World of Who’. This was a mammoth and wide-ranging brief that encompassed everything from downloadable episodes on your mobile, interactive adventures, the thousands of Doctor Who devoted websites, the impact of Doctor Who moving to Wales and the whole new generation of fans for whom Doctor Who began with Christopher Eccleston. As a researcher on Doctor Who Confidential, my job is basically to support the episode’s producer who puts the programme together. When they want music, interviews, headlines, archive clips, pictures, interviews, to know what year Blue Peter last had a design-a-monster competition, or even just a cup of coffee, we are there to get it for them! Luckily, all the producers at Confidential are lovely, and this episode’s producer, Mark Allen, was no exception. Whilst he and the editor Sven began to make the programme, I spent my time ensuring that they had everything they needed for the episode. I was also able to get out and about interviewing people for it. My favourite experience was trying to interview a trumpet player from the National Orchestra of Wales in a busy corridor at BBC Wales. I lost count of the times we had to stop filming for people rushing past us, clearly oblivious to the ‘Do Not Enter’ signs and the camera! One area I explored in detail was the link between Doctor Who and Blue Peter. After the monster in this episode was designed by a Blue Peter viewer, we wanted to look back at the history between Doctor Who and Blue Peter. As some of the longest running BBC brands, their history together runs all the way back to at least 1967. Having just worked on Blue Peter, it was fascinating delving into the archive and watching the many episodes of Blue Peter that featured Doctor Who. The clips ran so far back that some of the episodes we wanted to feature on the programme were only available on the old-fashioned film so we had to transfer them into a digital format that we could actually use. Episode 10 was great fun to work on, mainly because there was such great behind the scenes footage to work with, especially from Peter Kay. Watching the rushes from the shoot was almost like watching one of his stand-up routines. As Marc Warren says, there’s no point in even saying anything when Peter Kay is around because he steals the show even when just walking around set in the rain with carrier bags tied around his feet! I loved working on this episode, and researching the World of Doctor Who made me realise, if I hadn’t before, just how wide-reaching its audience is. Kate Monaghan is a Researcher on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070221140535/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/10/diary.shtml

DAN ZEFF - DIRECTOR I feel very privileged to have worked on such an unusual episode of what is already an extraordinary series. As a director, it’s been a wonderfully unique experience. Love & Monsters (as the title might suggest) has a tone all of its own – it’s a humourous, haunting romantic drama – a dark fairy tale. But alongside a moving emotional storyline, there’s a fast-paced narrative with more than its fair share of scares, thrills and truly memorable monsters! Everyone who works on this show treats each episode as a mini-movie – and it shows. Despite the ‘normal’ setting (contemporary London) of this episode, it still felt important to find a striking visual approach – in some ways, you could say, the challenge was even greater – giving a filmic, epic feel to a basement as opposed to a spaceship or alien planet. Working with an inspirational design team, we wanted to emphasise a melancholy feel, an emptiness in the world around our characters – big urban spaces that once may have been full of life, but now lay abandoned, rusting, decayed. Amidst this, Elton and his fragile group of friends would almost feel cast adrift – increasingly vulnerable as they are led astray by the sinister Victor Kennedy. And once we’d found our tone, everything and everyone - from the smallest to the largest contribution - helped in doing justice to this truly special Russell T Davies script. The newspaper blown across the screen at the dockside by our prop man, the amazing animatronics embedded in the Monster prosthetics, the rich detail of alien body noise meticulously layered in by the sound editors, the wonderful score, twisting the Doctor Who themes into a beautifully haunting Edward-Scissorhands-esque fairy-tale. And of course the cast. There’s an emotional power at the core of this episode that really needed to be handled carefully, to stay credible. We were lucky in this regard to have quite the most amazing guest cast – even by this show’s standards – all of them giving performances of such extraordinary depth and detail – I challenge you to watch it without weeping. Dan Zeff June 2006
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20210308071503/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/confidential/10/director.shtml

