Black Mirror’s Charlie Brooker almost worked on Doctor Who

Black Mirror’s Charlie Brooker almost worked on Doctor Who

Charlie Brooker at the British Academy Television Awards 2015
© Rex Shutterstock Stephen Butler / BAFTA

Black Mirror is currently terrifying viewers across the globe, and it seems Charlie Brooker could have been doing the same to a Saturday prime-time audience.

The writer has revealed that he was approached for Doctor Who by the BBC, which sounds utterly perfect given Black Mirror has seen him dabble in sci-fi previously, even if his take on Doctor Who would probably be seriously dark.

“I was approached for Doctor Who and I just didn’t have time. It was really annoying. I was really busy and they haven’t asked me again since. It was a bit like the Home Office asking you to do something,” Brooker told The Independent.

Asked how easy it was to get a TV show made these days, he also joked that since there’s now platforms like Amazon, “Tesco will probably be making f**king TV shows soon”.

As for what’s next for Brooker after Black Mirror season four, which he’s currently writing, he’s keen to do more “goofy comedy stuff” like A Touch of Cloth and, most excitingly, potentially seasonal specials of Black Mirror like ‘White Christmas’.

“I wouldn’t mind doing a Halloween one. I’ve been thinking about that. One of the reasons we shot ‘Playtest’ up in the running order is because we knew Halloween was coming and we thought it was perfect for that,” he explained.

And he even found the time to tease the upcoming Screenwipe end of year special. “Even the fun stories have a horrible thing attached to them, so we’re working out what to do,” Brooker outlined. “That’s one of my next tasks. It’s always a f**king headache.”

Brooker recently revealed which Black Mirror episode he’d do differently and how the show has changed since its move from Channel 4 to Netflix.

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