We are very happy to announce that Craig Handley, one of our major members of the production team from Series 1, will be directing a number of Series 2 Episodes.
Merthyr-born Craig is a lifelong Doctor Who fan; having watched his first episode (with Peter Davison) at the age of five. Since 2002, he has worked in both television and feature film production; first with HTV Wales, before working with both BBC Wales and BBC Films; primarily as a production runner, before working his way up to Script Editor and Assistant Director. He has also written an award-winning comedy short film, On All Floors which had the (dubious) honour of being played before the James Bond film, Die Another Day, when the latter was released in Wales, in 2002. Craig has always been interested in developing his craft as a camera operator and, combining this with his love for Doctor Who, has been delighted to work on Whovians.
I caught up with Craig and we had a quick chat before we got down to business and started pre-production on his episodes.
What are you looking forward to on the production?
Firstly, I am looking forward to seeing what happens to the characters we met in series one; how their relationships, both with each other and their families; how each of them are now fairing and to help in taking them forward on their journey.
Above all, I am looking forward to getting back on the Whovians set: to spend more time with the good friends and colleagues I made on series one and to once again, work together in crafting something special - all of us doing our best to bring the brilliant scripts to life and to sit back, once post-production is complete and watch those episodes go out to our wonderful audience.
But this year is going to be a little different to last, in that I am undertaking some directing duties. To be given such an opportunity is something for which I am both extremely grateful and entirely humbled !
What was your favourite Series One episode?
It's a tough choice between episodes 2 and 5, but if I was water-boarded into giving away an answer, it would have to be Episode 5.
That episode had everything: Bradley, the Doctor, the TARDIS and K-9. What isn't there to love ?! But all of that is superfluous to the beautifully crafted script, the subtle performances from Rob D. Mealins, A.J. King and Helen Hughes.
What resonated with me, above all else, was the tragic back story afforded to our version of the Doctor. As a father, I felt the pain that the character was going through; having almost lost my own son to a serious accident some years ago.
Looking into the LCD screen on my camera, I noticed a strange watery substance forming; only to quickly realise that they were tears forming in me eyes.
Who's your favourite Doctor?
Despite my love for Christopher's incarnation, my favourite Doctor has to be the Tenth.
David Tennant brought a whole new dimension to the role: he was funny but also a danger that had been absent with Christopher. The Tenth melted my heart, on numerous occasions; but none more so when he regenerated into Eleven. Yes, I'm a self-confessed Tennant groupie !
Filming on Series 2 begins this coming summer and we are Crowd Funding at this time. If you want to help us fund this project and see what perks you can receive, please click here.