The fact that he made Nicola appear in one of his pantomimes against her will at the same time as recording Doctor Who, whilst not letting her do a prestigious drama at the same later as recording later on, shows you what a hypocrite the man was. Giving a BBC employed cast member a hard time for not appearing in a non-BBC pantomime should have earned him the sack there and then.
I actually took the Drama thing as Nicola telling herself she wouldn’t be able to do both that and Doctor Who at the same time. Tho if it was her that said it, perhaps she would have thought differently if she wasn’t “forced” to do the pantomime, giving her the mindset that Doctor Who just takes too long. (In other words, the concept of choice was taken away from her, so that when she DID have the chance for choice, she went negatively with her thoughts).
I have a feeling that John Nathan--Turner (1947--2002) used coercion on the set of Dr. Who to dominate the cast and crew--Nicola Bryant deserved better than that. So did Colin Baker. JNT often took unilateral decisions without consulting the cast & crew. I'd say he was unethical then, and by today's standards. The photos of Nathan-Turner that survive him show a slightly chunky chap, bearded, wide-eyed, with a ready smile, giving him a laid-back appearance. Don't be fooled! Staged whitewash & propaganda! 😠 Now contrast that with how he was behind the scenes, from various accounts. 😤😐🇬🇧🐨
@@paulforder591 Colin wanted a simple black suit to show he wanted to play a more serious doctor, but JNT was forceful wanting that bright jacket. Peter Davidson said that the jacket felt like JNT was wanting to put himself into the show, seeing those pictures of him in flamboyant bright Hawaiian shirts, I’d believe Peter.
Lets be honest the entire character of Peri right down to the outfits they made Nicola wear were from the darkest depths of (watch out Bowlestrek, I'm using this term unironically!) uber-Male Gaze. When you are quite literally being called "something for the Dads"- hoo boy, it's crazy how they regressed so far after characters like Liz Shaw, SJS etc. Well done Nicola for being brave enough to bring this up. She was a trooper in Doctor Who in general and you can see how this one still smarts from how she was talking about it in the interview. Fair play to her and Colin Baker for still holding the show in high affection because they both experienced actual toxicity during this period.
Yes, Nicola was taken for a ride quite a few times by the JNT and Micheal Grade and their power games that ended up burning classic Who to the ground, as was Colin, an experimental duo who were sabotaged and then kicked out onto the street and their luggage thrown out after them. But as you say, they have turned tragedy into triumph and done it on their own backs (with some help of course) and done so largely because JNT and Eric Seward were out of the picture and so the characters of Doctor Six and Peri could finally flourish and reach their true potential.
She was sexualized from the very beginning. I was uncomfortable with many of the shots in Planet of Fire-seemed a little too adult for something that was supposed to be for kids. At least Turlough showed some skin too...
@@parlinmainsI take it you don't watch the new rubbish them as if the sight of Peri in a bikini made you uncomfortable then the overly sexual modern stuff would no doubt male you have a stroke!
Thank you. I had no idea about this. I haven't thought about this period for so long. I never worked on Doctor Who but in my short stint at the BBC at the time I mentioned to a colleague that I'd love to work on the show and he said "trust me, you don't want to work for that c***". I was very young and put that comment down to professional jealousy and never thought about it again. You learn something new every day.
I think another way he bullied was in his costume choice for Colin Baker. Then there is the shenanigans he is associated with before his time as Show runner- going back to the Tom Baker era. He was certainly a tricky individual by all accounts
@@BronyDanProductions Did not know this. It makes sense because JNT came in and proceeded to shake things up and remade Who according to his vision for the show. I can see if he saw Letts as representing "old Who" while he was trying to bring a new, updated version for the 80s.
Amen to that. Had the pleasure to meet and even question the dynamic duo at an event in London this year and they were even more inspiring in person than they are on screen or page.
Wow! That’s utterly disgusting and no one should of been treated like this! It’s makes me feel so bad that Nicola had to go through that. She’s such a lovely woman.
