About Doctor Who behind-the-scenes Spin-off – Doctor Who Confidential

20th October 2004

Doctor Who Confidential

Producer reveals new documentary series details.

When Doctor Who returns to TV, each episode will be followed by a behind-the-scenes show – Doctor Who Confidential.

We caught up with Mark Cossey, Executive Producer of the BBC Three project, to find out what we can expect:

What’s the show in a nutshell? Is it more EastEnders Revealed than the Strictly Come Dancing BBC Three show?

Confidential is its own beast; it will be more observational than the others, more of a documentary but with an entertainment edge. Like Doctor Who, we just want to tell a good story and give the audience an insight into the legend that is Doctor Who.

Confidential is its own beast; it will be more observational than the others, more of a documentary but with an entertainment edge. Like Doctor Who, we just want to tell a good story and give the audience an insight into the legend that is Doctor Who. Mark Cossey, Executive Producer

Each show answers a question posed by an episode. Can you give us an example of how this works?

The series is more about following the Doctor Who production searching for its own answers – i.e. “How do we make realistic monsters for the 21st century? How do we update the Doctor to make him relevant to today’s audience?” There are so many challenges that the new series has to overcome – we want to show the human side of this.

How open is the access you’ve got?

Pretty open. Russell, Julie and Mal are very supportive and our team is pretty experienced at being invisible on set. The crew, cast and the production team are all so passionate about this project, but also incredibly approachable and open about it.

How are you using the original series in the show?

It will be there, but more as a setup for the new series, a reference point to show why the Doctor is so important and why he is back. However, I think the old series has been well documented and we do want concentrate on the new.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned while making the shows so far?

I’ve learnt a lot more about Doctor Who (and I thought I knew a bit before), and a lot more about the people who know a lot about Doctor Who. It’s also fascinating learning about the special effects, which we don’t usually see at this level in a UK TV production.

At over six hours, this will be the longest documentary ever made about Doctor Who. Will it be released on DVD?

I don’t know. These things are always very complicated. Obviously I’d be more than happy to see it on DVD – I could send one to my Dad.

25th February 2005

Confidential logo

Their nice design is a secret no more.

This is the rather natty logo for Doctor Who Confidential, the BBC Three companion show for the new series.

We adore it – look what they’ve done with the dot!

28th September 2011

Doctor Who spin-off Doctor Who Confidential is to be axed

Doctor Who Confidential has been a great show for BBC Three over the years but our priority now is to build on original British commissions, unique to the channel.BBC statement