ANDY BRIERLEY - CASTING ASSOCIATE Casting Doctor Who is unlike casting any other show. This is for three main reasons. Many shows are set in and around one central location (think The Vic in EastEnders, the police station in Life On Mars, the salon in Cutting It, etc). As a result, you become very used to casting people that fit into these environments: Copper of the Week, Cockney Villain of the Week and so on. Even on shows with more varied backdrops, the action normally takes place in one time period. Sometimes this is modern day, sometimes it's not but it is usually consistent from one week to the next. With Doctor Who, all these rules are thrown out of the window. Each episode takes place in it's own little world and, as a result, one week we're casting life-forms from an alien civilisation, the next we need characters from a period drama and the next we're scouting around for possessed children on a contemporary London estate. It's totally mad but hilarious fun at the same time. The second unique thing about casting Doctor Who is a more practical concern. A huge part of Doctor Who's success has been its ability to keep the public guessing. When will the Cybermen appear? Why are the Doctor and Rose kissing? Why is Pauline Collins running around a Scottish mansion dressed as Queen Victoria? What on earth is an Ood? Security on the show is therefore a top priority. Normally, when we are auditioning actors, we send them scripts so that they can understand more about the character they might end up playing. No such luck on Doctor Who! Actors are lucky if they see even a small section of script before they arrive at the audition and most are only given the lines they will have to read when they turn up at reception. Complete madness, as I said before. The thing that makes all this insanity 100% worthwhile is also the third thing that makes Doctor Who a show unlike any other: the fans. And by fans I mean everyone from school children who idolise the Doctor and Rose to celebrities (step forward Peter Kay et al) and everyone in between. One fantastic side effect of this widespread fanbase is that some actors who rarely work on television are constantly badgering their agents to get them a role on the show. We've lost count of the number of phone calls we've received from notoriously tough agents asking coyly whether there might be anything that would suit their internationally acclaimed client. How brilliant! So... this week, amongst other things, we need to start casting the Christmas special. We're a three-man band here at Andy Pryor's office. Well, strictly speaking, two men and a woman: Andy P, Kirsty and me, Andy B. The script arrives, hot off the press and the game begins! We write a 'breakdown' which analyses everything about the characters that appear in the episode, from their physical appearance to the number of the lines they say. Remember the security about storylines that I mentioned before? Well that goes double for the Christmas special. I'd love to tell you more about the various characters that will be entertaining and/or terrifying you this Yuletide but Phil Collinson would be round here before I'd finished typing. He has spies everywhere, that man! Suffice to say that it's a cracker of an episode and we immediately start discussing ideas. This is usually a hilarious conversation in which we basically just say whoever springs to mind for each part. Sometimes these ideas are perfect, sometimes they're hideously wrong but on many occasions a bad idea has led to a good one so we just keeping going until we've hammered out a shortlist, which Andy P discusses with the team and refines (often with a few lateral thoughts cropping up along the way). Kirsty and I call the shortlisted actors' agents and arrange auditions for the smaller roles. After a flurry of emails, phone calls and texts between Julie Gardner, Phil Collinson, Russell, Andy P and Euros Lyn (the Christmas episode's director), the team agrees to make offers on a couple of the leading guest roles. We're even going to them send a whole script! Don't worry though - every page will be watermarked with the actor's name. If the script suddenly appears on the internet, Phil will know who to hunt down!! So the actors we have offered parts to have the script and then next phase of the game begins. This is the frustrating bit: the waiting. It can take any amount of time but usually we hear within a few days. We're hopeful but realistic. They're great parts and a high profile episode but you never know. Maybe Spielberg's got in there first. Before we know it, it's the first day of auditions for the supporting roles. Euros and Andy P spend much of the day trying to explain what the parts are about without giving the game away about the plot and the surprises in store. Who will get the parts? Who knows, but some lucky actors are about the enter the totally crazy but hugely fun world of Doctor Who. They're not going know what's hit them! Andy Brierley June 2006
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20130101234155/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/11/casting.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Geoff Evans It was great to see Doctor Who going old school in Fear Her. This was certainly an episode that didn't have the budget of the big effects episodes, but that's what makes this episode special. All the scary scenes were created using more traditional film making techniques and playing on all of our childhood fears. I spent the day in Tremorfa; the housing estate where the majority of the episode was based. The entire street was taken over for several days, which must have been difficult for the residents; but how can you say no to Doctor Who? I'd certainly love to see the TARDIS materialise in Newport. On that day, they filmed a number of the big scenes. These included Rose throwing the pod towards the Olympic flame, the Doctor picking up the torch from the fallen bearer and the not so simple cat scene. There were also dozens of extras who you had to feel a little sorry for, because of the weather conditions. The episode is set in the middle of the summer, but it was filmed in the middle of January. They froze during each take in shorts, t-shirts and a variety of Hawaiian shirts. As soon as 'cut' was called, they all frantically ran to people from costume to retrieve their beloved coats. I must admit I felt a little guilty in my 5 layers, but not guilty enough to shed any clothing of my own. The highlight of my day however, was watching the crew desperately trying to get that cat in the box. As you would have seen in this week's Confidential, it was very funny thing to have witnessed. Maybe they'll use a dog next time? Geoff Evans is an Assistant Producer on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070221224148/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/11/diary.shtml

