Originally,
I wanted to be an actor. I was in a couple of drama clubs and did well in a
couple of national competitions but, as I got older, I just began to lose
confidence in my own abilities really. At around the same time, we did a school
production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus in which I played Salieri. It was
a brilliant production – superbly directed with excellent sets and lighting and
costume and so on - but what I really got from it was just how amazing the
script was. I'd always enjoyed writing but I started to realise that I wanted
to be able to give other people the chance to perform a part like Salieri.
About a year after we'd put on the play, I was working on a supermarket
checkout and this customer recognised me. She said that I'd given her child
nightmares after they'd seen our production. And I really realised then that
that emotional reaction had all started with the script. I wanted to make
people cry and laugh and for them to be scared and gripped and desperate to
know what would happen next and I realised that I'd have the opportunity to do
that more as a writer than as an actor.
What
did you enjoy watching/reading in your formative years and who do you take your
inspiration from?
It's the
old cliché but definitely Doctor Who and, especially, the novelisations.
I don't think I really got that the old Doctors and companions in the books I
borrowed from the library were all part of the same series I was watching on
telly but I loved them all the same. They were just so exciting. I also loved
the Narnia series – my favourite book of all time is The Magician's Nephew
which, again, like the Doctor Who novelisations, is just a brilliant adventure
with great characters and ideas behind it but, also importantly for me, simply
told. Then, TV-wise, as I got older, I loved shows like Cracker and Twin
Peaks. They told big, important character-led stories but weren't a
struggle to watch – they were very clever without feeling as if they were trying
to be unapproachably intellectual or high-brow. They worked as pieces of
entertainment but with a real depth to them.
The
Rapture was your first writing assignment. How did that come about? What was
your starting point for the story?
I'd
graduated from university with a media degree which, while I'd had the time of
my life doing it, hadn't really set me up for a career or anything. I knew the
basics of how to make a short film and I'd learnt the technicalities of how to
write scripts, but the one thing I hadn't really been taught was how to get an
actual job. I certainly didn't know how people became a writer – and in those
days, I didn't have access to the internet or anything so I just really wasn't
sure what someone like me did next. So I pretty much took a year off and had a
very drunken time working in telesales in Newcastle which was great fun but I
eventually ran out of money and had to move back in with my parents. I knew I
needed to start making some decisions about what I was going to do next so I
started to apply for any jobs I could that were remotely related to writing and
TV production. I sent my CV off to hundreds of places, acted in a terrible
improvised short film, applied for jobs as runners and TV presenters while at
the same time working in WH Smiths. I'd also had, years before, an idea for a Doctor
Who novel which I realised I could pitch to Big Finish as an audio. I'd
only heard one of the Bernice Summerfield adventures but I thought it
was worth a try. I was big into my clubbing at the time (sadly, I'm far too old
for all that now) and I'd had an idea about aliens trying to take over the
world with dance music and drugs – which seemed, to me, to be a perfect
modern-day version of the Yeti on the loos in Tooting Bec scenario. So I wrote
it up and sent it off and, to my surprise, after a year of being rejected for
everything else, I got a letter back from Gary Russell saying he'd be
interested in taking it further.
The
score is one of my favourites for any Doctor Who story…do you think the Ibiza
club scene translated well for an audio story?
I think
it was an interesting experiment. Clearly, it was (and still is!) one of Big
Finish's least popular releases. It has its fans but it's generally seen as
being the audio equivalent of stepping in dog muck. Obviously, I'm biased and
think it has merit. I'm very proud of the first two episodes. I think Episode
One is a very good, well-structured, quite traditional Doctor Who Episode
One. I think Episode Two is bonkers and I'm not sure whether it works but I
think it does something Big Finish have never really done before or since –
which I'm sure some people are grateful for. I do think, looking back as a
writer, it falls apart in Episodes Three and Four and I learnt a lot from that
– you can have the wowiest opening of anything ever but if the climax to your
story is basically a weaker version of your Episode One ending then people
really aren't going to care. It's nothing to do with the Ibiza setting or
featuring characters who drank and took pills, it's quite simply that the
plotting isn't up to scratch. I also do think I suffered slightly from things
that were outside my control. For example, I didn't know that some fans were
tired of the Ace angst which I'd been asked to put in.
