Thursday Press Clips

The Sun has an 'exclusive' today that notes that football star David Beckham is apparently a Doctor Who fan. "Victoria Beckham has splashed out on a book of Doctor Who screenplays for soccer star hubby Becks -- as he is 'completely ob- sessed' with the Time Lord. The ex-Spice Girl, 31, bought England skipper Becks a book of transcripts from the latest series starring Christopher Ecclestone [sic] and Billie Piper. Mum-of-three Posh showed her eye for a bargain by spotting the book, The Shooting Scripts, in a half-price sale. And if that wasn’t cut-price enough, staff at posh Knightsbridge store Harrods even gave an extra ten per cent discount because of her celebrity status. Real Madrid ace Becks and wife Victoria were in central London last Sunday. An insider said: 'They were in Harrods for a couple of hours. She had a good rummage and found the Dr Who book. Staff were expecting her to spend a fortune on designer gear — but she only bought the Russell T Davies scripts. She told the shop assistant that David was 'completely obsessed' with Dr Who. 'She said he knew everything about it and never missed an episode of the last series.'" Also reported at This Is London,Ananova.

The online edition of SFX Magazine features an interview with Anthony Stewart Head, who notes that he "love[s] it when papers say things stridently, whether they're right or wrong" about him playing the Master (he says he's shocked to hear it because it's not true!) But how was being in the show? "It was fantastic. And he's a blinding Doctor, David Tennant. For the first time in a long time, it's effortless. He's got it all, he really. He's literally born to play the part. He's got such an edge yet at the same time the humour, the comedy's just perfect. You're not watching anybody trying hard, it's just there. For me, this guy is just bang on! ... I suppose once you're in the genre, I suppose people just say, oh, you'd be good! I went up for the American TV movie, I went up for that a couple of time, and I saw various executives, but when I came back from Buffy, people would ask if I'd do it and I said, well, I think to do one sort of iconic sci-fi character every decade is probably enough. People'd get confused otherwise!" Was he approached for the role? "Yes. I don't know if they wrote this specifically with me in mind, but I think they thought it'd suit me. I must admit I enjoyed myself immensely. ... I can't even remember the character's name. Now I'm on tour, all my energies are channelled into that. Hmm, I don't know how much I'm allowed to say. My name is stamped all over the script so if anybody ever gets the script, they know it comes from me!" He says he met Russell T Davies at the readthrough, and that Davies is a fan of his work on 'Buffy'. "He's a great writer, Russell. He said how much of a fan he was and how pleased he was that I was doing it. I did the commentary for the Making Of on Radio 2 and there was a bit where they said they'd watched Buffy and modelled storytelling techniques on it."

More coverage of the purchase of the Dalek for £36,000 at Bonhams at People Daily Online China, The Scotsman,Edinburgh Evening News,

Tuesday night's drive show with Richard Bacon on London Capital Radio featured a guest appearance by "celebrity friend for the week" Anthony Stewart Head, who noted that he'd recently taken the train to Newport for a photo session for Doctor Who where he had met with old friends David Tennant and Billie Piper. Head said that Tennant was the "best Doctor since Patrick Troughton" and that he was natural at the role but was "steely when needed".

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Darren Hooker)