ERNIE VINCZE - CINEMATOGRAPHER Light is beautiful. Light reveals the world to us. Light permeates our reality at every scale of our existence. Light is a carrier of beauty, a giver of life. Light is amazing. Light sets our biological clocks. Light is craved by the body and soul. It triggers in our brain the sensation of colour. Light feeds us and it inspires us with specials like rainbows, sunsets, Northern Lights. Light can be gentle or violent, living or dead, clear or misty, hot or dark and sensual. Light can be straight or slanting, subdued or bright, poisonous or calming. Light is an amazing tool. As a cinematographer on Doctor Who, I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to use this tool to its full effect. The diversity and excitement of every episode, Ed Thomas's wonderful sets, the beautiful Welsh locations, the demanding industrial landscape, the great cast and guest artistes all give me great inspiration. As a cinematographer, I have always followed the philosophy of the importance of the story we are telling. Lighting is only one part of the process of story-telling. An important part, it is true, but it cannot be so self conscious as to detract. Every detail absolutely matters, because the true art lies in your ability to make the process of filmmaking seamless to the audience. Apart from technical, there are no rules. You have to trust your instinct and the knowledge accumulated over a lifetime. Cinematography is a mixture of science and art. The tools and technology make up the science. The art comes from the person. But if you are not a good craftsman, you cannot be a true artist. There is a great joy in lighting Doctor Who. I can create moods and evoke feelings of happiness, drama and beauty. My starting concept is stark blackness. From then on I build up the lighting to complement the storyline, narrative, the actors, composition and depth. Depth is an art in itself. It complements the lighting and it helps guide the viewer's focus and attention to where the director wants it. My relationship with my directors is of paramount importance to me. I want to read their vision, likes and dislikes before they tell me. Also the relationship with the main actors is very important. My aim is to build an aura of trust and confidence which then frees them to concentrate on their own art. There has been light from the beginning. There will be light at the end. Ernie Vincze June 2006
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20130407022125/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/12/ernie.shtml

CONFIDENTIAL DIARY by Adam Page The bizarre thing about filming behind the scenes for episode 13 was that it all took place around Christmas! It felt strange to be shooting the climactic scenes from Series 2 only halfway through filimg! Wwhat an episode it was! In the blue corner we were confronted by Daleks, and in the red, there were Cybermen - all ready to fight to the death! It was impossible not to be caught up in the excitement of it all! In terms of backstage filming, we really were spoilt for choice; from the astounding visual effects and exploding cars from the boys at Any Effects through to the green screen precision from the team at the Mill. Wherever you turned there was expertise of the highest calibre, all making their own piece of Doctor Who history. We knew that the Doctor Who team had something up their sleeves when one of the cast asked us if we were going to follow the 'secret filming! As this current series of Confidential draws to a close, there's barely time to draw breath, as our work on Series Three has already begun. For now, a big thank you to all of you for watching Doctor Who Confidential, and an even bigger thank you to ALL of the Doctor Who cast and crew who have given us such incredible access to the show throughout the year, and coped valiantly with our prying cameras from day one. We really couldn’t have made this series without them. Adam Page is a Producer/Director on Doctor Who Confidential.
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070221062623/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/confidential/13/diary.shtml

xmas 2006
https://web.archive.org/web/20081207144053/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/doctorwho/advent06/confidential/diary.shtml DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL CHRISTMAS SPECIAL – MUSIC & MONSTERS by Tors Grantham

BBC One, 25th December, 1pm

It's not often my day starts at 5.30am. I'm usually one of the lucky people who work in TV; I don't, as a general rule, go out on shoots. Instead, I stay in the production office organising the shoots everyone else goes on, smiling sympathetically at the early starts or late finishes whilst secretly counting my lucky stars I get to work the TV equivalent of 9-5. But working backstage at the Doctor Who Concert was too big an opportunity to pass up and I jumped at the chance.

