Doctor Who Christmas Special –
Gatiss, who is also quitting the
Doctor Who writing team he has been part of for the past 11 years, was delighted to be included in such a momentous episode.
“I was having a script meeting with Steve Moffat,” says Gatiss, “and, at the end, he said, ‘Are you free in the summer because I’m writing a part for you in Peter’s last episode?’
“He said, ‘I want you to be there when I go’ which was very touching.
“It was an amazing sort of valedictory to be there for Peter’s last story. It is such a lovely story, a very funny and moving story, and a lovely exit for Peter.”
Twice Upon A
Time picks up from this season’s cliffhanger, in which the Doctor was fatally shot by a Mondasian Cyberman and began to regenerate.
Stepping out of the Tardis into an arctic landscape, he fought off the glowing regeneration energy and fell to his knees, vowing that this time he would not live on.
Gatniss admits he can’t say much about the Christmas episode.
“It’s frustrating to be interviewed when you literally can’t say anything, but it’s because people are so keen to spoil,” Gatiss says.
“I think it’s important to try to keep something back because it’s a nicer surprise on the day.”
Gatiss, who co-created Sherlock with Moffatt and also plays Holmes’ (Benedict Cumberbatch) brother Mycroft in the series, is a life-long
Doctor Who fan. “It’s always been my favourite show. I remember watching Jon Pertwee’s first story when I was four and I was instantly hooked and have been ever since,” he says. “I was always more thrilled by it than frightened. I do have very early memories of being scared still, but it was a lovely scared.
“There are certain of those early Pertwee stories which are burnt into my brain. There was one called
Terror Of The Autons about plastic things coming to life. It just petrified me. I used to have nightmares (they) were following me.” Like most fans, he admits to having a favourite Doctor.
“Jon Pertwee was my doctor and he always will be my doctor. That’s just how it is,” Gatiss says, adding he empathised with a young fan he once met, who was disgruntled Christopher Eccleston had been replaced by David Tennant.
“He looked quite grumpy and I said, ‘What’s the matter?’ and he said, ‘He won’t be as good as my doctor’. I think that is just the way it is. It’s the one that imprints itself on you when just the right age, but they’re all fantastic.”
Gatiss is looking forward to watching the adventures of the new Doctor unfold and doesn’t rule out returning himself in some capacity – one day.
“I’ve written for four doctors and I feel very much part of the outgoing regime. I think it might be time for me to just let other people play with it. But never say never.
“I am so thrilled about Jodie Whittaker and the whole new direction because that is what the show has always thrived on.
“It depends on change and every few years it – like the Doctor – reinvents itself.”