Comic Relief Doctor Who Uncovered

Comic Relief Doctor Who Uncovered
Original to VHS	The Curse of Fatal Death
Release date:	September 1999
Key crew
Narrator:	Harry Enfield
Director:	Ian Barnes
Producer:	Ian Barnes

Comic Relief Doctor Who Uncovered was a behind-the-scenes documentary focusing on the making of The Curse of Fatal Death. It was exclusive to the VHS release of the story.

Many clips from prior Doctor Who stories were shown from the First Doctor era up to the 1996 TV Movie featuring the Eighth Doctor. Notably, this documentary also included clips from the fan-film Devious marking the first time parts of that production had appeared on an official BBC release. An abridged twelve-minute version featuring the scenes with Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor was released with the DVD of The War Games in 2009. As the rights to show scenes with the Daleks were not cleared for its release in 2009, this documentary marks the only time ever parts of Devious featuring the Daleks have appeared on an official BBC production.

Main topics covered

• The making of The Curse of Fatal Death

Additional topics covered

• How Steven Moffat came to write the special
• The casting of the Doctors
• The history of the Master in Doctor Who
• The narrative purpose of companions
• Julia Sawalha's history with the show
• William Hartnell's portrayal of the First Doctor
• The possibility of the Doctor changing gender
• The inspiration behind the cast's portrayal of their characters
• The execution of the stunt of the Master falling through the trapdoor
• The scare-factor of the Daleks
• Steven Moffat's attempts to become a Dalek operator and how to operate one
• The construction of the Dalek props
• The production of Devious
• The four different iterations of the Master's costume
• The construction of the TARDIS console prop
• The comedic elements of prior Doctor Who stories
• The future of the programme

People interviewed

• Richard Curtis
• Steven Moffat
• Richard E Grant
• Jim Broadbent
• Hugh Grant
• John Henderson
• Julia Sawalha
• Jonathan Pryce
• Joanna Lumley
• Gabe Cronelly
• Ashley Nealfuller
• Stephen Cranford
• Rebecca Hale

Crew

• Lion Television and Comic Relief wish to thank:

CROW Film and Television

Dick Knapman at Todd-A0 UK

Piers Helm and Sebastian Read at Skaramoosh for the graphics

Max Horton & Amanda Libotte at Moving Picture Company

Canal + UK Ltd

• Narrator - Harry Enfield
• Production Manager - Charlotte Markham
• Sound - Steve Skit
• Editor - Jon Harris
• Executive Producer for Lion Television - Paul Wooding
• Executive Producer for Comic Relief - Sue Vertue
• Producer - Ian Barnes
• Director - Ian Barnes