I'm
still proud of it though. I think it tries to do something different and I
think the characters are interesting and well-developed. I like how it uses
clubbing and depression and religion and the mystical history of Ibiza – it's
got a lot in there and I do feel as if it's about something – it's not just
trying to fill in a gap or be a pastiche of the old TV series. It's not generic
or bland and it got me noticed so, for that, I'm grateful.
Did
you enjoy writing for the Master and where were you looking to take the character
when you wrote for the villains’ trilogy? What did you think of the finish
production?
Master was the complete opposite of Rapture
in so many ways. I was asked to write it rather than having to pitch. I also
wanted to do something very different – so whereas Rapture was big and
loud and full of young people, Master was quiet and controlled, with
older characters. I think the big difference was that my first story had been
about so much – probably too much. It had been, I'd assumed, the one Doctor
Who script I'd ever write so I'd thrown everything into it – depression,
religion, relationships, continuity, dance music, angels, growing up, love and
so on. With Master, I was being asked to take a villain from the TV
series who, I felt, beyond some superficial mannerisms, didn't really have much
of a character. He could be charming and terrifying, and I'd loved him as a kid
watching the series, but underneath that, there didn't seem to be any real
depth – we never knew what he wanted the Earth or the Universe for. He also,
pretty much always, failed in whatever his plan of the week was.
I looked
at what he had successfully achieved which was the deaths of many people and
decided to explore that angle. I'm fascinated by serial killers (not in a
creepy way!) because I love looking at how people can be outwardly so very
different to who they are really. My favourite characters I've written for
(such as Owen in Torchwood and Clyde in The Sarah Jane Adventures)
have been people who find it difficult to express their feelings. If there's a
problem in The Rapture is that nobody leaves a single feeling
unmentioned. All that tied in nicely with me wanting to tell a spooky, haunted
house drama about people with secrets. Without wanting to sound too
pretentious, every character in that story is wearing a mask – they each have a
secret and it's those secrets being revealed that drives the drama.
It's
been a long time since I've listened to it but I was very happy with the
finished play. The cast are fantastic, David Darlington's music is brilliant
and I think the whole thing comes together really nicely.
Terror
Firma saw the eighth Doctor return to our universe only to be greeted by Davros
and the Daleks! Was it daunting to write for these iconic creations? Your take
Davros was truly terrifying – what is it that makes this character tick?
Daunting
is the wrong word as basically you just have to get on with it but, yes, I was
aware that people would have expectations that I probably wouldn't fulfil.
What's great about Davros and the Daleks, though, is that they have such
distinctive voices. They are characters that, once you've written a line of
dialogue for them, you know instantly whether it's something they'd say or not.
I suppose the actual daunting thing was that they've such a huge fictional
history – and I quite like my stories to be accessible to people who might not
know the entire history of Doctor Who. Terror Firma had to follow on
from so much so it was tricky trying to make it a drama in its own right and
not just a continuation of about 43 other stories.
With Davros I had to find a way to empathise with him so I focussed on the fact that he was now this ancient creature – again, with an element of the serial killer in him. At some point in his life, he made a decision that set him on that path and if only someone had stopped him or he'd made another choice then he wouldn't be the man he'd become. I really enjoyed writing for C'Rizz as well because I thought he was a fascinating idea for a companion and Conrad was so good at making him funny and sweet and likeable and then suddenly dark and terrifying. The final scene of Terror Firma is one of my favourites.
Peri’s
homecoming was the central feature of The Reaping. How did you envisage the
character’s backstory and was it vital to give her a massive emotional journey
in this story to continue her adventures with the sixth Doctor? Do you think
the sixth Doctor and Peri have translated well onto audio?
