With Series 11 being recorded almost in complete secrecy, you know, like an actual television programme, it’s be a quiet old time in ‘Doctor Who’ land. So attention and speculation has turned to the series past, and coincidentally events surrounding one of it’s previous significant reboots. It’s crazy to think that it is almost 13 years to the day that ‘Doctor Who’ returned in 2005. But also consider the intense amount of preparation and planning that went into the series prior to that. It must have been a gestation period of around 18 months of people working tirelessly to make 21st Century Doctor Who a success. It undoubtedly worked, but it would seem at a cost.
The behind the scenes going on of ‘Doctor Who’ Series 1, would appear to be well documented, not least by ‘Doctor Who Confidental’, an unprecedented vote of confidence from the BBC it seemed, but also by Russell T Davies himself in his book ‘The Writer’s Tale’. These accounts would make it appear that everything was peachy for the most part. Sure there were concessions for ideas that were perhaps a bit too ambitious, and sure some things like scripts, just don’t work out. The conviction, and simply the intelligence of Russell T Davies, Phil Collinson and Julie Gardener would certainly have us believe that everything went to plan, when we know now from various sources that this simply was not the case and that with a less capable team, things could have been very, very different.
One of the biggest questions for many fans has been, ‘What happened to Christopher Eccleston?’. One would be forgiven his single series arrival, arc and departure was planned from start to finish to fully showcase the potential of ‘Doctor Who’. However as with most things in ‘Doctor Who’ it was bourn out of necessity and the requirement for the show to adapt.
Now back in 2006, I attended a convention in Swansea, where Alan David (Mr Sneed) was a guest and he mentioned that even on that episode, which was only the second filming block, Eccleston was talking about leaving. So it was a decision made very early on, but what was his motivation? Did he have doubts about where the programme was going? Did he regret taking the role? Or was there something else.
When approached on the topic, Eccleston has always been very reluctant to talk, including hanging up on a phone interview once. This has lead to some writing him off as a grump or a misery. However consider the fact he has never done a formal interview on ‘Doctor Who’, that is his choice. But when he comes along to promote what he is doing currently, he gets catfished and grilled about his old ‘Doctor Who’ job and over the years he has handled that with increasingly good grace.
Just look at his interview with Gerard Groves, an autistic film maker, who interviewed him about ‘The A Word’. The conversation took a very personal turn when Gerard brought up his admiration for the actor, having watched him in ‘Doctor Who’ as a child and inspiring him. The reaction from Eccleston was unexpected, as he appeared to well up. Is that the reaction of a grump? Or a misery? Or a man who regrets his time on a programme. No. That is the reaction of a man who is proud of a body of work he was able to do, however briefly, that had and continues to have such a profound effect on millions of children worldwide. Eccleston was instrumental in securing that future of the programme and giving it credibility. Maybe it is this that was the turning point? We don’t know. But from what I have heard, Eccleston is always very amicable to fans who approach him in public, and it is hard not to have respect for that.
Interviews for Macbeth have seen Eccleston talk refreshingly honestly about what happened on ‘Doctor Who’ Series 1. One interview saw the following quote do the rounds, ‘I gave them a hit show and left with my dignity and they put me on a blacklist.’. Of course many people saw this as self important, hyperbolic, slanderous, victim complex, ‘We’ve got another Colin Baker!’, whatever. But we all know what opinions are like. You can read the first interview with the Guardian HERE.
Whilst it may sound brutally frank, the wider context of the quote seems to be quite well measured and chosen words. Whether Eccleston was talking literally or metaphorically isn’t quite clear but we know for a fact there was a bumpy road to that success and there may have been errors on both sides. More on that later. But what happened to Eccleston after ‘Doctor Who’ does not tally with the success and status that the series and the other major contributors attained. Whereas in the past, actors were tarnished with the ‘Doctor Who’ brush, now it’s a medal of honour and people want to cast you before you’ve even appeared on screen.
