Tuesday April 4 saw new Doctor Who companion Pearl Mackie, accompanied by executive producers Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin, interviewed by the world’s press. As the day drew to a close, Sci-Fi Bulletin joined RadioTimes.com, Digital Spy, The Daily Telegraph and others in a roundtable…

Pearl, what’s been the most surprising thing that’s happened while you’ve been working on Doctor Who?

Pearl Mackie:           Getting the job – that was pretty much up there with the most surprising things that have ever happened to me, actually. I think every day is pretty surprising, it’s one of my first times on a set as epic as Doctor Who. Meeting monsters… and meeting monsters in half-prosthetic and jogging bottoms attire at 7.30 in the morning, that was pretty surprising.

I think it’s been a series of surprises. I’m surprised to be in here!

Steven, when you’re creating a new companion, do you start from scratch at page 1, or do you look back at previous companions and go, “what’s not been done before?”

Steven Moffat:         You start from scratch.

I’m a long time Doctor Who fan, so I automatically use the word companion which is not used by anyone in any context except this. It’s an insane way to talk about anyone!

You’re talking about a new character, and voice and style. You’re not thinking “what gap has not been filled?” And you mustn’t. You can’t go, “let’s go the opposite of last time.” That doesn’t work: people aren’t opposites of each other and the kind of people who travel with the Doctor are going to have certain things in common. On the other hand, as you’ll see, Bill is very different from Clara.

You start with the tone of voice. I just started writing the first scene that you’ll see tonight. That was the first thing I wrote for Bill, trying to find my way in, and it’s a weird thing. (I am sounding so pretentious when I’m saying this, I can’t think of another way of saying it, so if you can imagine me saying something less pretentious than this that you can make up later…) You sort of hit a note and some things harmonise with that note and some things don’t. You’re writing and you go, “I don’t know why, but she wouldn’t say that, so I’ve got to say something else.” You start messing around and slowly a character develops out of that.

It starts with a tone of voice, then an attitude, then a sort of person is there. As we’re discovering today getting asked about it, it gets harder and harder to talk about what she’s like, because what she’s like gets more and more complicated.

Brian Minchin:         We cast Pearl before you wrote episode 1…

Moffat:           That’s right, yes

Michin:           So it’s quite organic how it feeds in, and how amazing Pearl is.

What would surprise people about the new series?

Moffat:           That’s quite a hard one [to answer] at the moment. I think it starts quite unusually; the beginning is quite unusual for a Doctor Who story.

Mackie:          All of the storylines are surprising, but have a familiarity to them in a positive way, but that’s the nature of Doctor Who. It’s adventures you haven’t been on before but then you meet some familiar monsters, and you’re guided through by Doctor Who. In a way, everything is surprising.

Moffat:           She asks a question sometimes that you wonder why no one has asked before. It’s hard for us to say – I don’t want to give away big surprises.

In the press kit it says that life has not been great for Pearl, and that’s partly why the Doctor warms to her; can you tell us a bit about her past?

Mackie:          One of the things about Bill is that she’s quite normal. She’s not from some extraordinary background, she’s not had a life of privilege. Her existence until she meets the Doctor has been quite average and unexciting, so I think when she is presented with this amazing man and all of his knowledge and the way he approaches the universe, I think she’s completely fascinated. If you’re presented with all of space and time and you’re serving chips, you’re not going to stay serving chips, are you?

Moffat:           It’s not been a life of tragedy, it’s been a life of gentle disappointment. Like we’re all living! There are sadnesses, [but] it’s more that her life has not been going quite as she’d want. As Pearl says, she’s kind of ordinary in a way – she’s an exceptional person otherwise, but the life she’s been living is gentle disappointment, quiet despair! (We’re trying to leave that off the poster.)

Pearl, it’s come out now that you’re the first lesbian companion for the show. How is that explored on the show? Are you going to have a fling with Missy?

Mackie:          It’s not that much of an important part of Bill, it’s not a defining characteristic. It’s something that she’s very comfortable with, it’s not something that’s rammed down your throat…

Moffat:           Why is that always the analogy one goes straight to? Can I just dive in on this, because I’ve got a couple of things I really want to say:

One is, we’re not expecting some sort of pat on the back for this. This is a minimal level of representation and has been too long coming. It’s not something we expect a round of applause for; people will be saying, why the hell did you not get to that earlier? I think I would absolutely agree with them.

As Pearl says, this is not a major plot strand. It’s not even a minor plot strand, it’s just there. You know gay people, but you don’t talk about it all the time. It’s gentle, we’re not expecting some sort of applause.

We were astonished at the level of attention it got. It wasn’t, as some people think, some sort of press release that we made. It was just mentioned by Pearl in an interview; I didn’t know it was happening.

Suddenly there was lots of fuss… and it’s really important to stop making a fuss, because this show addresses children, very poignantly and very importantly addresses children. And a children’s show can affect the way people think for the rest of their lives, so this is important that we stop making a fuss.

Because if you make a fuss about the fact that Bill’s gay, you’re telling children, who already know that they’re gay, that there’s something special or different about them, and that frightens children. What we should be saying is, “hey look at that spaceship, it’s awesome”. That’s the attitude of the show.

