0:00:02 > 0:00:04Join Doctor Who Confidential on a journey.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08A journey with a writer living his fantasy.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12It was just a great, big, colourful idea.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15I mean, really, for the early '50s, that's the one.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18You can read a page of a script and you can tell that it's Mark's.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20You can watch it... You can...
0:00:20 > 0:00:22There's an essential Mark Gatiss that creeps through
0:00:22 > 0:00:25and it's a very enviable thing and we're lucky to have him.
0:00:26 > 0:00:32It's time to put on your blue suede shoes, bright pink skirts and take a trip back to the 1950s.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Straight from the fridge, man!
0:00:56 > 0:01:00MUSIC: "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve
0:01:01 > 0:01:04From a very early stage I kind of wanted the climax
0:01:04 > 0:01:06to be at Alexandra Palace.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15I thought, with the huge mast remaining,
0:01:15 > 0:01:20it gives a kind of King Kong resonance to it which is quite nice.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22ELECTRICITY FIZZES
0:01:26 > 0:01:29I remember getting that script for the first time
0:01:29 > 0:01:32and realising the end battle is on the mast of Alexandra Palace
0:01:32 > 0:01:34and thinking, "Oh, God!"
0:01:34 > 0:01:37You never know because of the constraints whether it was possible.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40There was also a bit of, "Actually we can do this really well."
0:01:40 > 0:01:47# It's a bittersweet symphony This life
0:01:51 > 0:01:54# Trying to make ends meet You're a slave... #
0:01:54 > 0:01:57Look up to where Magpie is...
0:01:57 > 0:02:00INAUDIBLE
0:02:00 > 0:02:02And...action.
0:02:02 > 0:02:10# I took you down the only road I've ever been down... #
0:02:10 > 0:02:14I can't do this! Please, please don't make me!
0:02:14 > 0:02:17# The one that takes you to the places
0:02:17 > 0:02:21# Where all the veins meet, yeah... #
0:02:21 > 0:02:25This is the scene of my death, where I get fried,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28because I suddenly - having been the intermediary,
0:02:28 > 0:02:32the servant of the monster, of Maureen Lipman -
0:02:32 > 0:02:35she orders me to kill Doctor Who and I say, "No",
0:02:35 > 0:02:37and she fries me
0:02:37 > 0:02:40with electric pulses and things like that.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42You promised me peace!
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Then peace...you shall have.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49- ELECTRICITY FIZZES - Arrggghhh!
0:02:52 > 0:02:56- Magpie's on that bit, isn't he, by this point?- He is, yeah.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59We're shooting on the helipad in Cardiff today.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04There are a few technical issues with, when we're looking down on the transmitter.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07We need to contain the actors within a green screen.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11It's a composite shot involving two or three elements, you know,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15and that painting based on a live-action element of Alexandra Palace,
0:03:15 > 0:03:21shots of the Doctor and Magpie on a part of the transmitter...
0:03:21 > 0:03:26I was expecting it would be one of those days when you were harnessed up with endless safety-wires
0:03:26 > 0:03:30which is always a bit boring, frankly, but because we were only
0:03:30 > 0:03:34on a stretch of faux pylon which is only about 20ft tall,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37we were allowed to climb up and down it relatively freely.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41- It's just climbing... There's no lines in this bit, is there?- No.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45You become very precious about lines, particularly lines you love
0:03:45 > 0:03:48and it's always awkward if you feel they've gone
0:03:48 > 0:03:51but in the end, it's not cut for malicious reasons.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53There was a lot of wonderful stuff in Mark's script
0:03:53 > 0:03:56which didn't make the final cut cos there was too much of it,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59some fantastic speeches I had that we just never filmed
0:03:59 > 0:04:01cos it was such a rich and full episode.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Cutting stuff is just an economy and it's a briskness and confidence.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07It says, "This is working."
0:04:07 > 0:04:09The natural enemy of all writers is blank paper.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13It's what offends us and scares us the most in the whole world.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16The best way to overcome it, I've found, is just to write,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19and it means you write quite a lot of nonsense at first,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21but you just have to plough through.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Any other drama you type, "Scene One, Day, Street".
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Or, "Scene Two, Pub", "Scene Three, Bedroom",
0:04:28 > 0:04:32and with Doctor Who, you could be on a space-station or a different planet.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37The brief was a '50s story, erm, quite rock'n'roll...
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Is there any other way to go, Daddio?
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Three, take three.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44The main unit is filming Maureen Lipman, as the Wire
0:04:44 > 0:04:47inside the old TV studio where she would actually have done it
0:04:47 > 0:04:51if she'd really been Sylvia Peters or one of those people...
0:04:51 > 0:04:56Oh, dear! Has our little plan gone horribly wrong, Doctor?
0:04:56 > 0:05:00'This is the place where television began and, erm...'
0:05:00 > 0:05:04So historically, you can smell the buzz in this room,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07you really can feel the electricity.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
0:05:10 > 0:05:16The Wire in episode 7 is based on the archetypal BBC presenter
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and everything's incredibly proper.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24We wanted an actress who'd have some fun with it but who'd also be able to command authority
0:05:24 > 0:05:25and be properly scary.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28And Maureen Lipman combined those two things perfectly.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Now. Are you sitting comfortably?