Eccleston more or less vanished and wasn’t seen again on screen really until his appearance in ‘Heroes’ in the US. From the outset that might seem to be a great success if you happen to be into that sort of thing and coming right off the back of ‘Doctor Who’ probably helped. But Eccleston always has been and prided himself on being a Northern, working class actor, so things don’t quite tally up. It turns out, this move to America was under the advice of his agent, who either accurately or inaccurately said the BBC at least was not prepared to hire him at the moment and he would have to wait it out. For a less talented, experienced and castable actor, this could have ended his career, ‘Doctor Who’ being a success or not. No one should have the right to take steps to formally prevent another person from being employed, unless some serious malpractice has taken place. You can’t just attribute this to paranoia or persecution complex. The television industry is a very fickle thing, very political and a very close knit club. People talk and news rightly or wrongly spreads fast. This isn’t just speculation, I have been told as much myself. You play the game or you suffer. I suspect that Eccleston, like I doesn’t have time for that, we just want to do an honest day’s work.
This move lead to his appearances in ‘G.I. Joe’ and ‘Thor: The Dark World’, which in this revealing interview, he remembers less than fondly. Sure appearing in blockbusters may seem to be the height of ones career, but only if that is what you want to do. Some people strive to be executives and managers, others just aren’t interested in the responsibility or baggage. But if you’re faced with a crap job or starvation, then you’ll probably take a crap job. A big budget feature if nothing else would make for a comfortable retirement fund, if your career has been assassinated.
Appearing in a film is much like going to see a film only as a viewer, you have the privilege of choice. Some people like action filled blockbusters, some people like the more intellectual art house material, it comes down to individual taste. Some people start in blockbusters to build up a reputation and go on to do the passion projects they really want to do. Others start in prestigious films to make it into the blockbusters. Everyone has to find their own path. Unlike going to see a film, appearing in one is first and foremost, a job, a livelihood, what some people do to pay the bills and support a family. Eccleston explains the attitude instilled in him was always to be working on something or other, which is admirable, and he has never given it less than his best. Well, maybe not so much ‘Thor’ but that film has all number of other faults not least hiding behind a made up language (that Eccleston had to learn) to make a one dimensional character appear interesting. It’s heartbreaking to have to put on a brave face every day in a job you are loathing. Even with ‘Doctor Who’, he could have just walked away, but he saw it to the end AND did the necessary publicity like on ‘Blue Peter’ despite his personal feelings and whatever may have been going on behind the scenes. He could have just said ‘No’, which some actors with less reason do. But his conduct is that of a professional.
Radio Times also featured an interview with Eccleston, allowing him to expand upon his comments. You can read that interview HERE. It would appear a certain barrier has been broken and Eccleston is prepared to set the record straight diplomatically. The key points were that the relationship between himself, Russell T Davies, Phil Collinson and Julie Gardener broke down irreparably during the first block of filming. Trust was lost on both sides. This does tally up with a lot of whispers that did the rounds of ‘Rose’ being almost entirely reshot without director Keith Boak. Also further stories of Eccleston walking off set because the crews were skipping union regulation breaks. Whilst he is faithful to his union rules, in such a pressurised environment, the lead actor walking off every few hours perhaps wasn’t the best way to deal with it. I can see why both sides would get rather cross about that. You have an actor appearing in every single scene in a 12 hour day, just trying to catch a break, or a cigarette, or a biscuit when he can, meanwhile you have a production team skipping breaks just to make up for lost time and get some usable material in the can including reshooting an entire episode. But at the end of the day both sides are just trying to get a job done even if they are in part working against each other’s interests. Fundamentally it was a huge learning curve.
Other complications came from the directors who perhaps weren’t used to working on this kind of programme, i.e. effects heavy, fantasy drama. Eccleston mentions the importance of tone. I immediately think of the Slitheen. Creatures farting all over the place in the middle of quite a dark political satire. So the tone of that may have fallen short of what was desired if not from the crew and actors, but certainly from parts of the audience.
