BBC slammed by livid Doctor Who fans as huge star snubbed – raging ‘absolutely horrible!’
WHOVIANS have absolutely slammed the BBC for leaving the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann, out of the franchise’s 60th anniversary tribute on BBC Breakfast yesterday morning.
Entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba reported on the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who on the breakfast show yesterday where she discussed the long succession of Doctors.
She spoke of William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy who played the Time Lord before McGann in the “classic” era of Doctor Who.
McGann was missing from the tribute, which included a video montage of all the Doctors, as it skipped straight from Sylvester to Christopher Eccleston who kicked off the new era of the franchise.
With Russell T. Davis at the helm, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker each picked up the Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver after Christopher.
Doctor Who fans are livid at the McGann being snubbed, especially as he has continued to be an important part of the franchise over the years. He revisited his role as the Eighth Doctor in 2013 as part of the 50-year celebrations in a mini-episode called The Night of the Doctor.
McGann has gone on to star in popular series such as Luther and McDonald & Dodds, while also appearing in a variety of Doctor Who specials over the years.
Fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to complain about his absence from the report.
“BBC Breakfast, you had better let Lizo know that his Doctor Who report omits Paul McGann from its montage. I am calm, but some Whovians might be outraged.”
The viewer also added: “I have just let BBC Breakfast know their montage in a report omits McGann.”
Another fan said it was “absolutely horrible” to snub McGann, while a different viewer said it had missed out “one of the best at that.”
A fourth viewer gave the Beeb the benefit of the doubt, saying: “Might be an oversight (hope it was anyway) but couldn’t help but notice the lack of Paul McGann during your Doctor Who segment this morning. Especially during the montage of previous actors playing the role.”
Hopefully, it was just an oversight, and McGann was rightfully included in Talking Doctor Who, the hour-long documentary special David Tennant presented at the beginning of the month.
The docu-special kicked off a month of celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the franchise, culminating in David, 52, returning to play the iconic character in a three-part special.
He will reunite with Catherine Tate, who played Donna Noble, in three very special episodes, which begin airing tomorrow night.
The upcoming three-part special will lead into Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa taking over the role at Christmas. He was also included in BBC Breakfast’s Doctor Who celebration yesterday.
The incomplete Doctor Who montage came after Dalek’s “invaded” the BBC Breakfast studio yesterday.