“There’s a percentage of ‘Ho Ho Ho’ as every good Santa needs, but that’s all people ever see of Santa. They never see him day-to-day or when he’s a bit grumpy, or when he’s in a playful mood or if he’s a bit cross. I’ve tried to get all those sides to him. Hopefully he’s funny. I wanted him to be funny and I wanted him to be like what he is essentially – and that’s the spirit of Christmas.”
“Well obviously as everyone knows from the end of Death in Heaven, it’s the ultimate meeting of Christmas heroes; Santa Claus meets Doctor Who. The buddy movie you’ve always wanted. In addition to that, it’s quite surprising – it won’t be what some people expect because it’s a thriller of an episode. The Christmas element is covered in the fairly notable form of Santa Claus and the elves and their sleigh. But the rest of it is very much Doctor Who – scary, in a polar ice cap base, scientists under threat. I keep describing it as Miracle on 34th Street meets Alien.”
Jenna Coleman talks about the aftermath of Series 8 and Clara reuniting with the Doctor:“She’s just really glad to be back with him. She’s dealing with the death of Danny Pink but happy to be back in the arms of the TARDIS again, and meeting Santa. A lot of the episode is about telling that adventure, and it’s about the Doctor and Clara resolving what they’ve just been through. They’re brought together by a crisis that returns the Doctor to Earth to help Clara. The stuff that separated them, the lies they told each other – all of that will be addressed in this episode.”
“It’s all very festive and even though you’re shooting in October it does lull you into the festive spirit, because there are lots of Christmassy things around. There’s a roast dinner going on in Clara’s house and a big Christmas tree. There were also lots of tangerines!It’s both really scary and really festive. It manages to be quite frightening and still have Santa Claus in it. It is extremely Christmassy but there is a plot line in it that is quite dark and I think Steven has done a brilliant job at balancing those two things. It’s perfect for Christmas viewing – it supplies everything that Doctor Who should supply at Christmas. It’s scary but it leaves you feeling warm and cheerful.”
Labels: 2014 xmas, 2014 xmas special, dr who last christmas, jenna coleman interview, last christmas, nick frost interview, peter capaldi interview, Steven Moffat Interview