Peter Davison

Peter Davison Trivia and Quotes

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Trivia

  • Peter chose his stage surname of Davison to avoid confusion with the actor and director Peter Moffatt, a man who would one day direct him in two episodes of Doctor Who. []
  • Peter won the BBC TV60 Award for Best Popular Drama Series in 1996. He shared the Award with Sylvester McCoy. []
  • Peter is one of only three actors (Elizabeth Sladen & John Leeson being the others) to have played the same character in both the original run of Doctor Who and the re-imagined series. []
  • Although not an author (and not to be confused with the American poet of the same name) Peter Davison has edited The Book of Alien Planets a children's book published in 1983. []
  • Peter contributed a Doodle to the National Doodle Campaign (2008), which auctions off celebrity doodles for charity (The Neurofibromatosis Association). []
  • Peter starred with tenth Doctor David Tennant in the 2007 Children in Need, Doctor Who special: Time Crash. It was the first multi-doctor storyline since the show was revived in 2005. []
  • Peter Davison was good friends with Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor). Troughton urged Davison to only play the Doctor for three years. Davison followed his advice and left the show. Davison regretted leaving the show, but by the time he wanted to come back, Colin Baker was already cast as the new Doctor. []
  • Peter's daughter Georgia auditioned for the role of Rose Tyler in the new Doctor Who series, but the role went to Billie Piper. However, Georgia appeared in Series 4 as the title character of the episode "The Doctor's Daughter". []
  • Whilst filming the Doctor Who story "Arc of Infinity" in Amsterdam, Peter had to run across Dam square with a mixture of Rice Krispies and glue stuck to the side of his face, to represent the decay of Omega. However, no-one in the square had any idea that he was filming a television show and he received some terrified reactions. After this experience, the director cut the scene as he felt it was too horrific. []
  • Peter still portrays the Doctor in a series of Doctor Who audio plays. []
  • Davison's first professional acting work came in 1972 when, after leaving drama school in the July of that year, he secured a small role in a run of Love's Labour's Lost. []
  • Doctor Who Trivia

    * He announced he was taking the lead role in Doctor Who on the BBC's lunchtime magazine programme Pebble Mill at One, on 3 December 1980.
    * Peter appeared in the Dimensions in Time with four other Doctors - for charity telethon Children in Need.
    * Peter is the youngest actor to play the Doctor, to date (2008).
    * Peter provides a commentary for the 25th Anniversary DVD release of The Five Doctors. []
  • Belsize Park, London, UK: Made a citizen's arrest after a 15 year old youth allegedly stole a video camera from his car. Peter gave chase and then restrained the youth for 10 minutes before police arrived. []
  • Peter has an interest in music, having composed the TV theme music for Mixed Blessings (1978), Button Moon (1980) and My Hero (2000). He made his singing debut on Pebble Mill at One. []

