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...

'Drunk giraffe' bangs head... and knocks over coffee (alot)

From Combom, who I've ripped this whole post off (as its so good), with the usual thanks...

Having been called "a drunk giraffe" by Steven Moffat and just plain clumsy by others, Matt Smith is known for frequently tripping up on himself. Early Sunday morning, however, this humourous trait of Matt's led to the actor falling over and splitting his head open.


Matt, 28, had been celebrating with his BBC1 show co-stars on Saturday night after they had finished filming the second part of the programme's current series. Medics patched up the gash with three stitches at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

A Beeb insider said: "Matt tripped over in his flat and sustained a minor head cut. He went to A&E as a precaution. He is very, very clumsy so nobody will be surprised."

The accident failed to dampen Matt's fun though - after treatment he went straight back to his pals to carry on partying.

Another source said: "It looked really painful but Matt didn't seem to care. Luckily they had just finished shooting scenes - if not his bosses would have been fuming because it didn't look too pretty."

Not only has Matt Smith broken his screwdriver multiple times and made a light fall on his head—now he's split open his own skull! "Clumsy" doesn't begin to describe him.

Source credit goes to The Sun (let's hope they didn't hack Matts phone to get the story!).

In fact (continues Combom), one of the best stories about Matt Smith comes from Steven Moffat, who was talking about how scared he was about Matt holding a torch for "The Pandorica Opens".

Look, Matt’s lovely, he’s a magnificent, brand new, hilarious, heartbreaking, heroic Doctor — but the fact is, if that man walks into a room with a coffee then it’s only so long before you’re wearing it. No, really, clumsiest man on earth. He walks like he’s in a constant state of surprise at his own limbs.

I remember when he turned up at a Worldwide meeting really early on, and the first thing he did was spill a cup of coffee over a rather lovely woman. Naturally she giggled, flushed and introduced her mother. (Ahh, life when you’re Matt ! I accidentally made eye contact with the same woman — she phoned the police and shot me in the face.) On the way out he apologised to a completely different woman for the coffee incident. “That was the wrong woman,” I said, as he went out the doors. “Nope,” he replied, “That was the second cup.”

Dr Who for Little People

Just what we like. More damn things to collect. Not that I'll be collecting these, but you know what I mean, one day you'll be rummaging through a box in a car boot sale and you'll find one of these and think to yourself, mmm, is this a worthless freebee given away with Doctor Who Adverntures Magazine or something worth spending 50p on. Only time will tell. As ever. As if it wouldn't.

Goodbye Sarah-Jane

So so sad. Elizabeth Sladen, my first TV girlfriend, has died from cancer aged 63.

I'll put a proper tribute piece up one day soon when I am back up and running online (yes there are parts of the planet which still have unbelievably crap internet connection speeds...), but for now, and perhaps more aptly, read Tom's wonderful tribute, here


Gonna' miss you Sarah Jane...

Season 6 Launch - Radio Times Cover

Yep, you've gussed it - Combom's got the scans, here.

Let it snow (or not)

First off, apologies for the long absence of fresh material on this blog - no it's not dead, just sleeping! Secondly, thanks to everyone still browsing through... glad you are still finding stuff to interest you here. Don't expect a wave of new postings anytime soon - I'm still in a dark and distant corner of this planet where a good internet connection is about as rare as a Loch Ness Monster sighting (yes, there are still places where one can escape from the curse of technology, and boy do I like it).

I've just waded through about two months of Who blog postings to catch up on Who news... and whilst I don't usually pay much attention to pre-season spoilers and speculation (there's a reason why they're called 'spoilers'!), there was one little titbit that caught my eyes (yes, very blue aren't they?). Rumour has it that the War Chief (that's me that is) may be making a reappearance in Season 6.... whilst I can't confirm or deny this (not much point in me doing either, as perhaps it happens in my future and I don't yet know about it either), those of you who have been wondering if I've been busy trying to get Karen Gillan to hop into my SIDRAT will be dissapointed to know that I've just been faffing around in a tropical paradise... (and no, I don't feel sorry for you snow bound folk stuck in the UK - we all have choices in life, and staying on a crowded, muddy, and sometimes snowy, island is just a no brainer as far as I'm concerned).


