Richard Curtis talks Van Gogh

SFX have posted an interview online with Richard Curtis, the writer of this week's episode, Vincent and the Doctor.

This is quite a departure for you. What kind of freedom do you have when you’re writing for Doctor Who?
“I think God said, ‘Service is perfect freedom…’ So it was quite pleasurable. I was very free – because I came up with the story and knew what form I wanted it to take – but then I was given all sorts of instructions in terms of what was happening with the Doctor and Amy. I was told when I handed in my first draft that the Doctor talked too much, and that I should go back and watch some of the episodes and see that actually he was rather efficient in the way that he talked. I was told that the beginning was too slow, that when he met Vincent it wasn’t cute enough… It was quite nice, because when you’re writing things all on your own it’s quite lonely. You have to make so many of the decisions on your own. It was nice being pushed around in the right direction and having a format. And then there’s the bit that relates to what’s just happened in the last episodes – I was told that Amy’s in a peculiar position with reference to the state of her heart.”

How many drafts did you do?
“I wrote a version, Steven [Moffat] and Piers [Wenger, producer] criticised it a lot… then I wrote another one. And Jonny [Cambell, director] criticised it! Then we had a readthrough with Karen and Matt, and I suddenly realised they were right, and that it was bad. And then I rewrote it…”

Click HERE to read the full interview.

Doctor Who: Vincent and the Doctor - Saturday, 6.40pm on BBC One.