More Jenna-Louise

Just found this one, a little interview with Jenna-Louise from the Beeb.



Note her comment right at the end "I'm sure I'll see the Daleks at some point but we'll see"!

And here's one I found earlier...

Classic and classy. Or are they the same thing?

Look, she's pretending not to have dimples! Perhaps it's a class thing?!

And where were we?

Ah yes, all of which bring us to... last night!

What a cool surprise. I wonder if we will see more of Jenna-Louise before she officially steps on board the TARDIS?? I mean, it can't just be a River Song type meeting in reverse scenario again can it? I think something else is afoot here! She is a bit of an angel tho isn't she?!

Pics from the official BBC Doctor Who website, here, and elsewhere.

Humiliation of new companion (Part 3)

So, after the urban press photo call, and the fake TARDIS official photo shoot, what do they do to you next? They stick your cheesiest promo pics online for everyone to see...

...But yet again Jenna-Louise passes with, err, dimples.

Pics yet again raided from the Radio Times site here.

[Is there more? Well I think there might just well be...]

It's the dimples isn't it?

The second part of becoming a new Who companion, after they thrust you into a photo call, wearing whatever you turned up in, against a horrible urban landscape, are the crappy official shots taken with a dummy TARDIS (it's not even the real one!), where again, they photograph you wearing whatever you turned up in...

Yep, this girl is just too damn cute, and I know how she's gone and done it. Dimples. Simples. One day they'll isolate the genes for dimples and all the girls will have them. Until then, well, until then we have Jenna-Louise. Hoarah!

There's a whole load of these, so you'll still have to pop over to the Radio Times site here to check them all (although admitedly many of them look the same!).

[most definitely more coming...]

Teasers?

Then in June we got the following 'on location' snaps, which got the fans talking. Now I haven't been following the location shooting, as I think it gives away too many spoilers, but I reckon she just popped in to say hello and isn't even in costume. But what do I know.

[oh yes, there's more...]

Well hello Jenna-Louise!

I sort of kept quiet on all the new series stuff, including the announcement of the new companion, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman. Less is more, if you know what I mean.

Well here's a little catch-up for you all.

Together with the announcedment on 21 March, we got to see this lovely pic:

It was announced that Coleman, 25, and who played Jasmine Thomas in the TV soap Emmerdale, was due to make her first appearance in the 2012 xmas special...

Here's a few more images which have subsequently appeared from the same photo call (which follow a long standing Who tradition of sticking your wonderful new companion against the ugliest urban setting you possibly can, thus making the girl look more stunning and beautiful. Well it works in this case no?). Apologies to the photographers/agencies involved, it's for a good cause...

Doesn't she look just made up:

And here she is with some dodgy geezer who looks vaguely familiar:

A few days later the first official photo came out:

Nice jumper...

[More coming soon...]

Hippy Chic

Great interview with one of our fave Who girls of yesteryear, Katy Manning, in the Radio Times (complete with little Bellamy illustrations - although very poor scans!), online here. Don't forget to check the links at the end - the RT site now has a great section on classic Who stories (they are still updating with Colin Baker and haven't got to Sylvester McCoy yet).

Here's a snippet I never knew:

"She’s a bundle of insecurities, especially about her looks. As a teenager in the 60s, she was involved in a horrendous car crash. Dating Richard Eyre (long before he became a theatrical knight), she was driven up to see him at Oxford University by Bamber Gascoigne’s brother, Brian. On the way back, “We went over a roundabout and into a garage. There were no seatbelts in those days. I was thrown through the windscreen and a plate-glass window.”

Gascoigne sustained broken ribs, whereas Katy’s legs were smashed, her back was broken, her face disfigured. She spent almost two years in and out of hospital. “They weren’t entirely sure I’d walk again. I have more metal in my body than an airport can handle. I had a lot of reconstructive surgery. When you kiss this [left] side of my face, it’s skin grafted from my bottom. So it’s kiss my ass!"

And you can't interview Katy without talking about that Dalek photoshoot...

