Rylan Clark recalls moment he landed part in Doctor Who Eurovision episode: ‘I started crying’
Clark said showrunner Russell T. Davies texted him saying 'I adore you' and later wrote a part for him in an upcoming episode
By Gary Grimes
Rylan Clark has revealed his reaction to learning he had landed his dream gig as an actor in an upcoming episode of Doctor Who harked back to his days on The X Factor, with the presenter bursting into tears.
Clark, who famously fell to his knees screaming and crying when judge Nicole Scherzinger informed him he would be going through to the talent competition’s live shows back in 2012, explained that he had first approached showrunner Russell T. Davies about being in the show.
The presenter, who describes himself as “a massive Whovian,” said he first ran into Davies at the Attitude Awards years beforehand but was too nervous to say hello.
“Instead, I sent a message to say I wanted to say hello and I’m such a big fan,” he recalled. “He replied straightway saying ‘I adore you, I wish you came to say hello’. We stayed in touch, I joked about wanting to be in Doctor Who, he joked that I absolutely should be.
“One day I was flying back from Italy from a shoot and my manager said to me, ‘Oh, Doctor Who has just come in’,” the former Big Brother presenter remembered. “In the meantime Russell texted saying ‘Check your emails’ and I opened my phone. It was the full script and a really full part.”
Upon hearing the news, emotions ran high for Clark: “I’m not gonna lie, I started crying,” he said. “It was unreal, I was so delighted.”
Clark will play a version of himself who is hosting The Interstellar Song Contest, a play on the Eurovision Song Contest. The episode, which was written by Juno Dawson, will air on Saturday on BBC One, ahead of the actual Eurovision Song Contest which takes place that night.
“People can expect to see everything they love about Doctor Who,” Clark said of the episode. “Also, from working on actual Eurovision itself, there were so many similarities – the attention to detail was amazing.
“Expect the unexpected – it’s probably the most twisty one of the whole season,” the BBC Radio 2 host teased.
“Me and Ncuti were chatting about friends we have in common” – Rylan Clark
He similarly praised the show’s two leads, Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu. “Working with the two of them was amazing, they both welcomed me with open arms,” he said. “I met them both in the makeup truck and Varada was there and we just laughed straight away. Me and Ncuti were chatting about friends we have in common.
“They are both so lovely – and we still message now,” he revealed.
Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer from 8am on Saturday morning and on BBC One at 7.10pm that evening.