Quotes

  • Peter: (On his children's opinion of "Doctor Who") Well, they don't know any other world in which their dad is not in Doctor Who, so they're not as impressed as their friends are. We had David Tennant around the other day and they were almost unimpressed with him, I have to say! That was really extraordinary - it was almost like he didn't exist, it was very weird. My son Louis had a birthday party and Georgia [Moffett, Davison's daughter] was coming to his party and she turned up with David Tennant and every other child in the garden was like (makes shocked face), but my children were like 'I've met him before'. []
  • Peter: (On whether "All Creatures Great and Small" could come back) There was a chance - somebody dug up an old All Creatures Great And Small script but [the BBC] didn't seem keen on doing it. Maybe they just thought we were too decrepit, I don't know! But they found an old Christmas episode which they'd never done, which had been commissioned by Johnny Byrne, who has since died, sadly. But the BBC didn't seem to be keen on it at that particular moment, although I thought it would be rather a good story. It was about a year and a half ago. []
  • Peter: (about the 'Big Finish' Radio plays) I certainly think the writing, as a generalisation, is better. There were some very suspect scripts we did, knocked off by TV writers who'd turn their hand to anything. Fair enough, but they weren't science fiction fans. You do get the impression, both with the television series now and Big Finish, that they are fans of science fiction and that's why they are doing those stories. []
  • Peter: I must admit I'm a bit old-fashioned and just wait for things to turn up. I really love getting offered a job - although I don't believe it's true until the costume designer rings me up. []
  • Peter: A drama student is a fantastic thing to be because you can prance around in a long coat, carrying a script under your arm. Then a brutal thing happens - you leave, and realise you are at the bottom of the heap. []
  • (on whether he would return to "Doctor Who" for a longer stint)
    Peter: Oh, absolutely. I don't think it would happen - I have to be straight on that, because it sounds as if I'm prophesying about it, which I'm not. I can't think of a reason why I would say 'Sorry, I don't want to be in one of the most successful television series ever'. I think it's unlikely. I loved doing Time Crash, but I don't know it would go any further. Unless there's a spin-off for old codgers roaming around the universe! []
  • (on his daughter Georgia getting a part in "Doctor Who")
    Peter: I was very pleased for her. People think she got it because of me. I think she got it despite me. I think they had to think very carefully they cast her, as people would say 'oh, it's Doctor Who's daughter', but she's a great actress. I'm looking forward to it. []
  • Peter: Dangerous Davies is an unassuming detective, who seems unfazed by anything that is thrown at him. In a way, he is my ideal, because I have to confess I do get irate at times, especially when I'm driving in traffic. []
  • Peter: (On doing Time Crash) I loved it. When I got into my costume, which they created - most of it was real, though they had to buy another hat – I felt a bit out of place, because I felt that my costume was designed to be overly 'BBC Television Centre Studio', and suddenly I was on this proper atmospheric set. David was dressed in this cool dark outfit, suit and tie, stuff like that, and I was in pyjamaed Victorian garb, hat…so it took me a bit of time to get used to that. But once I got into it I had a great time doing it. He was a bit in awe of me because I was 'his' Doctor, I was in awe of him because he's a terrific actor and I was on his territory. So in a way it kind of balanced out. There was that wonderful moment you always kind of get at the read-through; people first of all brace time by showing off the set and saying 'First of all we'll start out here, and then this is the way up' and so on, and then eventually they say 'Okay, shall we just try a run-through of the lines?' . And the moment you run through the lines, it's great. It was all very quick. The only thing I felt about it was that we are both so quick in terms of speed...I timed it at something like ten minutes and it ended up as just under eight minutes - we just zipped through it. []
  • Peter: Mine was Patrick Troughton, yes. I had a similar experience of being in awe when Pat was in The Five Doctors - he, more than Jon Pertwee, was my Doctor. []
  • (on his young sons' view of the new "Doctor Who")
    Peter: They reckon the new Doctor Who is too scary and asked if they could watch Daddy playing him instead. Although in fact, I'd say that was a compliment to the new series, as it implies that my episodes weren't scary at all and they merely wanted to be comforted by them. []
  • Peter: (on appearing in "Spamalot" in the West End) I'm still taken aback when I come on and take a bow at the end of the curtain call as the star of the show, I think a lot of my friends and family would laugh – well, have laughed – hysterically at the idea of me starring in a West End musical. It's not really what I would have imagined myself doing. []
  • Peter: (On "Doctor Who") It is really no surprise to me that the programme has been going for such a long time. It is unstoppable now, I think, and has a vast following that just goes on increasing all the time. []
  • Peter: I see my Doctor as well meaning, although he doesn't always act for the best. But his overriding consideration is still to sort out whatever problem he is faced with as best he can. He may even endanger his companions in doing this. And he always starts out being polite - but usually gets less and less so as disaster looms! []
  • Peter: My total view of Doctor Who is that I am playing a part. However, I realise that there is a lot more to it than just acting on the screen. You somehow take on the mantle of the Doctor and a kind of instant charisma goes with the job. []
  • Peter: I was a fan of the Doctor Who programme from the start and it had a very big impact on me. Along with millions of other children I used to hide behind the sofa every Saturday evening. The stories used to terrify me and even now I can still vividly remember certain parts, in particular, the Hartnell-Troughton eras. []
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