It’s heartbreaking because most of the nation – and her colleagues – thought she was incredibly sexy. “I’d never have done those shots with the Dalek if I thought I was sexy.” She notoriously posed nude with a Dalek in Girl Illustrated in 1978. “I did it for a laugh. It was a lot of fun and it was my idea. Derek Nimmo [co-star in the West End farce Why Not Stay for Breakfast?] was furious because he’d given me those boots for my opening night. Then I wrapped them round a Dalek.”

And the best bit:

Many former Doctor Who stars have published autobiographies. Katy never has and never will. “I am asked all the time. Daily! I’m exaggerating, but I’m a very private person. I’ve been secretive since childhood. It would be so goddamn boring tracking back over my life, which ain’t over yet. There are too many people involved I don’t really need to talk about. And I’ve been a naughty girl. Naughty girls don’t write books!” A throaty cackle. How naughty, Katy? “I think I’ve been about as naughty as you can get.” She gives one of those faraway but saucy, you-name-it/I’ve-done-it grins.

It's a great little interview, well written by someone with an appreciation of Who, and Katy. I actually got quite jealous of the interviewer.

There's also a good gallery of Katy promo pics on the RT site here.

Next companion... a red herring?

Combom's picked up on a tweet by the Moff, [perhaps too obviously a red herring?];

An interesting tweet from Steven Moffat earlier this week;

Right EVERYBODY who follows me, go and follow @SophiaMyles - spin that fireplace. NOW. I'll explain later. Or not.

Of course @SophiaMyles is Sophia Myles who played Madame De Pompadour in the 10th Doctor story 'The Girl in the Fireplace', written by the Moff. Sophia apparently replied: 'Watch this (fire)place and also added 'The plot thickens...' [I'm not a twitter nit so have to take other people's word for all this!]

Will Moff play it safe, again, and go for an actress he's already used in Who? Maybe. Would he openly drop such a huge hint about the next companion? Probably not.

My feeling - maybe she will appear in the next series (or maybe Sherlock, which has been suggested elsewhere), but not as companion... she's two year's older than Matt Smith, which would, I think, be a bit odd...


My vote, if we had to recycle someone - bring back Michelle Ryan (Lady Christina de Souza), preferably in PVC catsuit! I mean, there's a loose end that needs tying up - last seen flying off in a red London bus... come on, surely the Moff can't resist the temptation to tie up every loose end ever in the history of the show... (now there's a challenge for him).

Karen drifts off into space

Everyone's talking about Karen's forthcoming role playing Jean Shrimpton in a dramatisation of her affair with photographer David Bailey - We'll Take Manhattan airs this month on BBC4.

The Guardian (or is the Observer?) has a wee interview with the lass here, including this very strange picture of Karen remembering that she's left the oven on whilst pretending to be... well we're not sure what, a fairy cake perhaps.

Anyway, here's a little snippet for anyone too lazy to click the link...

What does she find relaxing? "Space!" Space? As in… "Space! I went to the Royal Observatory the other day, and looked through the biggest telescope in the UK. I saw a star from 47 years in the past. Hang on…" She leaps up to find her phone and shows me her screensaver, a photo of Saturn.

"Yep, space excites me. My dream is to go to space. And dreams – I find the meanings of dreams very interesting. And the brain. Did you know the brain has three layers, and when we're drunk, we revert to the bottom layer, which is only interested in eating, sleeping and 'meeting a partner'. And music connects to that layer, that bottom layer! Did you know that?" No! What would she be if not an actor? Would she go back to college, study science? "I'd be a hypnotist, like Paul McKenna. I'd make people feel like they are in love."

Though she's "relieved" to be leaving Dr Who in the next series, there's some time before she has to think about a career change. However much she tries to suppress it – staying off the red carpets, staying out of the taxis and arms of fellow actors – her fame is growing. She is just back from meetings in LA, "which were pretty weird, actually. In Britain they try and actually dissect your personality – over there they just want to see what you can do."

Can she imagine moving out to Hollywood? What would she do? How would she change? She thinks for a second, and curls a wisp of her ketchup-coloured hair around a long white finger. "I think," she says, slowly, "I think I'd stay in the shade."