Eccleston also mentions Billie Piper, who he is quick to compliment but recognises at the time was very nervous and relatively inexperienced also. That is not a criticism, it is an observation and is in no way a slight on Billie Piper. It is just a natural reaction to being thrust into a major television role, especially one of that type. In hindsight it is easy to say what they should have done differently, but that is with 13 years worth of experience making ‘Doctor Who’ not to mention other programmes made in the new television landscape it set. So it’s not a Billie Piper problem, or a ‘Doctor Who’ problem, it’s just human nature and sometimes it means things don’t go as smoothly as perhaps we would like.
Finally Eccleston addresses himself and his own shortcomings. The role was outside his comfort zone, which he was aware of going into the part and asking to be considered. It required a lightness of touch and humour. It was also a role usually played by men playing a higher social class and background talking in BBC RP. This is something that Eccleston deliberately chose to act against, and his background unfortunately carries a stigma to this day within the industry. Just think there were people then who thought he shouldn’t get the job or any job because he didn’t sound posh enough. There are people who still think that.
‘So why did he want to do it then?’. A challenge? A chance to do something new and develop? You don’t know if you don’t try. Sure, you could argue Eccleston was selfish for using ‘Doctor Who’ of all things as a vehicle for his own personal and professional development but he is hardly the first and wont be the last. If we didn’t get something out of a job, be it money, or fulfilment, why would we do it? An opportunity came along and he took it. However, his insecurities and facing a workload that required a lot that didn’t come natural to him probably resulted in a lot of friction. Whilst the series may have been a success, Eccleston himself may have felt like a failure. Actors sadly are not made of teflon.
When you are locked into that situation for more or less a year, tensions run extremely high. I’ve been there. It becomes a vicious cycle of pressure from one element exerting pressure on another and another, and it all snowballs. So for the individual’s sake or the sake of the greater good, the cycle had to be broken. Eccleston took himself out of that cycle as soon as he could, but saw his commitment through. Could a second year have been better? Yes, probably, and indeed it would appear it was. But even with a year of hard earned experience, when your experience of a job is tarnished, it can be hard to reverse that. Plus the working relationship with your bosses was more or less in tatters. Despite this Eccleston a pledge to Russell T Davies not to say anything, which is honourable. But this altruism to a greater or lesser extent it seems, was not reciprocated.
I doubt we will learn a great deal more than this from Eccleston, or anyone else involved in Series 1. What Eccleston has said has been objective and vague enough not to breach comprehensive non disclosure agreements, which bind all involved parties in perpetuity.
But such disagreements are symptomatic of the way the creative industries work. Despite regulation, sometimes the sector operates almost as a law unto itself ‘in the name of art’ or because ‘you wouldn’t understand’. There are more grey areas than most other sectors which makes it hard or impractical to apply conventional legislation.Certain compromises end up being made if it is seen as justified, be it to designated breaks or even to health and safety. 90% of the time it works as intended and everyone wins, it’s the 10% of the time it becomes a problem and someone ends up paying the price or losing out.
Whilst it is of course upsetting to hear that the process of making ‘Doctor Who’ was not a pleasant one for Eccleston, we have a lot to be grateful for. He did indeed play a huge part in making it a credible show and a success, securing its future for years to come, which he should be proud of. We should be grateful that he and all involved persevered in spite of the difficulties. We should also be grateful that Eccleston stuck to his word all these years. Even in cases where he may have been abrupt and said nothing, rather he do that than say something regrettable. But even now what he has said has answered a lot of questions without slandering anybody. He has chosen a good time, as enough water has flowed under the bridge for his comments not to be so charged for himself or the audience. I just hope that Eccleston knows we are grateful for what he gave, and he gave more than he took clearly. He may have been short changed but I hope that the respect and admiration from fans offsets that slightly, and all that followed him should at least in part be considered his legacy.
I will say one last thing, Chris, you were fantastic and you’re welcome back any time. When you’re ready.
Nerd World Problems 