I see some people comparing Chris Chibnall to John Nathan Turner. Sorry, but not even close. Say what you want about his writing (I certainly have my own opinions), Chris Chibnall is a good person who cares for his cast and crew. This is very evident based on his reputation and his personality overrall. Same cannot be said for john nathan turner. Very sad to hear what happened with Nicola, hope she comes back. Really happy to hear that Chris is treating his crew well. This teaches us to not let our opinions of a person's writing affect our judgement on who they are as a person as I've seen those hate filled youtube channels do. What Mr. Tardis says about Rtd's crew management back during his era sounds very worrisome and I hope it doesn't happen again. I've heard so much stuff about the behind the scenes during rtd's era and tbh it's really disturbing. He may be a good writer but there's a lot of very suspicious stuff about his management. Apparently he already knew that noel clarke was a harrasser. Thanks for the video Mr. Tardis! You should make one that focuses more on rtd's era and the many controversies!
One thing that keeps me hopeful for the future of this show is the standard that Chris Chibnall set when it comes to the behind-the-scenes production of the show
@@crimsondynamo615 Eccleston himself has said it multiple times in various ways - book, cons, social media, interviews etc. do we need to make it any more clearer?
Also sounds like Chris' objections to Billie being bullied into staying long hours especially as she was young and also had to deal with the music industry and personal issues before
Woah woah, i knew Ecclestone took issue with bullying but i didn't realise it was billie piper. Im surprised tbh because she was their big star, wouldn't male sense to possibly alienate her from the show.
Nicola not being in a fix with sontarans is maybe a blessing in disguise. That was a big pile of savile crap, only good thing about it was tegan meeting the sixth doctor, but it was still underwhelming. Shame she was treated so unfairly tho
Anthony Ainley said that JNT pressured/"persuaded"/coerced/tricked him into doing American conventions for free on five separate occasions. Apparently this got JNT into the convention organizers' good books as it was known that he could get guests to appear for free and so save them money. No doubt he received perks for this. Of course he's not here to defend himself now (Obviously neither is AA) and he may have had a different story to tell.
No doubt Ainley's flights, hotels, food and drinks would have been covered, even if he didn't get an appearance fee. So he might just have been peed off by not making a "profit" out of what were ostensibly free holidays. He was privately wealthy in any case, so hardly needed the extra pocket money.
@@slumdogjay Not back then. They were less acquisitive times, and a free holiday should have been good enough for most people, including the already-rich Anthony Ainley.
@@ftumschk Hardly a free holiday, especially under JNT. Doesn’t matter how rich you are. Your employer should pay you for work when you are under contract.
@@slumdogjay Maybe he did. Ainley comes across an eccentric, almost narcissistic character, so I wouldn't put it past him if he exaggerated matters so as to appear hard-done-by.
I was an American fan when Peri was introduced, and what I recall being told was that Nicola Bryant had dual citizenship, so she was technically American, but she'd been raised in the UK. I don't recall ever reading anything that claimed Ms Bryant was actually culturally American. Sad to hear about how she was treated. Many years ago, I actually played Peri in a fanvid production, "Illinois Smith and the TARDIS of Doom", produced by the Central Illinois Doctor Who Appreciation Society. Unfortunately, the person with the footage absconded with a good chunk of the club's treasury and took the videotapes with them. I really wish the footage would turn up, as I never got to see some of it, and it would be awesome to see all of us back then, but I fear they're gone for good.
@@thomsboys77 I'm just reporting what the publicity was telling us back then. Dual citizenship but raised in the UK, so technically American but only technically. I don't recall any mention of where she was born or why she (supposedly) had dual citizenship.
You can tell Nicola affected by this. I can remember from the old dvd documentary from mind warp that she said "when JNT asked me to leave the series."
The fact that JNT also sacked Peter Grimwade as a director for the pettiest reason (taking the cast and crew out for a meal because he planned to take JNT out separately) is just a prime example of how pathetic a bully he was
There are two sides to that story. Eccleston was a difficult man to work with on Who and other shows and he had a talent for laying blame at other people's doors. Some of the stuff about him being blacklisted by the BBC after Who were outright lies which couldn't be put down to misinterpretation but I have no doubt things were fractious on Who and he was mostly blameless and hurt during much of it.
@@peterd788 The BBC put out a fake statement from Eccleston regarding his decision to leave and they eventually had to apologise to him. Worth also remembering that Eccleston was angry about on set antics/bullying - some of which we now know to be true. I've not read anywhere else that the actor is 'difficult' to work with with?
