Inside Whooverville 17: The TV Movie, Classic Companions and Motorbikes

Derby is the place to be every year on the weekend following the August Bank Holiday, if you’re a Doctor Who fan. And especially as things start to feel scarily like a “second wilderness years”, it is worth making the trip. There was plenty of happiness; in fact, there was lots and lots of it. Guests, panels, Daleks, and… motorbikes?! Join me as we once again recount the annual convention put on by the Whoovers fan group. Let’s reflect on Whooverville 17…

This year, Garry was unable to attend, possibly due to locking in on his continued Doctor Who marathon from the beginning (and who could blame him?). Jordan was likely busy doing some work towards his burgeoning acting career. Matt is preparing for something called a wedding. And we can’t forget to remember Adam the Geeks Handbag, living it up in the United States. We missed them, but remain hopeful any of them may join us at the already confirmed Whooverville 18 next year, or at another one down the line.

But on this year’s adventure, I was present, along with Maria, and our honorary Big Blue Box member, Joe Brewer-Lennon. So, allonsy, and let me regale you with my Whooverville tale…

Welcome back to ‘Derbados’

Ah, Derby. Home of the Peak District, Lara Croft, and – for this weekend – Doctor Who.

It was early afternoon when the three of us arrived by train, and then walked to the hotel. We were situated near the QUAD – an excellent independent cinema venue that has hosted Whooverville for many years now. Once we checked in, it was soon time to head out again. Warning: A bit of a side-track from the Doctor Who stuff coming up, but trust me, we will get back onto Who before you know it.

We decided to settle into the city with a bit of recent Derby history. The aforementioned Lara Croft, the main character of the Tomb Raider franchise, which was developed in Derby, has a whole exhibition dedicated to her at Pickfords House. “Lara Croft: 30 Years On – From Derby to Global Icon” was a collection of artefacts all about the iconic Tomb Raider. It is on until 28th November 2026, is well worth a look, and it’s totally free!

We also explored the rest of Pickfords House, an 18th-century Georgian home, which made us feel very much like we had jumped into a TARDIS and landed in the past. Shoutout to the welcoming staff at the venue, leaving us with a spring in our step as we launched into the full-blown Doctor Who shenanigans of the weekend.

(It’s Doctor Who stuff from here on out, you’ll be relieved to hear).

The Fri(day) of Harmony

The Whooverville festivities normally begin on the Friday evening before the Saturday convention. This year, it was jam-packed. To begin, the QUAD hosted a screening of the TV Movie 4K remaster, which we could not say no to. After walking into the wrong cinema screen (we were a bit confused until we realised we walked into the middle of a 35mm showing of Jurassic Park), we sat in QUAD’s remarkably spacious and comfortable seats in the correct room.

We got a short welcome from Stephen Hatcher, one of the organisers of Whooverville, and an introduction to the movie by Reecy Pontiff. She has recently written a book all about the Eighth Doctor and has a huge amount of enthusiasm for this incarnation of the Time Lord, so she was a fitting choice to open the screening.

And then, of course, the Movie was screened, and you know the score. It’s blooming brilliant, isn’t it? Sure, it has its faults, but it’s such a charming and interesting window into what an Americanised Doctor Who could have been like. Interestingly, this time around viewing the film, I found myself actually really wanting to see more episodes of this iteration of Doctor Who. Could it be my Doctor Who withdrawal symptoms? Maybe. Or I was just swept up in the ‘better-than-it’s-ever-bloomed-looked’ adventure with Paul McGann’s memorable solo outing as the Doctor. One of the two.

After the film was screened, there was an illuminating panel with Mark Ayres, Doctor Who musical legend who remastered the sound on the movie, and Paul Vanezis, restoration aficionado responsible for scanning and remastering the original film reels provided by Universal Studios. This was a lovely bonus, hearing about the hard work and technical aspects of brushing up the Movie for us to enjoy it in a brand new way.

