Doctor Who boss reveals original plans for the Meep

After a year of waiting, the 60th anniversary specials of Doctor Who are finally here. “The Star Beast” aired this past weekend, reuniting iconic Doctor David Tennant, with his companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and continuing a storyline that initially concluded 15 years ago. The premiere also introduced us to the Meep (voiced by Miriam Margolyes).

The Meep is a cute and cuddly alien, but don’t let the innocent appearance deceive you; our impression of the Meep quickly changes when it’s revealed to be the main villain of the episode, set on destroying London. The episode does a great job of slowly revealing the Meep’s true intentions, tracing its development from harmless furry alien to homicidal maniac. Funnily enough, the original script didn’t include this. In showrunner Russell T. Davies’ first draft, we learned of the Meep true intentions a lot earlier in the episode.

“In the very first draft of this script, the Meep revealed himself much earlier,” Davies said on the official Doctor Who Podcast. “In draft one, it was practically straight away, or in Rose’s shed, as in the comic strip, he reveals himself a significant chunk earlier – before the chase, not after the chase.”

The Meep originally had some witty monologues intended only for the audience, but this comedic beat was sadly pushed aside. “So in the very first script, it’s like he’d be in Rose’s shed and she’d say, ‘I was making toys,’ and things like that, and every time she turned her head…he’d look at camera and go, ‘Soon I will feast on her blood!’ which I thought was really funny.”

"I was told, my bosses gave me notes, they said he revealed himself as a villain too soon. I don’t know to this day. I still watch it thinking, I think that was really funny. And then Rose would turn back to him, she’d go, ‘Did you say something?’ And he’d go, ‘Meep Meep!’"

To sacrifice this comedic aspect in favor of keeping the Meep’s intentions a mystery feels a bit silly, especially when you’ve got Miriam Margolyes voicing the Meep. She would’ve executed it brilliantly!

Doctor Who continues Saturdays on BBC One and on Disney+ for international viewers.

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