@@peterd788 - fuck me. _"Difficult to work with"_ - in these conversations - is a pretty accurate translation for _"wouldn't just shut up about unethical practice."_ I'm _"Difficult to work with."_ And I have no intention of stopping.
@@nightowl8477 you clearly already decided to pick a side on this issue Chris was right to call out on the behaviour of the director and protected the crew and Billie, but he also holds a grudge and it affected his working attitude, which makes him grumpy toward others, even those that is not to be blamed for the bad behaviour, making him hard to work with. You see the way he talks about things now after so many years in a public forum, I have no doubt that at that time and in private, it affected his working attitude and that affected others. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being unhappy and grumpy, but don't go around saying that everything he does is right and everything bad said about him is just people wanting to get back at him for rocking the boat.
@@SirSX3 - you need to grow up. These are human lives and experiences; not cut scenes from Confidential that cast your favourite showrunner in a less flattering light.
I think RTD coming back probably won't be an issue because he's most likely improved management, communication and looking after people a lot since the chaos working on series 1.
On the topic of RTD's return and if he has learnt from those mistakes, maybe it's time to look at his past shows after Doctor Who, if anything like what happened with Noel and Barrowman happened in those productions.
Honestly, if we're going to have a reckoning with JNT? Then we need to have a reckoning with John Wiles and RTD too. No more ignoring what they did, no more putting RTD on pedestals and bullying or harassing the people who call him out, no pretending to be progressive and ignoring RTD's casual racism and wrongdoings during production of Series 1-4 because you like him, reckoning for everyone who's abused their authority on the show. Don't make exceptions for your favorites, full reckoning.
I like "The Memory Cheats" reference. Never had a good opinion of JNT and his apparent focus on anything other than doing his main job, and this doesn't undermine that. I suspect the reason JNT was not well liked in the BBC was partly due to these extra curricular activities, and it probably didn't do the show any favours. You wonder if that might explain why the Beeb targeted Doctor Who but didn't move JNT.
It's great that she got to speak about her experience and it's important that we listen to her and dont retarget or editorialiae it. You might want to think this through a bit more before you kick this off the next time. I say this because you've mentioned in vague terms the behaviour of actors on the RTD sets, and now with the reevaluation of JNT a huge part of this conversation has to be the fact that straight people judging the behaviour of gay men in eras where just being visibly gay was offensive to many in the heirarchy in the 80s and the behaviour rules were all over the place when it came to on set behaviour and how you get some parts of the job done in the 2000's. Thankfully we have much better rules around so much of this now, perhaps the thing to look at is not how much of a villan we need to think of gay men in the industry as but rather acknowledging folks experiences while looking at what parts has the industry made progress on fixing?
Years ago, I met Colin Baker in the 80s decade alongside Tom Baker. I met Tom previously. I have a pic to prove our meeting together because hubby was there with me. Colin Baker noticed how hubby made way for me to meet up with him because his eyes were following him. He leaned to my ear & said he noticed what hubby was up to. Americans can be quite impatient btw. I was ready to lose hope. That that moment in time was very precious to me.
I hadn't heard this when, years ago, I wrote a Star Trek fanfic wherein I named Federation Timeships for Doctor Who showrunners, insomuch as they "wrote time travel stories", same as Wells, Verne, et. al. DW could after all could be valid fiction contained within the Trek "reality". And for some reason, I had chosen the USS JNT to be the vessel in particular that had met a bad end, holding necessary computer data eventually salvaged by a later-generation Timeship, the USS James P. Hogan. Hearing this, I think I'm going to double down on that choice.
JNT certainly treated Nicola Bryant horribly. I seem to remember reading in the book written about JNT that the last time he saw Nicola Bryant was at a convention. Apparently he spat in her face, jealous that she was getting more attention than him...
Wow. Spat in her face?! Thats horrible behaviour! Nicola is wonderful! Jnt was a horrible guy wasnt he? Jeez! Nicola way more talented than jnt by miles!