Karen jumps for joy at not having to pretend to understand the Moff's timey-wimey scripts anymore. [Photos by Alan Clarke for the Observer]

The original Sarah-Jane

How it could have been: nearly 40 years later, the secret of who was originally cast as Doctor Who's Sarah Jane Smith has been revealed. It was April Walker, best known for myriad guest roles in Fawlty Towers, The Two Ronnies and Yes, Minister.

Pictured above left is Jon Pertwee in the 1973 story The Time Warrior, which introduced Sarah Jane Smith. Then, above right, is April Walker in a Two Ronnies sketch, The Attractive Barmaid, from the same year.

Doctor Who producer Barry Letts cast Walker when Katy Manning left the role of Jo Grant, the Doctor's previous companion, and she worked in rehearsals for The Time Warrior. But allegedly the pairing of Pertwee's Doctor and Walker's Sarah Jane didn't work: she was a tall and more obviously strong character, along the lines of Pertwee's first companion, Liz Shaw (Caroline John).

It's believed that Pertwee was unhappy with the decision but it would ultimately have been Letts who recast the role. Walker was reportedly paid for both The Time Warrior and the rest of that series.

Changes during production are not common but they do happen: the most famous is perhaps the replacement of Eric Stoltz with Michael J Fox for Back to the Future. Unusually, that was quickly revealed, even if footage of his filming has been harder to find. But for BBC drama fans, the remaining question is over Dr Rose Marie in A Very Peculiar Practice: Barbara Flynn knows who she replaced during filming but still won't say.

Lis Sladen always refused to reveal April Walker's name, too. But the news has been divulged now on a DVD release of Invasion of the Dinosaurs, the second story with Sarah Jane.

Source: Radio Times

Gillan talks about departure from Who

Speaking on 'The Graham Norton Show', Karen Gillan admitted it's a "massive relief" to finally be able to discuss her alter-ego's departure from the series. "I've known about it for ages. It's such a massive relief that [the news] is out and I can speak freely about it.

"I'm back next year for a few episodes but it's not actually confirmed when I go."

Karen will depart 'Doctor Who' alongside her on-screen husband Arthur Darvill - who plays Rory Pond - and show boss Steven Moffat has previously revealed the pair's exit will be "heartbreaking".

He said: "The Ponds will be rejoining us next series. But the final days of the Ponds are coming, I am not telling you when and I won't say how. But that story is going to come to a heartbreaking end."

Meanwhile, the flame-haired actress has admitted she wants her alter-ego to be killed off so she can be remembered as a "good" companion to the time-travelling Doctor.

She recently said: "Death would be an option. I don't want Amy to pop up again every so often, because for me it would take away from the big, emotional goodbye.

"Once she's gone, she's gone. I want people to remember the Amy Pond era as a good one."

And they're off...

The Sun starts the running on who's going to be the next Who Girl... whilst also making some noise about the 'mystery' axing of Amy from the series. Personally, I don't think their's anything mysterious - her character has had a fair bit of focus in the series, to say the least, and really, what more can they do to develop the character? If she didn't make the decision herself, then Moff would have made it for her sooner or later.

Anyway, enough of that and on to the interesting stuff! The trusted Sun report talks up the rather unlikely scenario of Matt Smith's ex (or is it back on again?), Daisy Lowe, taking on the role:

Matt, 29, who plays the 11th Doctor, said he was "very disappointed" to see Karen go. Matt split from Daisy, 22, last month after 18 months together.

But yesterday they were snapped hugging outside her North London home before going inside, sparking rumours of a reunion. An onlooker said: "They looked really cosy and happy to see each other."

Downton Abbey star Jessica Brown-Findlay is 4/1 favourite to replace Karen with model Lily Cole at 6/1. Strictly star Chelsee Healey is 12/1.

Ladbrokes' Jessica Bridge said: "Ratings would surely rocket if Lowe and Smith were thrown together."