So please, let’s calm it down on that: she’s not the Gay Companion, she’s Bill Potts. She barely bothers to mention the fact; it only comes up when it’s relevant, so please, I really genuinely ask – it’s about kids, it’s a kids’ show and how we address and treat this matter will have long-term effects on our audience.

What does Bill bring out in the Doctor that we’ve not seen before?

Mackie:          More hair.

Moffat:           Yes, he’s seen your hair and reacted – you’re not having more hair than me!

He is different with her, but because we’ve been doing this for a year, it’s hard to say. He is quite a different Doctor with Bill. From the off, he adores he. He wants to meet her, which is unusual for the Doctor, and yes, in ways that are hard to define, you’ll see a different version.

It worked brilliantly for us with the Doctor and Clara, but I always felt they were off in their world together; they were a bit similar, a bit rarefied, and there was always something a little bit regal about Jenna even with the Blackpool accent… and then she became Queen Victoria!

The Doctor is dealing with someone who just questions him and skewers him from time to time in different way, in quite ordinary ways. You’ll see how he’s different – occasionally disconcerted. There’s a kind of kindness about him – in the first episode when he asks, “how can I help?” when he realises things are getting a bit much. There is a proper grandfatherly approach to her, but he’s indignant at the idea that he’s looking old enough for that.

Did you get any advice from Jenna or any of the previous companions?

Mackie:          Yes, I did. Jenna sent me a bunch of flowers on my first day of filming, which was lovely and I had lots of advice – “practise your superhero run to comedy theme music.”

Moffat:           What music did you use?

Mackie:          I’m not telling you that! That’s for me and me alone

Minchin:        An actor prepares

Mackie:          Exactly, very method!

Stuff like where to get nice food delivered in Cardiff and what not to eat in the canteen.

Peter was great as well – [he told me] it’s such a massive show, it’s different from many other shows in that it exists in many different kind of spheres, the relationship with the fans and all of that. “But you’re here because you’re really good” – which was really kind – “and our main job is to make the show. Always remember that that’s what we’re here for; all of the rest of the stuff comes afterwards but it can be a bit much, and if it is, remember I’m always at the end of a phone.” Which I thought was nice.

What’s involved with a showrunner handover between you and Chris Chibnall? What practically do you have to do?

Moffat:           Have you seen that scene in Women in Love where the two men wrestle? Well, it’s not like that!

First of all, the incredibly tidy thing about Chris taking on the show is that he’s the most experienced showrunner coming on to the show. I’d never showrun a show before, Russell had done a bit but Chris is coming onto the show with the experience of doing Broadchurch – he’s already done a major league much-fussed-about show, so he’s got all that experience. So there’s not a lot to talk about.

We just keep each other up to date with what’s going on. We’ve had various conversations about how the stories will work together. But it’s not massively difficult. I did all that with Russell as well.

The best and most hilarious thing about it is that I stop several minutes before the end of my last episode and he takes over, which is where I started in Doctor Who, the minute David Tennant disappeared and Matt Smith appeared. I wrote that bit – which is a ridiculous day. I came in, and there was Julie and Russell watching the monitor and then we bring Matt in, and we get handed the headphones and say goodbye. It was just insane.

It’s not immensely complicated – it’s quite easy to hand something over, it’s quite hard to get something handed to you. I was doing the difficult part last time, I’ve got the easy part this time – “here you go, here’s some Nurofen, off you pop.”

If you could go back in time and give 2009 Steven Moffat one piece of advice about running Doctor Who, what would it be?

Moffat:           Make them give you the time machine sooner! That’s really holding out on people!

There’s no advice to give. “It’s going to be brilliant, and I know you’re frightened right now by how much weight you’ve put on, but at least you’ve enjoyed yourself. Maybe start dyeing your hair?”

When you see episodes you’ve written playing out on the screen, how close are they to the ones you had originally playing in your head?

Moffat:           There’s a tremendous advantage when you’re boss!

Are there any times when you’ve thought, “that’s how I’ve always imagined it”?

Moffat:           Do you know what? I work with amazing people, so the honest answer to your question is, “there are very few occasions where it isn’t simply better than what I had in my head.

Michael Pickwoad – I’ll write “a small room” and his “small room” will take up an entire studio with a window with greenscreen so we can put more background into it.

It almost never happens that it’s less good; sometimes it’s exactly what I imagined it’s going to be; but very much more often, the actors have taken it to a new level, the director has found new ways to film it, the design is so much more extraordinary, actually it gets a hell of a lot better than in my sad and shabby little head! And then I revise my memories so that the much better version they’ve made of my script than I had imagined is the one I always thought of and I take the credit later on.

We’ve known for some months that you’re the new companion, what’s it been like? Have you been poked in supermarkets?

Mackie:          Poked in supermarkets? Is that a thing? What kind of devices are we talking about?!

I have been recognised a little bit but I’m sure that will increase once it’s on the screen. There will be more of my face, seen from many different angles, so they’ll probably recognise me in many guises… maybe in supermarkets – and hopefully not poke me because that doesn’t sound very nice!

