Saturday 28 February 2009

Doctor Who 2009 - Filming continues...

Filming continues across South Wales for the last batch of Dr Who episodes starring David Tennant (sob). With the (hopefully) Easter special 'Planet of the Dead' co-starring Michelle Ryan and Lee Evans having wrapped (it's a technical expression!) the crew have moved on to the next episode which appears to to be this year's Christmas special, directed by the redoubtable Graeme Harper who has overseen so many episodes of the new incarnation of the show. Guest stars for this one include actress Lindsay Duncan (recently seen in BBc2's drama-doc 'Margaret') and....er...Dean Gaffney, allegedly - although this may yet prove to be a vicious internet rumour. To be fair though, he was quite funny in 'Extras'... Anyway, tonight (Friday) saw the unit set up in the Stow Hill area of fabulous Newport at Victoria Place, a road of terraced Victorian/Edwardian/something-ian houses set back from the urban sprawl of Newport itself. My unerring homing-pigeon like sense of direction had me wandering around Newport for nearly two hours before I finally found the recalcitrant TV mob and I eventually wended my weary way up Stow Hill to be rewarded by the ever spine-tingling sight of the TARDIS ablaze with lights standing in the street. On-lookers were asked to move to the far side of the road looking down and across the unit from which far from ideal vantage point we could see David Tennant, Ms Duncan and a couple of other cast members emerge from the TARDIS onto the snow-dusted street (well, it is Christmas and it always snows at Christmas in a Russell T Davies Dr Who yarn.) The scene was rehearsed time and again before the unit broke for its lunch...just before midnight! The fools!!! Here's a couple of videoclips of tonight's action...nothing too exciting due to the distance from the set but clip one shows the TARDIS taken from behind (ooe-er) with its back off and the second shows Tennant and co emerging from the Ship (if you squint you can see smudgy figures...that's David Tennant and Lindsay Duncan, honest!)

3 comments:

Frank Collins said...

Lindsey Coulson has already been in Doctor Who. She was in 'Midnight'. Are you confusing her with Lindsay Duncan, who is definitely on set tonight with Tennant?

And that does not look like Dean Gaffney to me either? Are we sure about this Dean Gaffney business? Didn't it come from his Twitter page that he was in Doctor Who?

Paul Mount said...

Doh!! (slaps forehead). You're right about the Lindsays!!! That'll teach me to not go within a mile of soaps!! Amendments on the way. No Dean Gaffney around tonight and I've not seen anything to confirm his appearance...apart from that twitter stuff wich may well be fabricated...

Frank Collins said...

Apparently our good friend Lizo posted on DWF that the Twitter thing was a fabrication and Gaffney has not been cast at all.