Russell T Davies: Doctor Who Was There From the Very Start
5/29/20261 hr 2 min
Russell T Davies has spent a career changing what British television can be, moving from children’s drama to fearless queer storytelling and one of the nation’s most enduring cultural institutions, Doctor Who. Whether reinventing Saturday night television, capturing the emotional truth of the AIDS crisis in It’s a Sin, or turning the anxieties of modern Britain into gripping drama in Years and Years and his new series Tip Toe, his work has consistently shaped the conversation as well as entertained millions.
In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with Russell to explore the childhood in Swansea that first formed him: a home full of books, teachers and respect for television, a huge comprehensive school where he learned to keep his head down, and the youth theatre that gave him both his tribe and his future.
Russell reflects on the early obsession with Doctor Who, the long road into writing, and the Manchester years that changed everything, professionally and personally. He talks about finding his voice through queer characters, the shock of Queer as Folk becoming a cultural flashpoint, and why television has always felt like the natural home for the stories he wants to tell.
They also discuss politics, backlash, imagination, gay identity and the darker mood shaping modern Britain. Along the way, Russell explains why storytelling is a form of witness, why no childhood is too happy to produce serious art, and how the obsessions of youth can become the work of a lifetime.
Watch Tip Toe on Channel 4 from May 31st here
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAndy Hughes0:00
[upbeat music] This is a Global Player original podcast.
Russell T Davies· Guest0:05
Genius thing about Doctor Who is if you're eight years old, the TARDIS is designed to appear at the bottom of your road or on the way to school or in the schoolyard.
James O'Brien· Host0:13
So Doctor Who was there from the very, very start.
Russell T Davies· Guest0:15
Yeah. When people say, "Oh, don't sit your front- children in front of the television," I say, "Nonsense, nonsense." The way you wouldn't stop them reading.
James O'Brien· Host0:21
No, I'm not apologizing. Well, I will if you want me to. [laughs] How big a propulsion was the backlash?
Russell T Davies· Guest0:26
It was more ignored. You'd look in the papers at, like, what's on telly on Tuesday night, and it wouldn't be there.
James O'Brien· Host0:31
How did that make you feel?
Russell T Davies· Guest0:33
You bastards. I've, I've never been more angry in my life than that. You ba- The malice of that.
James O'Brien· Host0:38
[upbeat music] Hello and welcome to Full Disclosure, a podcast project designed to let me spend more time with interesting people than I would ever get on the radio. Russell T Davies, welcome.
Russell T Davies· Guest0:55
Hiya. Hello.
James O'Brien· Host0:56
It's lo- it's lovely to see you. I, I mean, uh, you- everyone who interviews you must- [laughs] ... spend a significant portion of time running through the CV. [laughs] But p-pi-pick favorites.
Russell T Davies· Guest1:04
I'm getting old now.
James O'Brien· Host1:05
The second coming.
Russell T Davies· Guest1:05
It's getting long.
James O'Brien· Host1:06
Well, [laughs] Bob & Rose, Years and Years, It's a Sin, and imminently, by the time people listen to this, Tiptoe, of which, of which more later. Um, it, it, it, the more I read about you in preparation for this interview, the more it seemed as if your childhood had left you with precious little option but to become Russell T Davies.
Russell T Davies· Guest1:24
[laughs] What, in what way? What do you mean?
James O'Brien· Host1:27
Well, a, a lot of telly.
Russell T Davies· Guest1:29
Yes, yes.
James O'Brien· Host1:29
And an obsession