Moffat was speaking to
Broadcast magazine. “The story of
Doctor Who is the story of television, so it’s fitting in the anniversary year that we make our most important journey back in time to see how the Tardis [sic] was launched, ”
he said.
However,
according to Broadcast, the BBC “refused to confirm plot details or any of the characters that will feature in the biopic”.
The 90-minute drama, which has been rumoured for months, will be produced for BBC 2 in time for the show’s 50th anniversary in 2013.
Doctor Who executive producer Caroline Skinner will join Moffat as producer of the drama,
An Adventure in Time and Space.
Speaking about the commission,
Gatiss told BBC News, “I’ve wanted to tell this story this for more years than I can remember! To make it happen for
Doctor Who’s 50th birthday is quite simply a dream come true.”
Gatiss, 45, is an author, screenwriter, actor and producer. Since 2005, he has written a Doctor Who stories for all three recent Doctors – Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith – including
The Unquiet Dead (2005),
The Idiot’s Lantern (2006) and
Victory of the Daleks (2010). He is the co-creator, with Moffat, writer and executive producer of
Sherlock. A member of the
League of Gentlemen, Gatiss has twice appeared in
Doctor Who and plays Mycroft Holmes in
Sherlock.
Doctor Who is the world’s longest-running science-fiction television series. Since it began in 1963, eleven actors have portrayed the Doctors on TV – William Hartnell played the First Doctor, followed (in order) by Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. Tennant’s successor, Matt Smith – who has played the Eleventh Doctor since 2010 – will see the series through its anniversary year.