Not defending him, what he did was horrible. But I can't imagine anyone in his position during that time period who wasn't a bit of a bastard. Like you couldn't get to that level unless you were cut throat during that time. It's wrong, but it's how it felt growing up to me!
John Nathan - Turner was also mistreated by The higher ups from The BBC because he wanted to get out of The Producer's chair but they wouldn't let him.
@@benmiller3252 from what I understand, it's not that they didn't let him leave, it's that they couldn't find a replacement. So they persuaded him to stay. If he had left, it would mean hiatus or cancellation, which eventually did happen.
There is a rumour the 60th will have a Classic companion... and she is still doing active Big Finish sand that boxset trailer so she'd be down if they wanted Peri
The whole industry needs the same rights and protections as every other industry, this reminds me so much about hearing about abuse and crunch cultures in video game developers and it's sickening... We need a maximum amount of working hours for employees, we need a minimum level of respect and fair treatment from management, and safe working environments free of predatory behaviour and dangerous conditions...
Yeah reminds me of I think it was n actors roundtable with Thandiwe Newton where she mentioned that "actors don't have HR" or something similar to that. She had a list of things that had happened to her then like nude shots showing more of her body than was said and I recently read that when she dies she's going to release a diary she kept all that time about things that had happened. It can't be down to the bargaining power of agents who get money for getting roles to fight for everyone
@@robotx9285 and then they go beyond too, like Savill in hospitals and Clarke teaching classes and going to talks etc etc and now especially with social media you get people contacting directly
I worked with JNT once, he was great with me. I was a VT engineer and he praised my dedication to the show and asked for me to do all the rest of his programmes too... ! Wow ! This is not the way the Beeb worked back then, nothing came of it, but I thought - what a nice chap ! I heard no stories about JNT when I worked on the show.
12:26 Sorry, JNT was a wealthy and influential person at the BBC? Hardly influential, to quote Jonathan Powell, "I hoped he would fuck off or die". Even into the 90's, the only things he worked on were the VHS like Shada and the _____ years.
I am not too much of a Whoovian but I was a big fan of Peri and I thought she added something more to the show than just looks. I was shocked to hear that such a nice and talented woman as Nicola Bryant was subjected to such treatment. Shocked, and yet, sadly, not very surprised. Abuse of performers by producers is an ancient story in entertainment and that abuse can and does take many forms other than the sexual. And those who say that what was done to Nicola was "small potatoes" are absolutely wrong. Working very long hours is common during TV and film production, and being "asked" (forced) to do a very heavy stage show schedule on top of that is utterly out of line. Would you ask a miner or a dishwasher or an airline pilot to work such a brutal schedule? Yes, TV performers are usually (not always) well paid for their time, but they are human like the rest of us and acting is far harder work than most people know. If actors and actresses are pushed beyond a reasonable mental and physical limit then their health will suffer and so will the quality of their work. I know all this because one of my closest relatives is an actor, and after a long night of shooting I have seen him literally falling asleep in his breakfast. When the field is full of competition and all you have is acting ability while others control the money and the venues you are not in a good bargaining position. It is all too easy for powerful producers to lie to, intimidate, and bullyrag young performers who are desperate to make their careers, and this seems to be what happened to Nicola. "We can always get someone else who will be less troublesome," is such a common threat that it hardly needs to be spoken. Actors' unions exist to prevent such abuse, but it is hard to hold the line in a field with such a large labor surplus. Peri deserved better.
To be honest I think you're taking something that was relatively minor and exaggerating it quite a bit. Yes it was certainly very wrong indeed and should be called out as such but you're rather overstating it I feel. The man was clearly a bit childish at times and yes abused his power and we have to acknowledge that. Nicola Bryant also however has lots of positive things to say about JNT. You're taking one small bit of negativity and putting it way over the top. I say that to you with respect and as my personal opinion.
I've read a fair bit about JNT, but I don't recall him associating much, if at all, with Jimmy Savile, let alone being friends with him. Besides, Savile's primary "interests" were rather different to JNT's, both in terms of sex and age.
Saville was very influential at the BBC and his show got massive viewing figures... appearing on his show doesn't neccesarily suggest a close relationship.