We’ve not talked about Matt yet – what’s Bill’s relationship like with Nardole and what’s it been like having Matt Lucas on set?

Mackie:          Matt is amazing. He’s been such a great guy to have on set. It sounds a bit of a cliché to say he’s funny, but he’s really funny. He’s a really lovely guy as well, and for me personally, because he’s been in TV shows since he was quite young, and Little Britain was a massive global phenomenon, it’s been really nice talking to him about how to navigate my way through this. He’s been really helpful for that but he just has the crew in stitches. It’s a great day when he’s around.

How much have you been swotting up on Doctor Who? How much did you know beforehand and have you become a superfan?

Mackie:          I was actually told not to watch… I asked Brian and Steven when I got the job, “I haven’t watched that much of it, should I watch even the stuff with Peter and Jenna to experience Peter’s Doctor?” I’ve seen a couple of episodes since then…

Moffat:           You’re allowed to watch my shows… do you like Sherlock?

Mackie:          I thought for me as an actor, every companion is completely different, but essentially as Steven was saying earlier, there is a similarity between them because they travel with Doctor Who. Watching someone do the job that you’re about to do, [and do it] brilliantly – all the companions have been amazing – you’d be mad as an actor not to go, “that was good, I’m going to have  that”.

I thought that obviously what I was doing when I came into the audition was working, so even subconsciously I wouldn’t be able to stop myself borrowing bits from previous companions. I thought it’s best not to do that, so I can continue being Bill as I would play her.

How did you feel the night before your first scene? Were you feeling nauseous?

Mackie:          Before the first scene of filming? I don’t think I slept at all. When we filmed the trailer, I was doing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, and I was picked up after the show. The car broke down on Piccadilly…

Moffat:           I didn’t know that!

Mackie:          I got to Cardiff at 3 am and had to be on set at 6 am and obviously I was more nervous than I’ve ever been in my entire life. I was in bed, just looking at the clock. I couldn’t call anyone to tell them because it was all top secret, so I couldn’t even say that I was there doing it. On a scale of one to nervous, I was pretty nervous.

Have you relaxed now?

Mackie:          I have definitely relaxed. The great thing about being up in Cardiff filming is we’ve got out own little bubble up there and you can try things out and they can say, no don’t try that.

You’ve learned things over the months – are there regrets over what you might have done at the beginning?

Mackie:          We’re about to watch episode 1! Don’t say that.

I hope I have got better otherwise what’s the point in being an actor? I hope I was pretty good otherwise you won’t see me in the Q and A. I am really looking forward to seeing it. I’ve come full circle so I probably am that nervous again.

You mentioned Curious Incident – how does it compare doing TV to doing theatre?

Mackie:          They’re completely different entities. I think the only similarity is you act in both.

Doing Curious was its own challenge because you do the show every day for a year, and my role was really physical so it was quite physically demanding – there was a lot of lifting involving, so that was draining. And keeping it fresh every day for a year is in itself is a challenge.

But comparing that to doing 12 hours on your first day of Doctor Who? You’re probably doing a scene many more times than you would a whole run of a play. Keeping that kind of freshness alive, having to do it 42 times or something, that in itself is its own kind of challenge.

I think they’re both wonderful and I’d like to do lots more of both of them. They’re both different and it’s been a wonderful experience to do such prestigious things back to back.

Steven, it’s your final year; is there anything you’ve been able to put in Doctor Who that you’ve always wanted to?

Moffat:           I never really think that way. I think “what would be really cool to happen this week?” Your wish fulfilment is likely to come at the beginning rather than the very end. I didn’t really even have that – I just wanted to make Doctor Who. That was my sole ambition: to make some because I really love it. And now there’s more of it than there used to be, some awesome.

Did Peter give you any wish list?

Moffat:           No he didn’t. Peter wouldn’t ever do that. But I did give him some Mondasian Cybermen, he was very keen on those. I remember when David Tennant came back to do the 50th I gave him some Zygons because he always wanted Zygons, and Karen Gillan wanted to be killed by a Weeping Angel which is unusual as a request. You can do that sort of thing.

There was the line in the last Christmas special about “everything ends and it’s always sad”… did you know Peter was leaving when you wrote that?

Moffat            :           No, absolute coincidence.

It sums up regeneration.

Minchin:        But [the Doctor’s] talking about himself.

Moffat:           There was a love affair starting in front of him and his was over, and he was trying to cheer himself up about as successfully as Scottish people usually do!

Minchin:        I can’t remember when we knew.

Pearl, you were listing in the BBC interview the other day the roles the previous Doctors and companions have gone on to do; have you any idea what you would like this to be a springboard for?

Mackie:          That’s a hard question. I’d quite like to play James Bond – if I can be called Bill, I can be called James.

I don’t know: I think some of the best things that are out there probably haven’t been written yet so I wouldn’t like to say anything too defining. There are so many wonderful people out there I’d like to play, and so many characters that don’t exist yet that I’d love to play. For me it’s just about playing characters with depth that have interesting things to say that maybe approach things in a way that you haven’t seen before. I’d like to do a bit of everything, really – just throw it at me.

Doctor Who returns on Saturday 15 April at 7.20 on BBC One.