Doctor Who Magazine 590 features the first interview with Murray Gold since it was announced that the acclaimed composer, who scored Doctor Who from 2005-17, was returning to the series.
“People started saying, ‘We really need to speak to Murray,’” Gold told DWM. “There was a director, Mark Tonderai [overseeing the 2023 Christmas Special]. I was like, ‘What can he possibly want?’ And then Ben [Chessell], who’s directing episode two… this was January 26th and he says, ‘I’m directing this episode and it seems to have a lot of music in it. Have you looked at it?’ Then another director. And another. Then it started to dawn on me: ‘There’s an awful lot of music in this series, isn’t there, Murray?’ I was speaking to myself now, not realising, of course, that my consciousness is just a fantasy. ‘And apparently [showrunner] Russell [T Davies] has entrusted all of it to me.’ And actually that’s quite an honour. I love that man.”
Gold told DWM that it’s important that the music feels brand new for Ncuti Gatwa and praised Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor.
“From what I’ve seen of Ncuti, he’s dazzling. He dazzles immediately. He also radiates this tremendous warmth. He’s got a gravitational pull that’s powerful.”
Other highlights in Doctor Who Magazine 590:
• A giant-double sided poster.
• A Big Finish download code for a complete audio adventure.
• The DWM 60th Anniversary Poll – the analysis of the results continues, with this issue looking at the rankings of the Third and Fourth Doctor’s adventures.
• Liberation of the Daleks Part Seven – the adventures of the Fourteenth Doctor continue in the epic comic-strip adventure written by Alan Barnes and illustrated by Lee Sullivan.
• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies on the casting of new Doctor Who cast member Jinkx Monsoon.
• Production Diary – script editor Scott Handcock files his latest report, direct from Doctor Who HQ.
• Gallifrey Guardian – all the latest official news, including cast announcements.
• Scarf Ace – acclaimed artist Dave Gibbons looks back at his work on the Doctor Who comic strip.
• Secret Service – Jacqui Stonebridge, who was in charge of Doctor Who press and publicity at the time of its launch in 1963, recalls her work on the early days of the series.
• The Running Man – Devante Fleming reveals what it’s like to work as a runner on Ncuti Gatwa’s forthcoming episodes.
• Writer of the Lost Ark – the life and times of writer John Lucarotti, whose original version of 1975’s The Ark in Space in set for release on audio.
• 60 Objects, 60 Years – the latest instalment of the series that tells the story of one object from every year of Doctor Who history.
• The Fact of Fiction travels back to the coronation of 1953 and uncovers the secrets of the Tenth Doctor adventure The Idiot’s Lantern.
• Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in the Doctor Who expanded universe.
• Previews, reviews, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser and more.
Doctor Who Magazine Issue 590 is on sale Thursday 27 April from Panini and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). Also available as a digital edition from Pocketmags priced £6.99.