‘‘So why does Doctor Who Magazine want to interview me of all people? I’m worried that this will be the interview that everyone flips past,” admits 37-year-old, Aberystwyth-born Brian Minchin, Doctor Who’s executive producer.
It’s the final week of July, and we’re strolling down a Coal Hill corridor (“It’s longer than most real-life school corridors,” Brian tells me, “because we want plenty of corridor for our cast to run down!”) soon to be seen in BBC Three’s freshest Doctor Who spin-off, Class. Brian is exec’ing that show, too. He also produced former Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, and assistantproduced and script-edited yet another spin-off, Torchwood. He used to script-edit Doctor Who, too. And he’s written a Doctor Who novel (2010’s The Forgotten Army), and a Torchwood comic strip (2009’s The Return of the Vostok), and an audio adventure (2009’s The Sin Eaters). Put simply, over the past decade, Brian Minchin has become one of Doctor Who’s most prolific contributors and ardent champions.