The big day dawned with a whinge and a moan and a heartfelt thank you to the powers-that-be that I wasn't on the 1am-6am shift. Dawn was a couple of hours off and the first of our crews were due to arrive at the Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) at 6am.

As I live around the corner from the WMC I headed over in my PJ's to greet the crew, show them to our base of operations and get them all set up. Once done, I stumbled back home to bed for an extra hour's kip, much to the crew's amusement.

10am and I'm back at the WMC, kitted out with crew and Doctor Who Confidential passes - one of two access-all-areas key cards given to our team - and a really cool radio and headset, bemusedly watching several burly men trying to fit the Genesis Ark through the stage door. It took them several attempts, not to mention several doors, but they got there in the end. And then things got really crazy.

As the point of contact for all seven teams filming on the day, I had to relay information, take extra tapes to those running low, deal with the crews asking where my PJ's had gone, let people in to our base of operations, organise food, put up with the crews congratulating me on looking human, take people spare batteries and kit and generally run around the maze that is backstage of the Millennium Centre like a crazy person.

In between all that I managed to stroke the TARDIS (yay!), run past David Tennant and Russell T Davies. I stumbled upon BBC Radio Wales crammed into a props room. I was on stage during rehearsal of the Doctor Who theme tune (fantastic!). I had to pose for photos by our lovely stills photographer, Stuart, who was doing a behind-the-scenes of the behind-the-scenes. Here a Dalek, there a Cyberman and – ooh, there goes David Tennant again!

By the time the concert started I think we'd interviewed everybody involved, possibly twice given the number of rushes tapes I'd been handed and, barring any emergencies, I had nothing to do but find an out of the way spot along the side of stage corridors to watch the concert on a conveniently placed telly.

And what a spectacle! The snippets I'd caught throughout the afternoon were nothing compared to the finished product. I can only imagine what it must have been like in the auditorium, but if the mood backstage was anything to go by it was amazing!

All too quickly 8.45pm came around and to the sound of thunderous applause I headed back upstairs to base to start packing up and chivvy our Confidential team volunteers into helping me take the kit and rushes back home for safe keeping. By 10pm we were saying goodbye to the WMC, the monsters, the TARDIS and a long day and heading off for a well deserved celebratory drink. A day to look back on with much fondness.. once my feet stop throbbing.

Tors Grantham is a Production Co-Ordinator on Doctor Who Confidential. DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL CHRISTMAS SPECIAL – MUSIC & MONSTERS BBC One, 25th December 1pm

Tennant Talks

 * Tennant Talks: Part One - David Tennant kindly agreed to let us film his fan Q&A session for BBC Radio Wales' Back In Time: Interrogation. 10 April 2007
 * Tennant Talks: Part Two - by 27 April 2007 am c.18 April	THURSDAY, 19 April 2007
 * Tennant Talks: Part Three - by 1 May 2007 am c.25 April	WEDNESDAY, 25 April 2007
 * Tennant Talks: Part Four - c.2 or 9 May, by Thu 10 May 2007 4am, by Tue 15 May 5pm SATURDAY, 5 May 2007
 * Tennant Talks: Part Five - c.16 May	TUESDAY, 15 May 2007
 * Tennant Talks: Part Six - by Sun 27 May 2007 6:30pm c.23 May	THURSDAY, 24 May 2007
 * Tennant Talks: Part Seven - by 7 June 2007 1am c.30 May	THURSDAY, 31 May 2007
 * Tennant Talks: Part Eight - c.6 June	WEDNESDAY, 6 June 2007
 * Tennant Talks: Part Nine - c.13 June	THURSDAY, 14 June 2007
 * Tennant Talks: Part Ten - by Sat 30 June 2007 am c 20 June	WEDNESDAY, 20 June 2007
 * Tennant Talks: Play All - David answers your Doctor Who questions. by 2 July 2007 pm; 15'47"

