INTERVIEW BY TOM SPILSBURY
While John Hurt’s on-screen Doctor Who career as the War Doctor was essentially limited to the 75 minutes of The Day of the Doctor, Big Finish Productions has filled in a few more chapters from this most mysterious period of the Doctor’s life. Yes, the War Doctor now has a bona fide ‘era’ of his own. In a dozen hour-long audio adventures, released across four box sets, we have finally got to find out what the Doctor got up to during the Time War. John Hurt’s hardened warrior incarnation has battled Daleks, teamed up with his old friend Leela, faced the horrors of the Neverwhen, and uncovered the secret of the Eternity Cage.
In light of the sad news of John’s death, DWM gathered the Big Finish team – executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery, executive producer/ writer/actor/composer Nicholas Briggs, and producer David Richardson – to ask them about their experiences of working with John in the studio. But first of all, we want to find out their views as fans of his work. He had such a magnificent film, TV and theatre career, and everyone has their own favourite John Hurt memories. What does the team think it was that made him such a special actor?