The
Reaping came
about because Gary asked me to write a Colin vs the Cybermen story. I'd grown
up with the Sixth Doctor and the Cybermen had always scared me more than the
Daleks so I was really grateful for the opportunity. I asked to write for Peri
as, again, I'd grown up watching the character and I was also worried I wouldn't
be able to write for Evelyn without making her a caricature. I think Nicola is
one of the most underrated actors who worked on Doctor Who – Peri gets
this fantastic, New Series-style first story but after that she's often written
as an argumentative, moaning damsel in distress. We're explicitly told she has
a family waiting for her back on Earth so I'd wondered what the emotional
fallout had been about her not returning home. I then realised that actually
she might have done and that whatever happened could be the catalyst for how
her relationship with the Doctor changed before Season 23. It also gave me the
chance to write a big scary American-style horror zombie movie featuring the
Cybermen which was fun!
I think
the Sixth Doctor and Peri have translated brilliantly to audio because Colin
and Nicola are just so good. They weren't given the opportunity onscreen to do
much other than snipe at each other so it's been fantastic in the audios how
we've seen that the Sixth Doctor and Peri really are the best of mates.
How
did you feel about bringing Tegan’s character back for the first time on audio
in The Gathering? What are your thoughts on her relationship with the fifth
Doctor?
Oh, I
change my mind about Tegan all the time. There's something very modern about
her which I like and I think in her later stories when it's just her and
Turlough she can be great fun but she's also just so miserable and
argumentative at times. It's not the writers' or Janet's fault, it's just such
a silly decision to have someone in the TARDIS who actively doesn't want to be
there. She's much more fun once she chooses to return of her own accord.
Bringing
her back was a challenge. At that point, it was quite a major thing for Big
Finish as Janet had been adamant that she didn't want to return as Tegan. Of
course, she's now back as a regular so a bit of the pressure is off. If I'm
honest, I don't think it's my best story. I think it was Janet who was
insistent that Tegan would be killed off so she couldn't do any more. I didn't
want to do that as I felt it was a bit obvious and that we'd never see any
emotional fall-out from it. I also felt that the return of Tegan was a big
triumphant thing and I didn't want to turn it into something horrible and
miserable. I was told, though, that I had to keep the open-ended brain tumour
ending, which, frankly I didn't particularly like either. Working on an ongoing
series, though, you sometimes have to write storylines you wouldn't personally
have chosen to include.
It's
actually the play I listened to most recently and I was surprised at how much I
enjoyed it. It feels very modern and I like how the scenes in the first episode
overlap and are told in the order of how each character experiences them. I was
surprised when, in an interview, Janet said she felt I'd made the Doctor and
Tegan too antagonistic towards each other as she herself had insisted on adding
lines about how whenever he turned up people would be mowed down by Mara or
whatever that awful speech was. If there is a problem with the script it's that
my own personal view is that Tegan looked back on her time with the Doctor as
basically a gap year. There were bad experiences but it had also been this
great crazy adventure. And then, once it was over, she brushed herself down and
got on with her life. That aspect of the story, though, is fighting against the
relentless misery of a science fiction brain tumour.
You
got to turn Evelyn into a monster in Bedtime Story. Do you find writing horror
comes naturally to you and are you a big fan of the genre?
I guess
I'm more of a fan of horror than I am of science fiction. Most of my stories
are relatively light on sci-fi elements. I prefer horror because I think it
causes more of an emotional reaction. It's not about world-building or
spaceships or detailed alien cultures. It's about making the audience sit on
the edge of their seat terrified as to what's going to happen next. The reason
I turned Evelyn into a monster, though, was also because I felt a simple, Tales
Of The Unexpected-style horror story would suit the 25 minute slot better
than something more complicated. I also thought it would be fun as Evelyn is
quite a cosy companion. She's got bite but she's also very motherly and likes
cake and so on. Making her the monster was just quite fun really.
Of
all the Doctors/companions you had the opportunity to writer for in the main
range which were your favourites and why? Are there any stories that you are
particularly proud and are there any that you would go back and writer
differently if you had the chance now?
I'm not
sure whether I've any favourites. They were all great to write for in different
ways. I enjoy writing for Colin as he's just a lovely bloke and a great actor.
