The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Doctor will attempt to unravel mystery of missing ninth legion
Episode of new series to bring the Doctor to Scotland
The Doctor will now try to solve the mysterious disappearance of the ninth Roman legion, lost during a posting to Scotland.
A new episode of Doctor Who, set in Aberdeenshire, will suggest that the invaders were devoured by a monster rather than being massacred by Pictish warriors.
The Eaters of Light, written by Rona Munro, the Scottish playwright, will show legionaries and Caledonian tribesman being hunted down by a cavedwelling beast.
The long-running series has a global audience of 80 million and tourism chiefs are hoping the exposure will generate an invasion of sci-fi fans – even though the episode was actually filmed in Wales, in the Brecon Beacons.
The BBC has confirmed that the Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, will take his companion, Bill Potts – played by Pearl Mackie – to north-east Scotland in the latest series, which begins on Saturday.
A spokesman said: “A long time ago the Roman legion of the ninth vanished into the mists of Scotland.
“Bill has a theory about what happened and the Doctor has a time machine. But when they arrive in ancient Aberdeenshire what they find is a far greater threat than any army.
“In a cairn, on a hillside, is a doorway leading to the end of the world.”
Ms Munro, who was born in Aberdeen and went to Mackie Academy in Stonehaven, says the episode was inspired by memories of watching William Hartnell and by local legends she heard as a child.
She said: “When I was watching the first Doctor I had a special cushion and would hide my face in it when the Daleks or other monsters appeared.
“The Eaters of Light is my version of stories that have haunted me almost as long.”
Munro, who wrote the James Plays for the National Theatre of Scotland, penned the final episodes of the series before it was axed in 1989.
She is the first author to write for the old and new versions of the show, which returned in 2005.
Stephen Moffat, the show’s Paisleyborn executive producer, claimed her monstrous creation would terrify a new generation of fans.