One of the only disappointments I had when making THE PHANTOM RECESSION was that I wasn’t able to interview Peter Davison in person. Not only would the audio quality have been much improved but the whole dynamic is different when face to face. Nevertheless I was very grateful for the time he gave me.
In late June I was walking along the Strand looking for a Sainsbury’s Express when I noticed a rather tall man wearing dark glasses, a cream suit and a boater-style hat walking towards me. As we approached each other, I realised it was Peter trying to avoid being recognised in the break between his matinée and evening performances in LEGALLY BLONDE. I continued walking then reversed and swiftly caught up with him, introducing myself and walking covertly beside him. He stopped and – though I cannot be certain he genuinely remembered our interview, he offered his hand to shake, which I took. I thanked him for his appearance and he said it was no problem.
Friendliness is always appreciated by me, especially in such situations. Writer Russell T Davies says in THE WRITER’S TALE that anyone who buys in to the personality someone gives off when being interviewed is a fool, but Peter wasn’t wearing his media hat. He was actually wearing a hat strongly reminiscent of the one his Fifth Doctor sported, which is what first alerted me to him. So while yes, while being interviewed in certain situations celebrities are in their cool and in control modes, some people are just nice. I could name a few others on either side of the nice fence, but I’ll leave it there.