Missing website videos
Doctor Who Theme - Live at BBC Proms. - Download the exclusive live version! 22 December 2008
 * 
 * Only page I can see it on

The Game of Rassilon website videos
HOSTED ON THE DW - website content website

Confidential videos

 * Confidential Trailer - 10 second trailer for Doctor Who Confidential. c.18 March 2005
 * Confidential's 2005 Highlights - Set to Run, by Snow Patrol. 21 June 2005
 * Doctor Who Confidential - Short excerpt of CON: Backstage at Christmas from The Complete First Series DVD box set. 21 November 2005[73]
 * CON: Kylie Special - 55 second teaser. (Adventure Calendar)	25 December 2007
 * Confidential Trailer - A Noble Return... 3 April 2008 DURATION: 1'12" "Carmen Suite No. 1 (After Bizet): VI. Les Toréadors" by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Mark Ermler, Album: The Greatest Last Night of the Proms, Vol. 7
 * Confidential Trailer - The Italian Job. 9 April 2008 DURATION: 1'07" "Superbad" by Heinz Kiessling & Top Dogz, Album: Acid Lounge X-SERIES XCD070
 * Confidential Trailer - Oods And Ends. 16 April 2008 DURATION: 1'01" "Heartbeat to Hell" by Chris Blackwell, Album: Corporate, Sport, Pop ANW 1006 + "Fight Time" by Barrie Gledden, Album: Grunge, Rock, Big Beat ANW 1022
 * Confidential Trailer - Send in the Clones. 23 April 2008 DURATION: 1'09" "Monster b 2" by Barrie Gledden, Album: Hip Hop, Nu Skool, Electronica ANW 1034
 * Confidential Trailer - Sontar-Ha! 30 April 2008 DURATION: 1'06" "Remo Warrior (Lite)" by Bart K Hendrickson & Stix Randolph, Album: Drumline X-SERIES XUN003
 * The Eleventh Doctor Trail - Doctor Who Confidential special.	2 January 2009[130] SERIES 4 LOGO	DURATION: 0'24"
 * Matt Smith Interview - We hear from the man himself!	3 January 2009[131] SERIES 4 LOGO	DURATION: 5'44"


 * Doctor Who Confidential Preview Watch Doctor Who Confidential: War Games, straight after Victory of the Daleks on BBC Three. 1'25" 16 April 2010
 * The New Daleks In this clip from Doctor Who Confidential, Karen Gillan and Mark Gatiss discuss the new Daleks. (Dalek Ship Panoramic) 1'22" 30 April 2010
 * Doctor Who Confidential Preview In Blinded by the Light members of the crew reveal which of Steven Moffat's episodes are their personal favourites. 1'08" 30 April 2010
 * Doctor Who Confidential: Blinded by the Light In this clip from Doctor Who Confidential we go behind the scenes of Flesh and Stone. (Byzantium Forest Panoramic)	01'34" 1 May 2010
 * Production of Doctor Who: The Adventure Games Doctor Who Confidential goes behind the scenes of the forthcoming Adventure Games. 7'23" 14 May 2010
 * Gallifreyan Goal Scorer Football Focus collides with the world of Doctor Who in this preview clip from Doctor Who Confidential. 1'27" 11 June 2010
 * Doctor Who Confidential: Clip from Alien Abduction	Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Alex Kingston master the art of horse riding without horses… 1'58" 17 June 2010


