'Doctor Who' stars on filming, clubbing and feasting in South Africa

9 October, 2018 - 08:02

Season 11 of Doctor Who, the worlds longest-running science fiction show, was partly shot in South Africa. For three weeks in January 2018, the hit series filmed with Out of Africa Entertainment, a local production company that has serviced an impressive list of international TV series, including Emmy winners like Generation Kill, Emmy nominees like The Prisoner and Wallander, the multi-award-winning Book of Negroes, and BAFTA winners like Call the Midwife and The Devils Whore.

The crew over there are extraordinary, says Jodie Whittaker, Doctor Whos Thirteenth Doctor - a super-smart force of nature, who can change appearance (and gender) by regenerating when near death. We were so well looked after.

Doctor Who moved from winter in Sheffield to the peak of South African summer - during a drought. It was amazing, says Jodie. It was January and it was freezing in the UK and it was boiling in South Africa.

So hot that Tosin Cole (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), who plays Ryan Sinclair, one of the Doctors new friends, got sunstroke. I was really sick. Sunburnt as well, he adds. It was hot.

This was particularly challenging because of their wardrobe. I was wearing a Barbour jacket and a scarf, in forty-degree heat, says Bradley Walsh (Law & Order: UK), who plays Graham OBrien, another of the Doctors new friends. We said, Weve got to take these off. And Ray [costume designer Ray Holdman] said, Im telling you now, remember where youre going after this, back to Wales. Night shoots. If you take this off now in this scene, youve got to have it off in the next scene as well [for continuity]. And itll be cold. So think about it. So we just had to sweat. It was intense.

We were so cold filming episode one that we all agreed we would not moan when we got to South Africa that it was too hot, and we didnt, says Mandip Gill (The Good Karma Hospital), who plays Yasmin Khan, the Doctors third new friend.

I did, says Tosin, although, after hed recovered from his sunstroke, he says, I was loving it in the end. I was out there flexing.

Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch), the new showrunner, says they came to South Africa because they wanted scale. We created a couple of different worlds in South Africa; we went there because theres a different sort of scale, different types of landscapes. So just variety, really. It looks amazing.

Amazing is a word that comes up a lot when chatting to the cast about the South African locations.

Some of the locations, as you can see from the trailer and youll see in the episode, are amazing, says Tosin. Its a beautiful country.

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We filmed in some of the most amazing locations, like just miles and miles of sand, says Mandip. It was absolutely beautiful.

We were filming in locations that as a tourist I dont think youd necessarily get to see and thats mind-blowing in so many ways, says Jodie. Just the elements and nature and the epic landscape serving the story was great; they made our job a lot easier.

For Bradley, some of the South African footage felt like Lawrence of Arabia; like David Lean shot it. Its extraordinary - and the landscape there lends itself to that.

But it wasnt all work and no play for the cast. The food was amazing, raves Tosin, name-checking Mzolis and the malva pudding at The Codfather. They have a version of sticky toffee pudding at this restaurant called The Codfather in Cape Town and it was to DIE for. Wed just come from the gym and nobody was having dessert and I was like, Nah, thats so nice, and I had to have two!

For Mandip, there was one downside to all the feasting. I thought I could run okay until I went to do ADR [Additional Dialogue Recording] and realised my legs were chafing, says Mandip. Id eaten way too many marshmallows in South Africa and put on a couple of pounds... So the next time it came to running I made sure my legs were apart. It looked really good though!

Tosin also loved the nightlife. I listen to a lot of house music and afrobeats and stuff like that, he says. Id heard so many good things about the scene in South Africa and I thought, Seeing as Im out here for free, being paid to be here, why not? And it was a great experience.

Asked if hed like to return, Tosin said, A hundred percent. Its beautiful, the food and the music. Obviously they have their issues with the townships and so on but its one of the best places Ive ever been and Id love to explore a bit more.

Doctor Who has won over 100 awards in its 55-year run and is currently at #100 on IMDBs list of the top-rated TV of all time, with an 8.7/10 rating. At the time of writing, Season 11 has a 94% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes: The Telegraph called Jodie Whittakers performance a delight, The Radio Times said Doctor Who has never looked better, and The Guardian called it bold, cinematic and full of frights.

The first episode of season 11 is now streaming first and only on Showmax in South Africa, with new episodes coming express from the UK every Monday.

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