Gatiss Expects "Howls Of Protest"

Mark Gatiss is bracing himself for a backlash from die-hard Who fans over his upcoming docudrama An Adventure In Time And Space.

Speaking to Broadcast, Gatiss said that he tries to ignore the wishes of dedicated fans when working on the parent show.

"Writing Doctor Who, you don't give a monkey's [about fans]. You write it for your audience, not for the people who will watch it anyway.

"I don't mean to sound contemptible at all - I'm a fan so there are a lot of things that I want to nod to or embrace - but you can't be ruled by that."

Going on to discuss the drama itself, Gatiss said: "Here, this is holy writ; they're real people."

The potential to upset the more... extreme fans doesn't seem to phase Gatiss, though. "Oh, I'm totally prepared for howls of protest. Doctor Who fans exist for the minutiae. They'll complain about everything. They'll probably complain about Verity Lambert's shoes. But I made it for everybody and I hope it's very touching."

While I expect that Gatiss' comments will upset some fans, it's worth noting that the last time the writing of Who focused on the more hardcore fans at the expense of the wider audience we got nonsensical fanwanky continuity porn like Attack Of The Cybermen (not to mention the first of the shows' cancellations). Gatiss is completely, undeniably right to approach the show with the general audience in mind.

Not that this will probably stop the more troubling members of our fan community (the sort who's reaction to a lack of a "proper" [whatever that means] trailer for The Day Of The Doctor, or to One Direction putting on a show on the 23rd, make Ian Levine look calm and rational) from calling for his head.

An Adventure In Space And Time is due to air in late November.