I think we have to be careful about levying accusations and I'm already seeing people making connections to JNT and Saville. This attitude is very dangerous, there is no reason to believe that predators exclusively make friends with other predators, and apparently its debatable if JNT even was friends or not. I mean we live in an age where the press will use being photographed with a dictator or terrorist to automatically mean you're in league with them. Criticise JNT for what he did do, if there is genuine evidence to confirm he was an abuser then point me to it, but don't levy accusations purely on the basis that he knew or associated with a sex offender. I have a friend for example whose own brother was arrested for assault of a minor, my friend had absolutely no idea, he has completely cut ties with his brother now. Point is the 'no smoke without fire' line of reasoning is how we end up with lynch mobs and kangaroo courts, it's not smart and it's not clever.
Richard Marson wrote a book alleging that JNT and his partner preyed on and made unwanted sexual advances on teenage fans, including himself. People make the Saville connection for that reason, and rightfully so.
@@marxistlynchist JNT and (especially) his partner Gary Downie made advances on some male teenagers, who would have been above the legal age of consent today. Not that there was ever a "legal age" that excused sexual harassment at any time, of course, but the age of the youths involved is important to bear in mind. I've seen no evidence that JNT was attracted to anyone younger than their mid-teens, which is more than can be said for Jimmy Savile. I don't recall hearing that JNT was "connected" with Savile in that sense, and - given their very different proclivities - I see no reason to suppose that they were
Would have been far worse if he were around today as any criticism of him at all would simply be dismissed as 'homophobia' and he would be totally exonerated.
It's not really a surprise that JNT didn't treat people, especially women, with a great deal of respect. As you say, the 80s wasn't a time of equal opportunity and the like. He was a product of his time, and according to the mores of that time, he was less of a bully than most other higher-ups in all walks of life. That doesn't make it right, but it's a odd stick to beat someone with, especially as that person's no longer around. Shifting gear slightly, I think we need to be careful now when talking about Noel Clarke. He was never brought to trial and the investigation has been closed. Although he's admitted that some of his behaviour was inappropriate, he vehemently denies it was in any way malicious or anything approaching sexual. This is important because, as the recent Johnny Depp trial has shown us, innocent until proven guilty - with emphasis on the proven - is the proper way to look at it. If you must refer to his actions, it's probably safer to append "allegedly" to the beginning of any statements about it. After all, you never know who may be watching. Lastly, as I've said before, the whole John Barrowman thing is making a mountain out of a molehill, frankly. I and a lot of other fans at the time were well aware of his japery, and took it in the spirit in which it was intended.
Over many years as a Who fan (actually decades) I have gradually become more sceptical about JNT. Even in the DWM he copped a lot of flack for the decline of ratings etc... But putting that aside I also began to feel that this producer was egotistical, domineering and obssessed with flashiness and fandom over substance. This video is in my opinion a sad discovery of how horrid he was. Whether I liked Peri as a written character, I have always thought her to be a person/acxtress of a very high calibre, a caring, kind, considerate and talented lady. She and Colin seemed to have got on really well and that friendship exists today so obviously is genuine. Howevere in all those press photographs where JNT inserted himself in publicity photos was when I detected this man was more about celebrity than integrity. He would not listen to others whatever they suggested including the dreadful costume he made Colin wear. Having watched this post I am disgusted in the way he treated Nicola Bryant. I tend to think that maybe Eric Saward was the real victim in the dramas that took place behind the scenes of Trial of s Timelord. This is not the picture JNT painted. I now feel it highly likely the JNT was a borderline narcassist and not a thoughful man. I would wish this to be wrong but the evidence over the years seems to increasingy stack up to an indisputable portrait of a control freak who put his own ego before any concerns for others. Very sad.
I know what you mean. It is one of those things I wish I didn't know. I think he was narcissistic and undoubtedly a control freak, but I'm skeptical of whether he was a narcissist in the full blown cluster B personality disorder sense of the word. I don't think he was entirely without empathy.... although sadly it often felt like his era was. When it comes to Saward, I sometimes think they were both as bad as each other (and both equally bad for the show), but other times I feel like Saward just wasn't allowed to do his job well under JNT's paranoid control. When it comes down to JNT's era, in terms of what's good for the show, I tend to think he did a great job on Season 18, and it was downhill from there. He probably should've left at the end of Davison's first season, and even then the rot was beginning to set in (Time-Flight, some of Adric's worst sexist moments). A lot of fans praise him for keeping the show going, but frankly I would rather have seen it end on a high (maybe on The Five Doctors) than be carried on into a miserable decline. But, there is always that part of me that thinks JNT just should never have been given that position of power. If he hadn't, he might've been a nicer person.
