Bernard Cribbins's Posthumous 'Doctor Who' Appearance Happens In "Wild Blue Yonder”
Bernard Cribbins's Posthumous 'Doctor Who' Appearance Happens In "Wild Blue Yonder”
The celebrated actor’s final appearance before his July 2022 death was dedicated to his memory
The Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble had quite an adventure at the edge of the universe in Saturday’s second Doctor Who 60th anniversary special “Wild Blue Yonder” as well as a very close call. When they landed safely home, they were greeted quite unexpectedly by Donna’s granddad, Wilfred Mott, played by Bernard Cribbins, making for a very emotional reunion for him and the Doctor, played once again by David Tennant, more than 13 years after their goodbye at Donna’s 2010-set wedding in “The End of Time”.
Filmed in May 2022, reprising the role of Wilfred Mott would be Cribbins’s last before his death at 93 just a couple months later on July 27. In last week’s special “The Star Beast” it was established that Wilf, who is 94, couldn’t handle the stairs of the current home Donna has with her husband Shaun and daughter Rose, so he was set up by Kate Stewart and UNIT with Sheltered Accommodation. The troubles were especially made evident when he’s in a wheelchair for his scene, having made sure the rest of the family, including his daughter and her mother Sylvia, safe from the what he calls apocalyptic occurrences he informs his granddaughter and friend is going on around them that the special ends on. The episode was dedicated in his memory.
On the behind-the-scenes companion show, Doctor Who Unleashed, Cribbins described that at his age it was nice to be working, his last TV appearance prior being a 2016 adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which was, surprise, adapted by Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies, who also wrote “Wild Blue Yonder”. It was Davies who would confirm in the same episode that this would be all they were able to get from Cribbins, despite everyone’s best efforts. "It’s one of the great joys of my life that at the end of Bernard’s career, at the end of his life, he came back to us to shoot what actually turned out to be his final scene," he said. "We didn’t know that at the time, but he loved coming back. He had kind of retired, but he loved Doctor Who.” The deep admiration for Tennant, as well as Catherine Tate, who played Donna, was also expressed in Cribbins’s statement. Previous behind-the-scenes footage even saw his attendance and participation in the specials’ read-through.
Davies would continue, saying “We wanted to do more, ‘cause we love him. He wasn’t well enough to do more, but that one scene he completed fills me with absolute joy. In those few seconds, there’s everything he brings to the screen. He’s joyous, he’s worried, he’s scared, he’s full of love, he hugs Donna, he hugs the Doctor – it’s pure Bernard.” Tennant also made a statement about the man he called a “magical human”, saying “We were beyond delighted when we knew that Bernard was going to be able to come back. It means so much to me personally and I think to the show as a whole really that he was there. That character meant so much to so many people.” Another Davies statement was made on Instagram, marking his farewell to the actor.
While Wilf had not appeared since “The End of Time”, a story where he was credited as Ten’s final companion, before this appearance, Bernard Cribbins did take part in some 50th anniversary festivities, even if not directly about it. He appeared as a guest on Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor in August 2013, the event that announced Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. However, he goes back even farther, to an entirely different continuity, playing Special Constable Tom Campbell in Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., the second of Peter Cushing’s two movies as Dr. Who.
The 60th anniversary specials will conclude with “The Giggle” this Saturday, December 9, featuring UNIT and Kate Stewart, played by Jemma Redgrave once again, but also the return of the Toymaker, now played by Neil Patrick Harris. It will mark Tennant’s third regeneration as the mantle of the Doctor is passed to Ncuti Gatwa, and likely Tate’s final appearance as Donna. The segment below features all about the ending scene with Wilf.
Source: RadioTimes