Writing for Paul, India and Conrad was very exciting because they felt new.
They were Big Finish's new series. You could do anything with them and it could
have big consequences. I've fond memories of Terror Firma as well
because I became and stayed good friends with Conrad and Lizzie Hopley, who
played Gemma Griffin. As for things I'd go back and do differently? I tend to
try and not think like that because there's not really any point. Yes, I'd
probably change the ending of The Rapture. Yes, I'd probably make
changes to The Gathering. But each play has aspects that I'm incredibly
proud of and I learnt so much from writing each one. I was so incredibly lucky
to have the opportunities I was given and I'll always be so grateful to Jason
Haigh-Ellery and, especially, Gary Russell for taking a chance on me.
You
have also written for Sapphire and Steel, Bernice Summerfield and The Tomorrow
People ranges. Can you tell us a little bit about what attracted you to each
series? Do you have any particular favourites of the stories that you have
written for these ranges?
I loved
writing for the other ranges as there tended to be a bit more freedom. That was
especially true with Sapphire and Steel and The Tomorrow People as
Nigel Fairs really encouraged writers to do what they wanted. He wanted each
story to be, first and foremost, a strong drama and it was so exciting working
with him because of that. I love the Bernice Summerfield range but,
because it's more of an arc-led series, there wasn't quite the same freedom.
Saying that, I'm very happy with both my stories for that range.
Again, it's
difficult to choose a favourite as, while I'm sure they're all flawed, I'm
incredibly proud of each one. I think The Mystery of The Missing Hour is
great fun. I think Aftermath is a very lovely, superbly-acted human
drama. I'd probably choose Daisy Chain though which I just think, out of
every audio play I wrote, does everything I wanted it to. It's got a fantastic
cast and Nigel's direction and music is just perfect.
In
2011 you became the co-producer of the Dark Shadows range. Can you tell us a
little about this range for those who might not have dipped their toes into it
yet?
Dark
Shadows was a
1960s soap opera that, when it wasn't doing so great in the ratings, decided to
add a vampire into the series. It was like Dalekmania. It just went huge. The
programme became this absolutely bonkers and brilliant soap opera about ghosts
and vampires and werewolves and time travel and parallel universes.
With the
audios, what we've tried to do is create a series of plays that will appeal to
the fans and to people who've never seen the series. What we say to writers is
to think of it as Tales Of The Unexpected. They pick a character from
the TV series (such as Quentin the immortal werewolf or Angelique the witch)
and then write a story that works as a self-contained spooky drama. James Goss,
my co-producer, and I then worry about the continuity and any ongoing arcs. I'm
really proud of what we've achieved. The audios were already doing well with
existing Dark Shadows fans in America but we've managed to attract quite
a few new listeners recently. I'm also very aware that I owe my career to Gary
Russell and Big Finish so I'm enjoying having the opportunity to give new
writers and actors a chance. This year, for example, we've two writers who've
never written for Big Finish before – Kymberly Ashman and Aaron Lamont – and
they've both bought something new to the series. Each of our plays is very
different because they're very writer-led which is something I'm really happy
about. Again, we're not just trying to pastiche the old series – we ask each
writer to create a spooky, fun, clever drama for a modern-day audience.
You
have also written a number of short stories (Short Trips) and a novella (‘On
Trial’) for Big Finish. Are there restraints to writing short stories because
of their condensed length or does that make it more of a creative challenge? Is
there a full-length novel in you waiting to come out?
I'd love
to write an original novel and I've a few ideas but the truth is that I find
writing prose incredibly difficult. Writing that novella nearly broke me! I
enjoy short stories because they can be very intense to both write and read. I
think the trick is to tell a story that can only be told as a short story. They
tend to be, plot-wise, quite simple and to focus more on atmosphere and
character which I really enjoy.
How
did you come to make the leap from audio work to television?
I wrote a load of stuff for Big Finish
which was a great experience. I learnt so much and really developed my skill as
a writer. I was then very lucky when, one evening, I met James Goss in the pub.
