Doctor Who: Pearl Mackie and Ralf Little Discuss Series Ten and More
By Leah Tedesco
Both Pearl Mackie and Ralf Little recently discussed the upcoming Series Ten of Doctor Who. There was an air of secrecy surrounding both interviews.
Early last month, Pearl Mackie talked with Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian. The 29-year-old actor admits that, growing up, she was not a fan of Doctor Who. To this day, she does not even have a favorite Doctor.
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She expressed how impressed she has been with how quickly and intensely the Doctor Who fandom embraced her into the fold. In the interview, she had a couple of anecdotes regarding this phenomenon. One of the earliest occurrences was when a fan dressed as, and posted a picture of, himself dressed as her character, Bill. This was mere hours after the announcement was made that she would be the next companion on the show. Another time, a French customer in Mackie’s friend’s shop in Brixton unexpectedly asked her for a picture. She may be surprised by all of this, but we are not. This is the way of Whovians. Change may be hard for us, but we are certainly excited when the show brings us new leads.
Going into her audition, she “felt out of [her] depth,” but was confident that she could play the character well.
"“I knew I could bring her to life. She’s funny and geeky and vulnerable. There’s a goofiness to her and a big heart. She gets things wrong, she has a temper. I thought, ‘I know her. I could play her.'”"
Since getting cast, Mackie has been quite happy with “the biggest part [she has] ever had,” calling the experience “the time of [her’] life.”
"“I’ve never worked so hard. We filmed four of the 12 episodes in Cardiff. I have a flat there so I don’t have to travel all the time. Work, innit? I feel like I’ve joined a big family.”"
Her stage combat skills from her theatre experience have come in handy for the fight scenes, and she has even done one stunt for the program, so far. Other than these general musings, however, she refused to spill the beans about Bill, as she has been told by the powers that be that she is not allowed to divulge many specifics regarding Series Ten.
This morning, the official Doctor Who twitter account posted a new picture of Mackie aboard the TARDIS. She is sporting another one of Bill’s trademark fabulous outfits.
Bill in the #TARDIS 😊#DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/Skqd8yPW1t
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) November 2, 2016
Ralf Little was also told to keep tight-lipped about Series Ten. In a recent interview with Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy, the actor was even reluctant to say that he will be appearing in the second episode. He also provided glowing praise for Mackie.
"“She’s a lovely girl and a great actress – really fantastic on screen. I think she’s going to be a big hit!”"
In addition to this, Little expressed his admiration for Peter Capaldi.
"“The entire experience was very cool – and Peter Capaldi is a great man,” he said. “I’d met him before on various bits and pieces, but he’s incredibly warm and welcoming. I’ve probably already said too much!”"
The 36-year-old actor says that, while he was not a fan of Doctor Who in his youth, he thinks that the revival is “magnificent.” He enjoys the work of both Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and is excited about his episode being written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, whom he calls “a great Northern legend of a writer.”
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Related Story: Ralf Little Makes Funny Video of Himself in the TARDIS
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