 * Bringing Churchill to Life Writer Mark Gatiss talks about how he brought Churchill back to life for Doctor Who. (The World of Amy's History Hunt) 2'07" between 2-18 August 2010
 * Mark Gatiss visits the Churchill War Rooms Writer Mark Gatiss goes underground to investigate the Churchill War Rooms. (The World of Amy's History Hunt) 2'46"
 * The Writer and the Painter Writer Richard Curtis talks about writing his Doctor Who episode with the world's famous painter. (The World of Amy's History Hunt) 1'44"
 * The Actor Meets the Painter Actor Tony Curran visits the Getty museum in LA to see a famous Van Gogh painting. (The World of Amy's History Hunt) 4'55"
 * Doctor Who Confidential Uncover Agatha Christie The Doctor Who team discuss Agatha Christie's disappearance and placing her book titles in the episode. (The World of Amy's History Hunt) 2'52" between 2-18 August 2010
 * Historical Figures in Doctor Who Russell T Davies and David Tennant look at all the historical figures the Doctor has met in the show. (The World of Amy's History Hunt) 2'26"
 * Doctor Who Confidential: Shakespeare's Globe Doctor Who Confidential investigates Shakespeare's Globe. (The World of Amy's History Hunt) 1'02" between 2-18 August 2010
 * Doctor Who Confidential: David Tennant visits Pompeii	David Tennant visits Pompeii in this clip from Doctor Who Confidential. (The World of Amy's History Hunt) 2'14" between 2-18 August 2010
 * Doctor Who Confidential: Recreating the Titanic Doctor Who Confidential investigates how the look of the Titanic was recreated for Voyage of the Damned. (The World of Amy's History Hunt) 0'43" between 2-18 August 2010


 * The Brains behind the Brawn Mark Gatiss & Steven Moffat talk to Doctor Who Confidential about the new Daleks in War Games. (Dalek Invasion!) 1'46" 27 September 2010
 * Doctor Who Confidential: Blinded by Light Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Alex Kingston talk to Doctor Who Confidential about the return of the Weeping Angels. (Angel Invasion!) 2'05" 29 September 2010


 * The Mystery of the Missing Crime Queen In 1926 one of the largest manhunts the UK had ever seen was mounted in the search for Agatha Christie. (Step Back in Time) 1'46" 10 December 2010


 * Doctor Who Confidential and Charlie McDonnell He's a YouTube star, they're a BBC Three show… both have over a million viewers, both are crazy about Doctor Who, and they've been working together to make four special films about the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special. 0'18" 20 December 2010


 * Departing Executive Producer Beth Willis Gets Into Deep Water Departing Executive Producer Beth Willis was known for her hands on approach and in this clip from Doctor Who Confidential she gets into deep water during the production of The Vampires of Venice… 1'58" 7 July 2011


 * Doctor Who Confidential: What Dreams May Come, Preview The next episode of Doctor Who Confidential is on BBC3, immediately after The Girl Who Waited. Watch a clip now! 3'40" 7 September 2011
 * On Set with Matt Smith and David Walliams Matt Smith interviews David Walliams! See more of them both in Doctor Who Confidential on Saturday, BBC Three right after The God Complex. 1'39" 15 September 2011
 * The artist Matt Smith More behind the scenes madness as James Corden introduces us to the artistic side of Matt Smith. An artist can't be rushed, but we see the makings of a masterpiece. (Doctor Who Confidential) 0'52" 22 September 2011

The Big Questions

 * "Lucinda's Locket" by John Dankworth, Album: Big Band, 1920s-1970s ANW 1090
 * "Soft Focus Bossa" by Paul Mottram, Album: Latin Jazz ANW 1261
 * "Mars Bar" by Mat Andasun, Album: Vintage Sci Fi ANW 1227
 * "Bossa Negre" by Paul Mottram, Album: Small Jazz Group, Piano, Boogie ANW 1157
 * "Easy Bossa" by Christopher Ashmore, Album: Jazz, Boogie ANW 1257
 * "Strictly Come Cruising" by Alexander L'Estrange, Album: Jazz ANW 1246
 * "Swing That Shoe" by Terry Devine-King, Album: Big Band, Jazz ANW 1030

Video Explorer

 * Dan May on the pre-visualisation of the opening scene
 * James Swanson on aerial photography in the opening scene
 * Nikki Wilson on producing the opening scene
 * Adam Smith on directing the opening scene
 * Barney Curnow on visual effects of the opening scene
 * Tim Ricketts on sound dub of the opening scene
 * Gordon Seed on being Matt Smith's stunt double
 * Danny Hargreaves on practical effects
 * Paul Jefferies on sound effects editing
 * Matt Smith explains his role in the opening scene