No, I knew it was coming, knew it was going to happen.

Its not good to have an idea two or three years ago and then write it.

You should have an idea in the moment, then youre responding to everything around you.

So I had a notion, then it became clear in a blinding flash of nonsense!

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Did you get any sense of pressure then?

Did you feel that you had to upstage, in a way, everything youve done so far?

People quite reasonably ask about the other show too do you feel under pressure because its been so successful.

I can tell you that Ive worked on some real stinking failures in my life, and theyre pressuring.

Thats pressure, that is real pressure.

I can tell you, not sinking is better!

There are expectations though, this being the 50th…

I kind of think that every Saturday.

And generally speaking we do, dammit!

You feel pressure, but theres a challenge, and also a massive opportunity.

Its everything you ask for.

They say be careful what you wish for: no.

Dont be careful what you wish for.

Absolutely wish for stuff.

Nothing wrong with that.

A lot of the initial fan expectation when theres an anniversary coming is for anExpendablesof Doctors.

Thats a crude way of putting it!

But was getting lots of Doctors together something you dismissed from the start, though?

Was that ever on the cards for you?

That was the year that was.

Look back and feel slightly older and sad!

Of course its a celebration of the past ofDoctor Who.

Rather, Id like to avoid the word path.

The myth or the legend, all the really cool words.

But more importantly, its ensuring that theres going to be a 100th anniversary.

And so it needs to be a huge important story to the Doctor.

That was my mission statement.

Its very rare inDoctor Whothat a story matters very much to him at all.

Then he rushes back to the TARDIS and forgets about it 20 seconds later.

If you asked him, hed have a vague memory of the badger, thats it.

He doesnt really recall.

So my intent was to move it forward.

To have a show that was equally about the next 50 years ofDoctor Who.

Because that in the end is more important to me and the audience.

Attaching the word 50 to anything?

I almost tried to rip the logo off.

Why is that good?

That show youre watching is really old.

Why is that a great thing to say?

People ask me how am I going to yo the fans, the regular viewers?

Im actually trying to recruit.

Im on a recruitment drive the entire time.

Getting people who have never watchedDoctor Whobefore to watchDoctor Who: thats what matters.

Im going to join in now.

Its not just a walk-down, a parade of our greatest hits.

Youll get that anyway!

Did the wheels start turning then?

Well, I was just checking him out [at first].

I wanted to see if it was a possibility.

I just happen to know David socially, and we hang out from time to time.

He takes tremendous interest in the show.

Its one of those things thatDoctor Whocan do.

You actually can withDoctor Whohave another Doctor revisit.

So that was part of it.

But this story, hopefully… what would be the Doctors most important day?

What would be the show that would change him as a person forever?

Alter the course of his life?

Thats whats big enough to do for his 50th.

Rather than have, as I say, a parade of greatest hits.

Thats the adventure that he really, really remembers.

That was the day that everything changed.Doctor Whomight celebrate the Doctor, but its very rarely about him.

When did that eureka moment come?

I cant really recall.

Its just if youre going to celebrateDoctor Who, youre celebrating the Doctor.

Why not tell this story?

Whats it like to him?

Whats it like being him?

What defines what he is?

How do you make that a mighty moment in his life.

Look at what the Bond franchise did withSkyfall.

It has enough nostalgia in it.

I was practically tearing up when that Aston Martin turned up!

But they were very clear that they were all about newness and modernity.

What made the Zygons the right fit for this?

Presumably theyre not the only villain…

Theyre not the only villain.

Theyre the villain we shotoutside.

Id also lie to you prodigiously and regularly if I though it would help keep a secret.

They really have joined up now.

Whether its a story idea, or a character.

Or in this case what I think is an absolute design classic.

The original Zygon design is so good.

Neil Gorton agreed with me, weve been talking about it for years.

And we just agreed that we would do the Zygons, but wed just do the same design.

With all the modern resources weve got better rubber now, so they can move more easily!

but its the same design.

Its the same thing.

Just to bring that back, because its fantastic.

Youve said that its not a massive retrospective of the 50 years of Doctor Who.

But did you look back at some of those older classics, just to get the vibe right?

I dont have to, I know them all!