A highlight of this panel was a very young fan asking Mark and Paul who their favourite Doctor was. This delighted the pair, who probably don’t get asked that sort of question very often!

Quiz time!

Down to the bar we went, just in time for the Doctor Who quiz. We were hosted once again this year by the hilarious We Sound Familiar, made up of comedy Doctor Who impersonators Pete Walsh, Elliott Crossley, Chris Thompson and Jonathan Carley (AKA the War Doctor on Big Finish). We did pretty terrible in the quiz last year, so we fully intended to do much better this year. Believe me, we did. But we were still near the bottom.

But it’s alright; we had many laughs! The ‘fill in the blank’ round was hilarious, with many teams coming up with deliberately incorrect, outrageous answers. I was very pleased to immediately be able to recount the number of episodes that don’t have opening titles and credits (Sleep No More, The Woman Who Fell to Earth, Resolution and 73 Yards, if you were wondering).

And this year, everyone was a winner, because the guys brought along a bunch of free stuff for anyone taking part in the quiz to pick up. This included souvenir guides for the Doctor Who exhibition at Brighton Pier in 2005 (am I the only one who didn’t realise this was a thing?), copies of an old issue of the Celestial Toyroom fanzine with an advert on the back for an old Whooverville event, and a stack of Myth Makers documentary DVDs.

I think I’ve provided you with plenty of reasons to attend Whooverville without even getting to the actual convention yet. Once the quiz was over, it was time to have some chips (this has become our post-quiz ritual now) and turn in for the night. I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to read that Brighton Pier exhibition guide (seriously, did anyone else know about this?).

The Ultimate Adventure…

Before we knew it, the next morning arrived, and we were rocking and rolling.

If you’ve never been to Whooverville before, basically there is a smorgasbord of stuff to do, and you pick and choose what you want to participate in. There are two sets of panels running all day, autographs, photographs, merch stands, and the option of just chilling in the cafe (where they had Doctor Who-themed sweet treats on sale – thumbs up from me).

Luckily, you are provided at the start of the day with a Radio Times style guide which outlines everything that is on and when. I like to have a pen with me to circle the stuff I am interested in (which takes me back to doing the same thing with the actual Radio Times when I was a kid!). So, here is what I decided to do with the day.

We started with a Cybermen panel. Paul Griggs was in conversation with a trio of Cybermen actors: Brian Orrell, Mark Hardy and David Banks. These three very well-spoken gentlemen were highly entertaining, readily recalling details on their time on Doctor Who. Including some rather sweaty, awkward times working in those Cybermen costumes. True champs!

I was particularly interested in David Banks’ story about when he understudied Jon Pertwee in the Doctor Who stage play The Ultimate Adventure. It was a two-show day on a Saturday when Pertwee, bless his heart, came out on stage and apologised to the audience, saying he was unwell and couldn’t do the show. So David Banks, who usually plays the villain of the piece, Karl, got to play his unknown incarnation of the Doctor for one day only on 29th April 1989.

I loved this story because I love when understudies – the unsung heroes of theatre casts – get their time to shine. And even more tantalising – as mentioned by Paul Griggs on the panel – there’s no reason why, with the advent of the timeless child, David Banks couldn’t be classed as an official incarnation of the Doctor…

I hadn’t actually known about this story, and it’s always such a thrill to discover more lore in and around my favourite show at events like this.

What’s your favourite graph? Mine’s an auto-

We hot-footed it downstairs, and luckily, we were the very last people to get a photo with Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka) and Sophie Aldred (Ace). And they were both in costume! Happy days.

And then it was time to get some autographs. The volunteers for the convention were all absolutely excellent, and the queues were well organised again this year. Although there was one pesky sod in the middle of it all threatening to exterminate me. I very nearly put in a complaint…

I met Paul Vanezis, who signed my DVD copy of The Reign of Terror. This was rather cool, because I find it to be a highly underrated First Doctor story (like many of them are). And it was great to thank Paul – who was involved in recovering some episodes of this particular serial – for all of his work in restoration and Doctor Who home media over the years.