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Good. Then we'll begin.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43# You can take a picture of something you see... #
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Feed me-e-e-e!
0:05:46 > 0:05:49# In the future where will I be... #
0:05:49 > 0:05:53And I'm hungry-y-y-y-y!
0:05:55 > 0:05:59It's quite good to be able to just go round the corner to Ally Pally
0:05:59 > 0:06:03and be ABSOLUTELY NASTY, really horrible. Horrid.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08I knew as soon as she said, "I shall consume you, Doctor",
0:06:08 > 0:06:12that she knows what to do in these circumstances.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17Mark was on set a lot of the time which is just wonderful, to have the writer there.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20"You can never go back, that's your tragedy", that's personal to Magpie?
0:06:20 > 0:06:23- No, it's about... - General, for the world.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- That they're...- Forging ahead regardless of consequence, I think.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Mark writes these fantastic characters like Magpie...
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Please... you're burning me...inside...
0:06:34 > 0:06:36behind my eyes...
0:06:36 > 0:06:40There's a goodness that comes out in his characters.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43There's a marvellous faded elegance about Magpie.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47He describes, y'know, this man who's been disappointed by life,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50he's sat there in his vest in his little shop
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and it's incredibly evocative and incredibly detailed.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Well...the thing is, Detective Inspector Bishop...
0:06:56 > 0:06:59- How do you know my name?- It's...
0:06:59 > 0:07:00written inside your collar.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06There's a particular scene between Bishop and the Doctor which is an interrogation scene
0:07:06 > 0:07:08and it's essentially an inversion joke.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11He starts with a light in the Doctor's face saying,
0:07:11 > 0:07:16"Tell me everything you know", and by the end the Doctor's standing up and he's sitting down.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19"Start from the beginning. Tell me everything you know."
0:07:19 > 0:07:22It was just trying to work out what the tipping point was,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25where the Doctor could rise and Bishop would sit down.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Where was she before this happened?
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Seeing it realised is always curious, it's never quite the way you imagine.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Detail's everything and I think that's what's great about being able to visit the set,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39it's not just about the Coronation, it's about the whole flavour of the time.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42# Calling out around the world
0:07:42 > 0:07:46# Are you ready for a brand-new beat
0:07:46 > 0:07:50# Summer's here and the time is right
0:07:50 > 0:07:53# For dancing in the street... #
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Doing a period episode is one of the most difficult things we do...
0:07:57 > 0:07:59# It doesn't matter what you wear
0:07:59 > 0:08:02# Just as long as you are there
0:08:02 > 0:08:07# So come on, every guy grab a girl
0:08:07 > 0:08:13# Everywhere around the world there'll be dancing... #
0:08:13 > 0:08:17On this show I've got a fantastic team that I can absolutely rely on,
0:08:17 > 0:08:23so that scene is only as good as they can manage and they've dramatised it brilliantly.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26As you can imagine, this whole street has had to be closed off now.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Some of the doors have been replaced, some of the windows
0:08:30 > 0:08:33have had to be replaced so they look authentic, like 1953.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37And we've got all these wonderful motor cars, look. Cue the car!
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Look. It's just fabulous.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44I thought we'd be going for the Vegas era, you know,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47with the white flares and the - gr-r-r! - chest hair!
0:08:47 > 0:08:52By having them think they were going to '57 we get Billie in the beautiful dress
0:08:52 > 0:08:55and we were always, all of us, so keen to get something really iconic
0:08:55 > 0:08:58with the two of them together. The fun of the 1950s.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59Yeah, well, me and Mum,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Cliff Richard movies every Bank Holiday Monday...
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Ugh, Cliff?! I knew your mother'd be a Cliff fan!
0:09:13 > 0:09:18And so ends the writer's tale, leaving the Doctor and Rose once again united.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21From The Idiot's Lantern onwards, it's them...
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Hi-i-i-i!
0:09:23 > 0:09:27..two best friends travelling and what they mean to each other.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29The Doctor and Rose love each other. It's that simple.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31That's what I like about you.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Anyway, I'm the Doctor and this is Rose...
0:09:34 > 0:09:35Ah! Hell of a right hook!
0:09:35 > 0:09:41# So when I see you next We'll make the most of it
0:09:41 > 0:09:47# Tell the sun to start moving again
0:09:47 > 0:09:52# The taste of your kiss I still got on my lips
0:09:52 > 0:09:57# And I will take you there with me... #
0:09:57 > 0:10:00They have battle after battle after battle to stay together...
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Help me!
0:10:04 > 0:10:09It's like the universe is becoming rougher around them, the challenge to them is becoming tougher.
0:10:09 > 0:10:15They left her in the street. They took her face and just chucked her out and left her in the street.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19The Doctor is beset by grief and that kind of drives him forward to...
0:10:19 > 0:10:23That's his big motivating factor, to save the planet and to save Rose.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26There is no power on this earth that can stop me!
0:10:26 > 0:10:27Come on!
0:10:27 > 0:10:31And there's just something twinkling away at the back saying,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33are they actually having too much fun?
0:10:33 > 0:10:37There's an increasing feeling, a threat, that someone somewhere's
0:10:37 > 0:10:39gonna have to pay the price for this.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Good night, children!
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Subtitles by Heather Middleton Red Bee Media Ltd
0:10:58 > 0:11:01E-mail Subtitling@bbc.co.uk