THE FIRST DOCTOR
DavID BraDley returns to First principles as the Doctor – the original, you might say. “this is for the fans,” he tells Nick Setchfield
Meet the new William Hartnell, AKA David Bradley, as he tells us about his experiences on the show, and find out why the original Time Lord is actually pretty cool.
how SurPriSed are you to find yourSelf baCK in doCtor who?
I’d already been sounded out about a year ago. They were wondering if I’d be onboard and I just said, “Yeah, start writing now, I’m ready!” I was onboard without seeing a script, as I was with An Adventure In Space And Time. I couldn’t wait. Even after An Adventure In Space And Time I couldn’t count myself in the pantheon of Doctor Whos. But I’m assured that now I can. And I’ve got a figurine on the way to prove it!
laSt time you were david bradley Playing william hartnell Playing the firSt doCtor. are you now juSt david bradley Playing the firSt doCtor?
It’s me playing the Doctor but armed with the experience of playing Bill Hartnell. I’m sure the lines blur somewhere and it all feeds into it. It’s helped an enormous amount on this Christmas episode – it was so embossed on my brain box that it came back quite easily. But last time I felt I had to get it right for his family. This one is for the fans.
did you rewatCh the original hartnell ePiSodeS or did you have a muSCle memory of Playing him?
Yes, I had a memory of it, but occasionally if I was rehearsing I’d feel “I’ve lost him, I’ve lost the Doctor” – the way I was reading it or perceiving it, it felt like I’d slipped back into just being me. So I would bung on something on YouTube or DVD. I’d play a clip, just to remind myself of the way he was, physically and vocally. It would take a minute or so just to remind myself of his essence.
did the CoStume helP you?
Oh yes. I brought along my own hat from An Adventure In Space And Time. They made a replica hat and gave it to me at the end. You’ve got to be careful where you wear it because people say, “There’s that sad geezer who thinks he’s Doctor Who…” (laughs). So no, I don’t wear it to the football.
iS it a Challenge to Put your own StamP on SuCh an iConiC role?
Bill Hartnell created the stamp in the first place. He created the template for all the other Doctors that followed. I had to remind myself he wasn’t just a grumpy old grandad. He had a childlike sense of wonder, hence his curiosity about everything in the universe. Who hasn’t daydreamed about going back to roman times or the Stone Age? We all do that, don’t we? He remains young because of that. He’s got so much to do in so little time that he’s always on the go. Occasionally it gets him into trouble and he gets it wrong, and that makes him vulnerable and makes him human. I like all those different aspects.
we’re meeting the firSt doCtor in hiS final dayS. waS there any reSonanCe for you with william hartnell’S own Story?
Yes, there’s bound to be. He found it so difficult letting go, as we know, and the Doctor’s having a similar crisis. And then he meets this other guy in the snow who says he’s the Doctor… A lot of the comic energy of the piece is between the two of them deciding who’s legit!
if you’d been offered the role baCK in the day, what would your own doCtor have been liKe?
I’m not sure I would have been confident enough or experienced enough to play it at the time. I jump at things now I would have shied away from then. Just do it and ask questions later. I like to think I’d have been a jokey prankster of some kind. Eccentric and funny. Someone asked me what my ideal costume would be. I jokingly said, “Jockstrap and gladiator boots!” And so this appears on social media and you think, “Oh god… A little more discretion next time, Dave!” You can’t say, “I was only kidding!”
you worKed with ChriS Chibnall on broadChurCh. what do you thinK he’S going to bring to doCtor who?
He’s got form. Not only Broadchurch, because of course he’s written Doctor Who before. He’s chosen Jodie and he knows what she’s capable of. Well, we all do. I wouldn’t say she’s got a channel to her emotions – it’s more like a three-lane motorway! She’s capable of such great feelings. That heartbreaking stuff she had to do in Broadchurch when her child went missing. I can’t imagine anyone viewing that performance dispassionately. Not only has she got emotional depth and range but she’s also got this great sense of fun and she’s great to hang around with. She’s always a laugh. And I do hope she plays it Yorkshire! [laughs]