Then there was Mark Ayres, who signed my copy of the 2017 partly-animated Shada DVD. I loved the work Mark did with this one, perfectly capturing the vibe of late 70s Who music. He said to me that he asked himself, “What would Dudley do?” and it shows. He has done great work for the show over the years (for which he was awarded an Outstanding Contribution award from the Doctor Who Appreciation Society earlier this year at the Capitol event), and he’s just really friendly to fans.

Then I darted to another autograph room where I met yet another three Doctor Who music aficionados. There was Brian Hodgson, at Whooverville for the second year in a row, looking like he was having a lovely time. There was Paddy Kingsland, who was all too happy to talk about the amazing work he did on stories such as Logopolis (sorry if I get it stuck in your head).

And there was Peter Howell, who, among other feats, composed the iconic theme tune to K9 and Company (not sorry if I get it stuck in your head). It was very interesting to speak with all three about their work on Doctor Who, and if I hear that they will turn up to further events, that’ll be music to my ears.

Ace!

After a quick tea break, we attended Sophie Aldred’s panel, where she was interviewed by John Godbold. Sophie Aldred, who needs no introduction, stayed in her Ace jacket all day long, and in the panel we got some interesting stories ranging from recording audiobooks at home in lockdown and forgetting to press record, to some singing projects she’s been working on.

Not a huge amount about Who itself, but that really isn’t a problem. For a lot of fans who have already heard stories around her time on the show, it is quite fun to hear insights about her varied career outside of it.

Maria stuck around to listen to Pete McTighe talk on stage with Robert Dick (where the writer made headlines by saying he’s been contacted by production companies regarding the Doctor Who tender – make of that what you will). Joe and I went outside to get some cash from the cash machine to try our luck again in the Whooverville raffle. And what followed was perhaps the most memorable moment of the day…

Bikes!

Vroom vroom!

A motorbiker rode past us on our way to the cash machine. Wow, that was loud, I thought. But then there was another.

Vroom vroom!

And then another.

Vroom vroom vroom!

And then what seemed like one hundred motorbikers came bombarding down the courtyard outside of the QUAD!

VROOM VROOM VROOM VROOM VRRRRRRROOM!!!

This is VERY loud, I thought. But also very AWESOME!

A fleet of bikes parked outside the convention, with their riders hopping off to breathe in the fumes, high-fiving one another, and enjoying an undeniable moment of glory. No one was really sure why they were there, but we could do nothing but admire the sheer swagger of this crowd of bikers.

But then came the Daleks, previously patrolling the inside of QUAD, now coming face to face with the bikers. They would not stand for their thunder being stolen, for Daleks rule supreme! They were, admittedly, very nice and good-humoured about it all, however.

And to make it even cooler, Sophie Aldred came out (still wearing the jacket) and took the opportunity to pose for photos with the Daleks in front of the army of bikes. For a simple trip to the cash machine, I don’t think this could have been any cooler.

We asked one of the bikers who came into the QUAD cafe afterwards what special occasion the grand arrival to the courtyard was celebrating. He simply said with a smile, “The weather is nice.” And that is all the reason you need. Brilliant.

A ‘Dalek-table’ Snack

The afternoon, as is normally the case with Whooverville, was a busy, happy blur. I do know at one point we were in the cafe and I ate one of the tasty Dalek cakes on sale. We met Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred again in the autograph rooms; it is always a treat to meet classic Doctor Who companions. We took the opportunity to take some very Who-coded photographs.

But in between all the busyness, we got to just mill around, hang out, and have a really chill time. Whooverville is a very relaxed event, not interested in ferrying people to and from places to maximise profits. It’s just a very safe, friendly environment for Doctor Who fans to congregate.

