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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Martin Belam

Hanky-panky in the Tardis! How a writer’s divisive Doctor Who movie spent 25 years being hated by fans

‘Doctor of the future’ … Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor in Doctor Who: the Movie, 1996
‘Doctor of the future’ … Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor in Doctor Who: the Movie, 1996. Photograph: Alamy/Allstar

“I’ve written lots of things that I’ve happily forgotten about, or that have been remembered fondly,” says Matthew Jacobs. “But the Doctor Who TV movie is very much like a tattoo that just won’t go away.”

What is it like to make one sizeable contribution to a much–loved franchise – and then everybody hates it? And, two decades later, to turn up to a fan convention for the very first time, only to find fans still want to tell you to your face how much they hated it? That is the premise of what turns out to be a surprisingly uplifting new documentary about fandom and family called Doctor Who Am I from Jacobs and Vanessa Yuille.

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