Series 4 Begins Filming

[RitaLittlewood]

BBC press release:

Doctor Who: Filming begins on series 4

Category: TV Drama; BBC One; Wales
Date: 10.08.2007

Felicity Kendal to guest star in the new series

Doctor Who series four filming is underway with Catherine Tate joining the BAFTA award-winning BBC One drama series as The Doctor's brand new companion, Donna Noble.

Award-winning actress Tate is reprising her role as Donna, the runaway bride who featured in last year's Doctor Who Christmas special.

The start of the new series will see Donna tracking down the Time Lord during an alien emergency in modern-day London.

The couple are destined to experience a series of wonderful adventures throughout the new series including meeting one of Doctor Who's most popular aliens, The Ood, in a brand new episode, Planet Of The Ood.

Donna and The Doctor – David Tennant – will also be travelling through time for an encounter with the legendary murder mystery novelist, Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie will be played by Jekyll star Fenella Woolgar and The Good Life actress Felicity Kendal will star as Lady Clemency Eddison.

Blackadder and Notting Hill actor Tim McInnerny will also guest star later in the series.

Doctor Who's executive producer and head writer, Russell T Davies comments: "Visiting Agatha Christie has been on my wish-list for ages now and, for the Doctor, it's a real meeting of minds! Viewers can expect many more ambitious storylines and a whole host of guest stars in 2008."

Mathew Prichard, Agatha Christie's grandson, comments: "What a brilliant idea that Agatha Christie and Doctor Who should meet! Two characters whose contribution to British entertainment is absolutely unrivalled.

"As far as I know my grandmother, Agatha Christie, never saw Doctor Who, but I am sure she would have been intrigued, excited and above all flattered by all this attention in 2007."

Catherine Tate said: "I am delighted to be returning to Doctor Who. I had a blast last Christmas and look forward to travelling again through time and space with that nice man from Gallifrey."

Freema Agyeman who has played Martha Jones, The Doctor's companion throughout the critically acclaimed third series, will return to the show to join The Doctor and Donna mid-series.

The fourth series of Doctor Who will hit BBC One in Spring 2008.

The producer is Phil Collinson; Executive producers are Head of Drama, BBC Wales, Julie Gardner and Russell T Davies.

Doctor Who is filmed in Cardiff.

[sootycat]

Freema Agyeman who has played Martha Jones, The Doctor's companion throughout the critically acclaimed third series, will return to the show to join The Doctor and Donna mid-series

Here's hoping when Martha returns Donna bogs off.

[RitaLittlewood]

When Martha returns I'm having visions of her looking all doe-eyed as the Doctor pays Donna more attention. Yawn!

Patsy

[eithne]

"throughout the critically acclaimed third series"

Nobody I knew gave it critical acclaim only bloody RTD!!! Who writes this cr*p? Oh wait - the BBC. That explains it then!!! (Apologies for the language, but a spade should be called a spade and so on...)

Anyway here's more series 4 news:

---

Filming for the fourth series of Doctor Who has been disrupted, after a fire spread through a film set that producers had planned to use.

Writers have plotted an Ancient Rome-themed episode for the new series, and the show's team recently flew out to the Cinecitta studios in Italy, which had previously been used to recreate the ancient city for hit BBC Two show Rome.

However, expensive BBC equipment was destroyed when a fire hit the set on Thursday night. Fortunately, most of the crucial parts have been left untouched, and producers are still hoping to go ahead with their plans once the damage has been cleared up.

An insider told The Sun: "It was a huge blaze. At one point, it looked like the whole studio was a goner. It threw a real spanner in the works for the Doctor Who team. They're planning an episode where the Doctor goes back in time to Ancient Rome and thought it would be perfect to use the set. Filming on Rome has finished so it wasn't being used."

---

From Digital Spy (who quoted from The Sun)

So Ancient Rome - good idea, but knowing RTD there will be plenty of CGI alien baddies as opposed to real life ones like Caesar and Nero.

[RitaLittlewood]

LOL! Never a truer word spoken. He's so far up himself he probably wrote the press release himself.

Rome? Think I'll stick with The Romans even though it was historically wrong. It's a good comedy romp anyway.

Patsy

[RitaLittlewood]

Just read this on another board:

Iconic British actress Joan Collins has reportedly signed up to play
a time-travelling villain in the forthcoming season of Doctor Who.

The News of the World claims that 74-year-old Collins, best known
for her role as Alexis Carrington Colby in the soap Dynasty, has
already signed up for the role of The Doctor's arch nemesis The
Rani, a scheming Gallifreyan scientist who appeared twice in the
classic series.

The tabloid quotes an insider in the show as saying: "The Doctor Who
team are delighted they've managed to sign Joan. It's a real coup.
[She's] perfect for the role... like Alexis Colby with a sonic
screwdriver."

Also

Sylvester McCoy claimed that Fifth Doctor Peter Davison is due to
return for Series 4 in a Multi-Doctor episode

----------------------------------------------------

I'll believe the multi-Doctor when it happens as we know RTD ruled it out from the start beause HE hates them.

Patsy

[eithne]

Oh please don't let it be Joan Collins as the Rani. I just can't imagine her in DW. Even Zoe Lucker would be better.

[RitaLittlewood]

I hadn't thought of that. What a horrible thought.

Patsy

[Peter]

Just for once though i'd like him to go to an alien planet, not aliens on earth, a spacestation and the like. I'm really glad there is a fourth series though.

[RitaLittlewood]

It would be a novelty. I can't see why RTD claims it costs too much. That's what quarries were for in the original and they've been known to use them during the revival. LOL!

Patsy

[RitaLittlewood]

It was just on the radio Sarah Lancashire will be in an episode as a high-powered businesswoman.

Patsy

[eithne]

She's in the first episode according to DS.

[RitaLittlewood]

It really is getting worse than the JNT years with all these names. Its RTD that desperate for ratings? Maybe he knows it's crap and hardly anyone would watch otherwise.

Patsy

[eithne]

Sarah Lanchashire is hardly a "name" now in all honesty is she? If it was Sharon Stone or some big Hollywood actress then that would show desperation (as well as good negotiating skills!). But a former Corrie turned Where the Heart Is star whose golden handshake megabucks deal with ITV was not renewed? I don't think so.

[RitaLittlewood]

LOL! Well she was but maybe has been forgotten by the masses and it's only Corrie viewers who remember her.

Patsy