Steven Moffat Talks John Hurt's Doctor

Celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who , the latest issue of SFX brings you a world exclusive interview with Steven Moffat, talking anniversary tale "The Day Of The Doctor".

In SFX 241 Steven Moffat shares his insights into the most intriguing aspect of the 50th anniversary adventure - the grizzled, secret-keeping, long-lost incarnation of the Time Lord played by John Hurt...

"Why not a mayfly Doctor, who exists for one show only? I’d often thought about that. Would it be weird in the run of the series to have the 45 th Doctor turn up and be played by Johnny Depp or someone? Would that be a cool thing to do? There was also the idea that if you could bring one classic Doctor back, you’d actually, impossibly, want it to be William Hartnell. You wouldn’t want any of the others. You’d want him to come and say 'What in the name of God have I turned into?' That’s the confrontation that you most want to see, to celebrate 50 years. Going round and round in circles on it I just thought 'What about a Doctor that he never talks about?' And what if it is a Doctor who’s done something terrible, who’s much deadlier and more serious, who represents that thing that is the undertow in both David and Matt. You know there’s a terrible old man inside them. Well, here he is, facing the children he becomes, as it were."

Read the rest of this exclusive interview in SFX issue 241 on sale on Wednesday 16 October. Order a copy or subscribe online at MyFavouriteMagazines.co.uk or find all our issues on Apple Newsstand, Google Play, Zinio, Kindle and Nook .

Nick Setchfield
Editor-at-Large, SFX Magazine

Nick Setchfield is the Editor-at-Large for SFX Magazine, writing features, reviews, interviews, and more for the monthly issues. However, he is also a freelance journalist and author with Titan Books. His original novels are called The War in the Dark, and The Spider Dance. He's also written a book on James Bond called Mission Statements.