Russell steps down from Doctor role

chris

Doctor Who writer and executive producer Russell T Davies is stepping down from his role, the BBC confirmed.

Davies, who oversaw the relaunch of the sci-fi show on BBC1, is handing over the reins to Bafta award-winning writer Steven Moffatt, who has written for the show. Moffatt, born in 1961, previously applied for the job but was rejected - at the age of seven.

Davies said: "It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven, and I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night."

Moffatt has just written the screenplay for the Tintin film directed by Steven Spielberg. He was previously known for writing such popular and highly-acclaimed shows as Press Gang, and Coupling, and in 2007 adapted the classic Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde story for the BBC as Jekyll.

The writer, who will pen the fifth series of Doctor Who for broadcast in 2010, joked: "My entire career has been a secret plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also, I was seven. Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light".

BBC Fiction Controller Jane Tranter said: "The past four series have been brilliantly helmed by the spectacularly talented Russell T Davies.

"As lead writer and executive producer, he has overseen the creative direction and detail of the 21st century relaunch of Doctor Who and we are delighted to have his continued presence on the specials over the next 18 months.

"But the challenge and excitement of the fifth series is now being handed to Steven Moffat. The Tardis couldn't be in safer hands... Steven has a wonderful mix of being a committed Doctor Who fan and a true artist, and his plans for the next series are totally thrilling."

Two of Moffat's Doctor Who stories have won the Hugo, one of the science fiction world's major awards.

Doctor Who returns in 2009 with four specials.


source: The Press Association

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chris

BAFTA-award winning writer Steven Moffat is to succeed Russell T Davies as the lead writer and producer of Dr Who, the BBC has announced.

Mr Moffat will pen the fifth series of the cult show, which will be broadcast on the BBC in 2010.

The Hugo Award-winning writer has already penned some of the series’ most acclaimed episodes, including “Blink” with its weeping angels, for which he won the Bafta Writer Award 2008.

“My entire career has been a secret plan to get this job,” he said.

“I applied before but I got knocked back cos (sic) the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven.

“Anyway, I’m glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it’s a huge honour to be following Russell into the best – and the toughest – job in television.

“I say ‘toughest’ cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing.”

Russell T Davies said: “It’s been a delight and an honour working with Steven, and I can’t wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor.

“Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!”

Elaine Penn, features editor at TV Choice, said there had been industry rumours for some time that Davies’ work on the show would be coming to an end.

“Russell had said in the past that he would go,” she said. The whole team had announced they were going to be standing down, including the main producers.

“It seems to be that they’ve all felt that, it’s not necessarily run its course, but they don’t want to continue with it because it might overstep the mark or be too much of a good thing.”

For the current series, Moffat, whose career began with the ITV children’s drama Press Gang in 1989, for which he won his first Bafta, has written Silence in the Library, a two-parter starring Alex Kingston which transmits on May 31.

His previous work on Doctor Who includes The Girl in the Fireplace for Series Two, which earned him his second Hugo Award. His first was for the Series One two-parter The Empty Child, which became famous for its terrifying refrain “are you my mummy?”

Menna Richards, controller of BBC Wales, said: “BBC Wales is very proud of Doctor Who’s phenomenal success. Steven Moffat is an extraordinary talent and we are very much looking forward to him joining the Doctor Who team.”

Source: IC Wales

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Channel Hopper

Kudos to Mr Davies for bringing back a series from the dead, giving kids the willies before bedtime once again.

Steven Moffat must surely go down as one of the greatest writers of this era, comedy/drama/and Sci-Fi.And to get them on the medium of TV takes some doing.

Coupling is probably my favourite series of his, but Blink really did show his genius of packing a complete story with unknown persons/monsters into under an hour.

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"