Amy and Rory to leave during next series

Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill - who play Doctor Who companions Amy Pond and Rory - are to leave the show during the next series. Hopefully their swan song will be free of twisted time-lines, stolen babies and regenerating daughters.

"The final days of the Ponds are coming," Moffat said. "I'm not telling you when or how, but that story is going to come to a heartbreaking end." [Sounds ominous...]

He said the Doctor, played by Matt Smith, was going to meet "a new friend". It is believed that role has not yet been cast.

On the departure of Gillan and Darvill, Matt Smith said: "We had the most incredible journey. We took over the show and we've really had to hold hands and help each other through it.

So... the most interesting thing to happen in Who for a couple of years... we get to speculate on who the next companion is going to be. Best be a nice young chick or else I might stop watching...

Pond on Pond

No Dalek in sight but no reason why we can't have legs without daleks... what is he on about you wonder. What is he on would be a better question.

Pic from WhoFix, who have a much better caption than my waffle...

Too hot to not...

...post


You all know I have a weakness for the lovely Nicola. Well we had to focus on something during those Colin Baker years.


With thanks from WhoFix. Boy we're gonna miss you guys.

More Daleks with legs...

Yep, its just another excuse for a pic of Kylie. Do we love Kylie or what. I think it's a different photo to last time, but who cares if it's not.

No padding in Padders

Another new photo I hadn't seen before, with thanks and appreciation to WhoFix.

Princess Amy

I tend to ignore fan based stuff on this blog (OK, with the exception of 'Daleks with legs' and a few other obsessions) and stick to the offical Who stuff, but this one's just too good to ignore...

Image by by Tryblue. Original source here, and the now standard nod to Combom here.

Karen Gillan: Obsessive fans, short skirts and life with Doctor Who

Karen Gillan: Obsessive fans, short skirts and life with Doctor Who
Interview by Gerard Gilbert
Saturday, 7 May 2011

The boiled down bits...

Matt Smith has playfully likened his co-star to a praying mantis.

Gillan's audition for the role involved a clandestine visit to BBC Television Centre, where she had to give the receptionist the password "panic moon" ("it's an anagram of companion").

She didn't tell her mother that she'd won the role because her mum is a "proper diehard Whovian. She's got a Tardis money-bag, and Dalek bubble-bath" and might have blabbed.


A happy redhead.

Her main memory of school is of being teased for being a redhead. "I don't know why, though, there are loads of us in Scotland. It's almost a majority," she laughs. "I was teased but it's OK, because I used to like my hair even at that age." In fact, Amy Pond has become something of a role model for young redheads. "I get letters from them – it makes me really happy."

The Pilgrim in Kennington will perhaps one day live up to its name and become a destination for Whovian tour groups, Gillan having worked behind the bar there for a year.


Karen in her pub working days. Or is that a club?

Her innocence in such matters as obsessive fans will eventually wear off, no doubt...

Life in Cardiff sounds almost monastic, even with the odd jaunt such as a recent one to see Arcade Fire in concert (Smith was mobbed apparently, but Gillan left to dance unmolested). "Filming the show becomes your life in a way and I really worry that I don't have anything else to talk about," she says. "Everything's Doctor Who. We don't have a social life or anything, because you just can't, and film the next day.


Karen, presumably snapped in her empty bedsit in Cardiff. Poor, depressed struggling actress needs cheering up. Call...


"I watch stuff on YouTube every night – that's what I do in the hour that we have between filming and looking forward to our houmous and Nairn's oatcakes. That's what Matt and I have in the evenings... it's depressing," she laughs.

Source

Sounds like Karen doesn't watch cooking clips on You Tube. I'm a bit worried about those two living like a pair of pikey students in Cardiff. So worried I might start making my own cooking lesson vids for them and post them on YouTube. If only I could cook. Or had a video camera. Perhaps they should do a 'Come Dine with Me' Who Special and share the cooking amongst them. I bet Rory's an untamed force in the kitchen.

Anyway, glad to hear Karen's not out and about in Cardiff on school nights. Guess she learnt that during her first season.

Oh, and I missed out the bits about her boyfriend - we're gonna carry on pretending he doesn't exist...