He was in charge of the BBC’s Doctor Who website at the time and we sort
of knew each other vaguely. He came over to say how much he’d enjoyed one of my
Big Finish plays which was nice. I was possibly slightly drunk and said that he
should employ me. James said that they were actually looking for a freelancer
to write the content for the fictional websites they were going to be doing
from The Christmas Invasion onwards. We swapped emails and he employed
me. So I wrote all those fake websites and videos for Mickey and stuff from
that first Christmas special up until and including Series 3’s Martha’s Myspace
blog.
That was a great experience because I was being script-edited by the television series production team.
That was a great experience because I was being script-edited by the television series production team.
Then, when they were developing Series 2
of Torchwood, Gary Russell (who was by then working as a script editor
on the show) suggested that Russell and Julie meet me. Russell knew my work
from Big Finish and the websites and was keen to find new writers for the TV
series.
It was, frankly, terrifying and I had to
work incredibly hard because I knew that this was probably the one chance I’d
get to achieve my ambition of writing for television and also that I was
working alongside some very experienced TV people.
So I went to lots of meetings and we
discussed various ideas. I was initially employed to write an over-commission
(basically a spare script in case one of the others fell through) but then,
during the drafting process, it was decided that mine would be made. Then it
was a case writing a draft, getting notes or having another script meeting then
writing the new draft. And so on and so on. I learnt so much from that process
– especially from Russell. He just knows how to make scripts work. He can spot
problems instantly and he forces you to really work your hardest, to be the
best writer you can be. Even now, I chat to him on email and he gives the best
advice on what I’m working on.
It was terrifying and exciting and mad,
but at the end of the day, you just have to get on with it and do the best you
can.
Your
Sarah Jane Adventures episodes have received much acclaim. I have always found
that your stories took a much more adult approach to the series giving the
central characters of the episodes significant development (be it Clyde, Rani
or Luke). Is it a much more arduous process writing for television than for
audio?
Thanks!
And yeah, I was lucky to be given those stories as they really appealed to me
as a writer. As for the process, it's more arduous in that you have more
bosses, there's more pressure on you and you tend to do more drafts but
basically, writing is writing. You do your best whatever the format is.
Were
you encouraged to writer for a children’s series or to pitch it more towards
the Doctor Who audience. Did you have much material cut?
No, we
were encouraged to write it as an adventure drama series. Nobody involved ever
talked about having to dumb it down for kids or anything. I think in the three
years I worked on it, the only note I got from CBBC was that when a character
was being transformed into the Berserker, their teeth couldn't change.
Obviously, you're aware of language and content that wouldn't be suitable and
you have to be aware that some very young children would be watching so you'd
try to avoid too many scenes of people just sitting around chatting, but other
than that, I wrote it as I would anything else. We never really talked about Doctor
Who as, although there were obvious links, we were creating our own
standalone show.
Were
you encouraged to push things as far as they could go?
I
suppose so but never just for the sake of it. We were asked to write good
strong adventure stories which had the usual depth and emotion that any other
story would have.
You
always seemed to get the characters voices spot on – did you have much
conversation with the cast to see how they saw their characters developing?
Thanks.
No, I didn't talk to the actors much before writing a script but it was always
nice to get their feedback afterwards. Like I say, I was lucky to be asked to
write three very character-based stories. I enjoy taking a character and
exploring what makes them tick. It's great to try and develop and explore other
sides to them. It helps that I was a huge fan of the show so I felt like I knew
the characters.
Who
was your favourite character to write for in the series?
I
genuinely loved them all. They were all great to write for and it was fun
putting them in different combinations and situations. If I had to choose a
favourite, it'd probably be Rani. I think Anjli brought a real warmth and
humour to the part that was great to develop. In some ways, Rani reminded me of
a young Sarah Jane – she was funny but hard-working and ambitious. She cared
passionately about things but was also flawed and made mistakes.
What
was your favourite episode of the three that you wrote?
Probably
The Mad Woman In The Attic which still makes me cry. I think I get the
mix of horror and drama and laughs and tears right and I think the ending is
beautiful. To be honest though, I'm very happy with all three of them. It was
such a great series to be involved in.
