The team responsible for bringing Doctor Who to Cardiff has described it as a “leap of faith”. Since the show’s revival in 2005, it has been produced in Wales by first BBC Wales and now Bad Wolf, a Cardiff-based production company. To celebrate its 60th anniversary, events are taking place in the Welsh capital with an upcoming trio of new episodes starring David Tennant. Ncuti Gatwa will replace Tennant as the 15th Doctor on Christmas Day.
The impact of Doctor Who’s production on the Welsh economy has been significant, creating “thousands of jobs” and contributing more than £134m in gross value added (GVA), according to a BBC report. Cardiff was chosen as the show’s home by the BBC in 2004. The corporation’s then drama commissioner Jane Tranter convinced BBC Wales head of drama Julie Gardner to work with writer Russell T Davies to create the new series in the city. All three are now reunited to make the show for the BBC at Bad Wolf’s Wolf Studios in Splott.
The success of Doctor Who has given rise to a sprouting Welsh production base for high-end TV dramas. Tranter and Gardner, who helped bring the show to Cardiff almost 20 years ago, praised the endless possibility of the city. The special effects provider for the first series of Doctor Who, Danny Hargreaves, has witnessed the significant impact of the iconic TV series on Wales’s production sector, with many productions from all over the world choosing to film in the area since.
Returning showrunner Davies, who has Welsh roots, has also spoken positively about Wales as a production location. He would have refused to make the show in London and is as much an advocate for the region in 2023 as he was in 2005, saying it offers a place of endless possibilities
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