Anyway, just though I should pop in and explain my absence, and show off a nice pic of my rather magnificently evil tash and sidies. Ah, those were the days. [Pic coloured by, and stolen from, TheSkaroRevenger, here]

Paradigm Hybrid Dalek - Birth of a New Breed

I agree so much with whats said about this vid by it's creator I've got to repeat it here:

"What happens if you cross the shape of the original Cusick Daleks with the design features of the new McKinstry Daleks? Here is my hybrid.

I never disliked any specific design change of the 2010 Daleks, it was really all about the shape. The fixtures and fittings on the Daleks have been altered repeatedly down the years so I don't mind new eye-stalks, lights, gun, etc. I like the raised skirt panels - and the the new rear hatch is interesting as it harks back to Cusick's original unused plans.

For me, it's the shape which makes the New Dalek Paradigm so disagreeable. Their tops are not in scale to the skirts, and they lean forward. So, I thought it would be interesting to give them a straight spine once again and return them to their small stature and original proportions. They are, after all, supposed to be small, compact travel machines - not massive, cumbersome, immovable tanks."

I found this here, on the TARDIS Newsroom, an excellent blog.

Life on Skaro

I know, I'm running out of legs on this one. If it had been a Leela doll it would have perhaps been a bit more worthy, but hey, I didn't take it! Source here.

Who buys a new Tardis

The Doctor buying a new Tardis from Harveys in Wembley Shopping Centre... Dead Ringers spoof.

Robot promo pics

A while back we did some early Baker promo pics, which included this first image, which was helpfully identified by a Blog follower as from Tom's first story Robot. Here's a few more.

Switching on the lights

Tom, Liz Sladen (Sarah Jane) and Ian Marter (Harry) switch on the Blackpool Illuminations in 1975.

Shada promo pics

More pics of Lalla in one of her fancy hats.






Sources: BBC classic series website, here, and there's a Shada gallery here, and the Who Image Archive, here.

Fowl Knits

In the 1980s Lalla Ward wrote two books on knitting (Fowl Knits and Beastly Knits) and also one on embroidery. See here for more photos, including promo pics of Lalla and Tom.

Zoe Heriot And Her Very Strange Adventure

A great compilation of clips of our lovely Zoe.

Ah Lalla!

A few posts back we looked at a collection of pics from City of Death, so time to do a little look at Romana II, played by Lalla Ward. The 'school uniform' costume she wore in City was apparently her own idea, and she obviously likes hats, so here's a few more...




Lalla Ward originally portrayed Princess Astra in The Armageddon Factor (1979). Romana 'chose' her likeness for her second incarnation, travelling with the Doctor from Destiny of the Daleks (1979) through to Warriors' Gate (1981).

There's a Lalla gallery on the Beeb's classic series website, here, and on the the Who Image Archive, here. Top picture is from The Leisure Hive.

For more information on Lalla, see the Who wiki, here.

3rd, 6th and 7th Doctor Interviews

Here's a collection of audio interviews to download. This series of interviews with David Banks includes the late Jon Pertwee, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and use the URL links to download the files.

Troughton Interview

Living with the Cybermen

The Doctor and The Cybermen try living together in this hilarious spoof clip from BBC sketch comedy show 'Dead Ringers', with impressionist Jon Culshaw as Doctor Who favourite Tom Baker.

Tom's first and last interviews

Here's a great clip of Tom being interviewed during location filming for Revenge of the Cybermen in 1974. The underground caves were shot at Wookey Hole in Somerset.



This was obviously broadcast just before Tom's first season hit the screens, and I guess made for BBC local television.

And here's one of his last interviews whilst in the role, for Nationwide in 1981.

City of Death promo pics

Here's another collection of promo pics, this time relating to Who's first filming abroad, in Paris, for the Baker classic story City of Death, written by Douglas Adams.


Lalla's definately not letting hold of Tom's scarf!


There's a whole lot more higher res pics on the Beeb's classic Who website here.