As a
Doctor Who fan was it a genuine thrill to get the chance to write for Elisabeth
Sladen?
It was a
thrill to write for her because she was such a great actress but when you're
working on a series, you have to switch off your Doctor Who fanboy brain
and treat Sarah Jane like you would any other character. And she was such a
fantastic character – spiky and funny and ditzy and sad and clever but flawed.
Lis was just brilliant and I loved finding fun things for her to do – like
putting her in a nurse's uniform or turning her into a nightmarish elderly
version of Sarah Jane.
How
would you sum up your experience on the show?
Was
there a great deal more freedom writing for Torchwood given its adult nature?
Not
really, to be honest. You still had restrictions – especially as it was moving
to BBC2 and I know there were issues with the language and smoking in my
episode. The one freedom I guess I did have was that I could have longer scenes
that consisted of purely dialogue as you know an adult audience will watch that
whereas a very young child might get bored waiting for the next explosion or
big scary alien.
How
did you find picking up the pieces of Owen’s death and the aftermath?
I
thought it was a fascinating storyline but, to be honest, I was just so excited
and terrified at the prospect of writing for telly that I just got on with it
and tried not to think too hard about how important the storyline was as part
of the show's history. As with writing for Davros and the Master, I found that
the best way to look at it was to find some way to make the situation something
you could empathise with. I likened his experience to depression. He was cut
off from everything and presenting an exterior that masked his true feelings.
Burn is such a fantastic actor that it was just such a brilliant opportunity to
give him stuff to do.
Was
it a challenge to write for this cast of characters?
It was
great because I loved that original Torchwood line-up. They were such
flawed characters which is so much more fun to write for than outright goodies
or baddies. There was something quite dark and twisted about the way they lived
– and something very human. The one problem was that there were so many of them
– I remember a long meeting where we discussed who could go on the mission to
Richard Briers' house simply based on how many could fit in the car.
You
have written a number of Torchwood audio books as well – do you find the series
translates well onto audio? Can you tell us about your latest audio book, Red
Skies?
I think
the audiobooks allow you to tell more character-based stories. You can be a bit
more insular because you know that people buying them are going to be fans who
already love the characters and the show itself. They're a great opportunity to
explore what makes the characters tick and get inside their heads.
What
can you tell us about the new CBBC show Aliens vs. Wizards that you are
contributing to?
It's Wizards
Vs Aliens now! I have to be honest, when we first started, I was genuinely
worried that it would struggle to be as good as The Sarah Jane Adventures.
But it is. We're at the stage of seeing early edits of the episodes now and
it's just so brilliant. Big strong adventure stories but with a real heart to
them. The cast is fantastic and the whole thing just feels so fresh and
exciting. I can't wait for people to see it.
What
can we expect to see from you in the future?
I've
just achieved a long-term ambition by writing a play for the stage. It's only
ten minutes long but it's going to be performed and I can't wait to work on it
further. It's part of a theatre festival that'll be on later this year – http://www.theoffcutfestival.com/off-cut-2012/.
Other than that, I'm working on more Dark Shadows, a comic, meeting TV
companies to discuss ideas, and doing a Dorian Gray audio for Big Finish. I've got my
fingers crossed that they'll want me back on the Sherlock blogs as I
love doing those. I'm also writing a film to be produced by Tom Guerrier – http://www.irresistiblefilms.com/news/2012/6/1/irresistible-welcomes-guerrier-brothers.
So yeah, I'm keeping busy!
Available to buy...
The Rapture - http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-rapture-202
The Reaping - http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-reaping-252
The Gathering - http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-gathering-253
Bernice Summerfield - http://www.bigfinish.com/hubs/v/bernice-summerfield
Dark Shadows - http://bigfinish.com/hubs/v/dark-shadows
Sapphire and Steel - http://bigfinish.com/ranges/released/sapphire-steel
Just reading this in 2018 but thank you so much for this interview. Joseph Lidster is one of my favorite writers because he really gets characters and people. The Mad Woman in the Attic and The Nightmare Man both made me cry.
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