Christmas Special enters production

Saturday, 17 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This week saw the first public confirmation that production has begun on the forthcoming Christmas Special of Doctor Who, with cast and crew settling in at the Welsh town of Llanelli. Filming took place at the private residence of Stradey Castle over the last four days, with Matt Smith spotted at the production base during the course of the shoot.



THE FOLLOWING DETAILS MAY BE CONSIDERED AS SPOILERS




It was not initially clear that this was indeed filming for Doctor Who, as signs seen in the vicinity were "NRG" - used previously for the production of Baker Boys that saw its wrap party a week previously. However, Matt Smith was eventually spotted at the production base, which confirmed that this was indeed the return of our Time Lord. Karen Gillan was also reported as being at the hotel where the cast and crew stayed, but she was not actually seen on location.

As noted above, filming took place at the private residence of Stradey Castle both during the day and into the evening; the secluded location meant that no photos of the production were forthcoming, though there had been reports of a large mechanical bear seen on the castle grounds.


Photo: Graham Harries (via YFrog)
Production signs in use for filming

Photo: Sophie Cook (via Tumblr)
A view of black-out screens at the house

Photo: Graham Harries (via Twitter)
Matt Smith leaving his trailer

(news with thanks to the Llanelli Twitter spotters Sophie Cook, Graham Harries,
Josh Nicholas Thomas, Meriel Williams, Cerys Perkins, and Ashley Taylor)
 

Some photos of Matt Smith were also published by the Western Mail, though the BBC clarified that the guest star pictured with the actor was not the name suggested by the paper.

Production is now believed to be in studio for the next few days.


In July, the BBC announced the new Executive Producer for Doctor Who, Caroline Skinner, who would be working on the Christmas Special alongside Steven Moffat and Piers Wenger. This weekend saw Moffat introduce her to Twitter followers, saying:
@CaroSkinner The new exec on Doctor Who. If you don't follow her, you'll miss EVERYTHING!





FILTER: - Specials - Production - Caroline Skinner