Two writers new to Doctor Who have confirmed they have scripted episodes for Peter Capaldi’s first season.
The first is Peter Harness , writer of the currently-in-production BBC version of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell . His previous credits include the English-language version of Wallander (for which he was lead writer), the Frankie Howerd biodrama Rather You Than Me , and the MR James adaptation View From A Hill .
All very good, but the thing that really excites us about this, being sad fanboys, is that we know just how much of a sad fanboy Peter himself is... Back in the late ‘80s he and our Reviews Editor were both members of the same Doctor Who Appreciation Society Local Group. (For the benefit of younglings: in the pre-internet Dark Ages, if fans wanted to illegally share episodes and argue about continuity, they had to actually meet up at someone's house). Oh, the embarrassing anecdotes we could share with you. And we will, Peter, unless you can arrange dinner with Jenna Coleman.
Posting on Facebook, Harness wrote: “Beyond excited to finally be able to let you know that I'm writing an episode for Peter Capaldi's first series of Doctor Who ! This is the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition which I have held all my life. To the TARDIS!”
Peter Harness’s episode starts filming in May. Here’s a Q&A about his love of Doctor Who , from a few years back.
Also contributing to Capaldi’s first season is Jamie Mathieson , writer of four episodes of Being Human , a Dirk Gently , and the comedy film Frequently Answered Questions About Time Travel . But excellent writer though he is, we don’t have any dirt on him that we can use as leverage, so this is of less interest.
Writing on his blog , Jamie said: “I am writing for the British institution, children's nightmare factory and infinite narrative sand-pit that is Doctor Who . Which is an honour. And a joy. And a huge pressure. And very, very cool. And a chance to shine in front of the biggest audience I have ever had. (Or fall flat on my face, but let's not dwell on that.) And I am going to do my damnedest to knock it out of the park.”