[Laughs] No, I didnt.

So what if its old?

Great, youve been doing it for years, I dont care!

What are you doing on Saturday, is what theyd say.

So its about throwing forward, its about the future.

You want to take things from the past that are great, that you havent got to yet.

Not because its a repeat, but because its worth another outing.

Where do you see the show being in another 50 years?

I cant imagine whatll happen toDoctor Whoin the next 50 years.

I would say that Im absolutely confident that itll still be around.

Heaven knows in what form, heaven knows there will be interruptions at some point.

Theres no evidence of that right now.

Particularly internationally its going from strength to strength, its quite extraordinary.

Its getting 77 million viewers around the world.

Its a massive thing.

Whats the campest thing about Doctor Who?

I know that if I stand back sufficiently fromDoctor WhoI can see elements of it as camp.

But I dont think of that when Im making it.

I make it in a very full blooded way.

If I step back from it, then of course its complete nonsense.

But I always think that its important that when you watchDoctor Who, you are completely invested in it.

Youre emotional: wiping away a tear, frightened, laughing your socks off.

My response always to fridge logic is: who fucking cares?

If youre still thinking about it by the time youve got the fridge, the show has already won.

I can exclusively reveal that most things aboutDoctor Who, on closer inspection, may not make complete sense.

They makeemotionalsense, they can inflame and excite you.

Writing for Matt and writing for David, how do you keen the voices of the Doctors distinct?

Well, oddly enough that was a problem with the regeneration.

Literally switching from writing David to writing Matt.

The voices are hardwired into my head, its not really very difficult.

Will the events of the 50th affect series eight?

Is it game changing?

I think I was the person who appallingly introduced the phrase game changing intoDoctor Who.

Its a terrible expression, I wish Id never said it!

Were going to make a change.

Its going to have an effect.

Its going to have an effect on him.

Everything is not going to be the same.

Are there unique things that Jenna and Billie bring to their companions?

Theyre very different actresses playing very different parts.

You start thinking of them not as the companion, but as who they are.

Theres a fair amount of contrast between the two.

Theyre two very different people, both as performers and as parts.

Youve talked about it being the mighty one, the big one that you want to make.

Was there a point in the writing where you though youd gone too far?

Or did you never reign yourself in?

I had a pretty clear idea of where we were going to go.

And because Id been doing the job for so long of writing the shows for so long ten years!

Let them make that decision.

Dont limit yourself yet, because its sometimes surprising what they can and cant pull off.

They cant do that cocktail party, because thatd be difficult and involve lots of extras.

But that giant mutant space badger hatching in the middle of Big Ben?

We can do that.

You must be great to go out with!

I dont, actually.

I dont want to ever think that Matts leaving.

It would feel wrong to think that way.

it’s possible for you to get relaxed towards this.

I think there was a danger towards the end of the original run.

Thats really difficult, and has every possibility of colossal failure.

Is that what youre looking to do here by writing more than one Doctor into the script as well?

Does that allow you to take the process a bit further?

Its a different version of it, because he can critique himself.

He can respond to himself.

I tried to imagine what it would be like to interact with yourself, your younger and older self.

I concluded that Id absolutely fucking hate it.

Theres nothing good about it.

My younger self would be a prat, and my older self would be even uglier!

Is that as good as its going to sodding well get?

I didnt write the show like that!

That would have been depressing!

Have you almost got a two person soliloquy in there?

Theres a certain amount… theres a point where the Doctor has a specific line about what thats like.

What its like to interact with himself, and not always in a friendly fashion!

But sometimes hes friendly!

Matt said that youd be more excited than anyone seeing him and David together…

Matts been more excited!

Ive never seen him so giddy on the set, and hes usually pretty giddy!

And he kept saying isnt this great?

Isnt this great?!

Were both very excited.

How exciting is it to have John Hurt in there as well?

Its acting royalty isnt it?

One thing we wanted with the 50th was to have acting royalty in this show.

An actor who almost represents a statue ofDoctor Who.

Its not an original observation, but hes a very good actor.

Therell be different Doctors!

No, itll be the same one.

Exactly the same one, yeah.

Steven Moffat, thank you very much…