There was a great deal of other cool stuff going on throughout, some of which we weren’t able to attend. To give you a flavour, location manager Alex Moore gave a talk about working on the latest season of Doctor Who, Neil Cole had brought a few screen-used Doctor Who props from his Museum of Classic Sci-Fi in Allendale, and the aforementioned We Sound Familiar and the fan group known as Who-ligans both screened their latest Doctor Who fan films (both taking a comedic stance on Doctor Who currently being off the air). There were also panels on Big Finish, the Blu-Rays, and the Radiophonic Workshop. There was something for everyone.

Thoughts from the team

Maria

My 2nd year at Whooverville and being at the Quad felt as if I’d settled into its groove as an informal but well devised convention. Having Friday night laughs with We Sound Familiar in a relaxed venue and coming nowhere close to the top in the quiz. Typical luck

With two theatres to fill the Saturday had more than you could possibly see in a day. I loved that though as If you didn’t want the BBC1 glitz in the John Hurt cinema with guests such as Sophie Alfred and Janet Fielding there was a BBC2 alternative in the Metro cinema.

It was great to see panels for the associated products of Doctor Who, panels for Big Finish, Telos Publishing Reeltime Pictures amongst others.

I really would like to praise the interviewers this year who teased out more than the standard questions from the guests. It was fascinating to learn about Janet Fielding’s start in acting in Australia or hear about the writing process for the modern era from Pete Mctighe

Whooverville does offer some free autographs with your tickets and there are reasonable prices on photographs. Adding value is really welcome in these stretched financial times.

If you can put up with queueing for ages for autographs from some guests its a great convention for everything it offers in a day.

A broken clock is right twice a day!

We closed the day with a panel featuring Janet Fielding (also still wearing her ‘Power of the Doctor‘ jacket), interviewed by Ashley Gregory. Some very interesting questions were posed around Janet’s work in film, theatre, and as a talent agent. I was particularly surprised to hear just how terrible the pay was on Doctor Who back in the 80s! It sounds like a few of the show’s biggest contributors back in the day were undervalued, which is a great shame.

The saving grace, I suppose, is that they get to meet many adoring fans at conventions, which do pay quite handsomely. Not to mention, Janet’s adventures in the TARDIS continue to reach new audiences on iPlayer and on Blu-Ray. So it’s definitely turned out alright in the end.

And then we come to the Whooverville raffle. An array of prizes is laid out on stage in the main cinema. If your number is called, you come up and pick a prize that is available. I didn’t win anything in the raffle in all the times I have been. This year, I ended up with prize number 666, which I’ll admit, wasn’t the greatest omen. But one of the first numbers they called out…

666!

I whooped loudly. There was even a round of applause at my enthusiasm (very chuffed at that). I picked up the coveted prize of a signed Doctor Who Series 1 (the 2005 one) Blu-Ray by Billie Piper.

And not only that! Another of my numbers was called out. I picked up the first Sacha Dhawan Master boxset from Big Finish. So I won twice! Happy days.

Now it is my mission in future years to help Maria, Joe, and my fellow Big Blue Box chums win at the raffle. Join us next year when the saga continues…

“This has been… an absolute joy”

So there you have it. The event closed down for another year. We went out for dinner afterwards, and spent many more hours chatting about all things Who, life, the universe and everything. On Sunday morning we had breakfast, and Maria, Joe and I parted ways. Until the next time.

I do love our convention meet-ups. It’s always happy when they arrive. It is also sad when they end. But it is a privilege and a joy to add to the convention memories. For that, we are very, very lucky. And of course, there is always the next one to look forward to.

Can’t get enough of your Whooverville fix? Don’t fret. Whooverville 18 is taking place on Saturday 4th September 2027. Guests already confirmed are Alexander Devrient (Unit Colonel, Christofer Ibrahim) and Michelle Greenidge (Ruby Sunday’s mum, Carla Sunday). More will be announced over the coming months.

Also, take a look at my recollections of previous Whooverville events I have attended: we have the magical Whooverville 15, and the event which introduced our other Big Blue Box team members to the madness, Whooverville 16.

To Stephen Hatcher and the Whoovers, thank you for organising and providing such wonderful memories. We appreciate you!