In 1993 I attended a Doctor Who convention in Hammersmith. The most exciting part of that event was having four Doctors on stage together, Messrs Pertwee, Davison, Baker C. and McCoy. “Once in a lifetime opportunity,” I thought.
This weekend, twenty years later, I was lucky enough to see four Doctors on stage together again at Project Motor Mouth. Miraculously we have a new clutch of Doctors these days, so I was particularly looking forward to seeing Paul McGann and David Tennant for the first time. They were joined on stage by Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy.
The event was organised by Janet Fielding, who played Tegan in the series back in the nineteen-eighties and was in aid of Project Motor House, a charity into which Janet has been pouring her energies whilst battling cancer.
It was a joy to watch the interplay between them, especially the grin on David’s face as he looked along the line of childhood heroes sat next to him. Sylvester was very funny, Paul and Peter quieter and more thoughtful, although both seemed to enjoy arguing with Janet when she joined them on stage.
It was strange attending an event on my own. But the friendliness of Doctor Who fans is legendary, and there were plenty of people to chat to in the queues whilst waiting for autographs. The other guests included Simon Fisher-Becker, Gareth Jenkins and Andrew Smith, writer of Full Circle. Andrew recognised me from my Twitter profile picture and we had a brief but enjoyable chat.
The schedule for the day seemed to be re-written on the fly as the photo session over-ran. The afternoon was one massive signing session. The complex numbering system was abandoned early on and it degenerated rapidly into an endurance feat.
Colin Baker demonstrated his huge commitment to the show by driving from Lincoln to attend a signing session in the afternoon, having been at rehearsals for his new play in the morning.
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Hi.
Do you mind if I nick your photos for my Facebook page? I did the interview you see. That’s me doubled up with laughter at the top of the page at whatever’s just been said.
I’ll post a link to your blog as well.
Cheers
Robert
PS I was at that event in 1993, I thought I’d never see four Doctors together again either, never mind be the man on stage with them!!
may i use one of your pictures for my facebook page please? I’m the owner of the TARDIS used on the day!
Hi Robert, sure please use the photo. Thanks for taking the time to ask. And well done for coping when thrown in at the deep end!
Hi Sam, sure that’s fine. Thanks for checking.
Cheers — must have been a MARVELOUS event! (I have a good friend who went, and shared your blog link with me.) Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Thanks for sharing!
Rick
Thanks Rick, it was great fun 🙂
It was a fantastic day beginning to end. Here’s footage of David auctioning the Tardis.
http://youtu.be/aquw4QefBAs