@@sadako24 What an articulate, intelligent, balanced and engaging reply. I would have to share your opinions on nearly every point. And thye one or two I may differ is purely just opinion based as your ideas are very well justified in my humble opinion. I appreciate all the effort you went to in writing such a detailed response/viewpoint. Much appreciated.
@@triplejazzmusicisall1883 Thanks :) It is easy for us to get bombarded into agreement by the cliches and excuses, or just go along with the way the show has been steered. But for me, when I revisited the classics in 2005, the culture shock of going from Hinchcliffe's best to something like Warriors of the Deep really conveyed to me that the show had taken a very nasty, soulless, mean-spirited turn indeed under JNT, and the excuses no longer cut it. And that pointed to something very nasty going on behind the scenes and at its heart that couldn't just be pinned on BBC management/interference.
@@sadako24 Yes, I suppose we have all worked at some time or other in a toxic work environment. It seems to be part of life. We know a lot about some things but there would be so much more that we are not aware of. Definitely beyond BBC management as you say. Personalities can be fraught with issues when they clash.
JNT certainly saw Nicola Bryant as his star, that he had found her and made her a household name. That being said I met both a a convention back in the day and can say that they both appeared to share genuine affection and friendship towards each other. If you read the Life and Scandalous Times of JNT you get an idea of who JNT was, he was no angel, everyone knew that, in the same way as people knowing John Barrowman know what he's like. We don't need to throw a dead man under a bus.
Yet meanwhile RTD had a well known flasher and sex pest running round on set, the latter throwing his weight about and trying to ruin the careers of those who turned him down, threw tactless fat jokes in despite two of his leading actors having an history of eating disorders , described his critics with a well known slur against the disabled and created an cliquey atmosphere in fandom that has worsened since 2017.... Double standards, methinks?
@@derroboter2895 my god, you guys are the champions of nitpicking and masters of complaining. Where was this energy 10, 15 years ago? Now that it's fashionable to complain and write threads and cancel, NOW all you rats run out of your sewers to get your 15 mins of fame and fake internet points
JNT was certainly a complex character. I'm certainly not defending him and it might have been for the best if he had been allowed to move on from the show as he wanted but he wasnt allowed. This may have affected his behaviour as he became increasingly frustrated. Of course there wasn't anyone who wanted to take on the job as it was seen as a poisoned chalice.
Im surpised Eric Saward dont bring up these stories. He hates JNT with a passion. Mind you Saward was rude to Colin Baker, so maybe he only cares about JNT's sins when it affects him and or Robert Holmes Graham Harper and or Peter Gimwade.
JNT episodes were what I grew up with with the 5th. But after 5 left the awful production quality really showed. Not fair on Colin cause the cheap quality made us turn off on him
I thought he spat in her face, too. Gary got jealous of the friendly relationship between JN-T and Nicola Bryant, and he confronted her about it and she told him off. JN-T turned against her for that.
@@garysharman3981 Saward basically said that Colin Baker was miscast as the Doctor, and that he was more of a supporting actor than a leading man. Colin was deeply hurt, and he hasn't spoken to Saward in decades.
Rewatching that period of Dr Who on BritBox, I’ve just watched The Twin Dilemma which I was tempted to skip. She is really ballsey in the story, after telling the Master she can shout as loud as he can, she (the character) was obviously very sick in Caves and the back on form in Dilemma, when not being strangled she is feisty and assertive. She also gives as good as she gets with the Doctor in Attack part 1. Take away all the discussion about revealing costumes and you’re left with a good and solid companion.
OMG! Am employee had to do what her boss told her and when she didn't she was reprimanded! The horror! 🙄 They should call you guys the Dunning -Kruger generation.
Barrowman did nothing really wrong in the grand scheme of things. You might need to toe the party line on these matters cause perhaps it affects BBC employment but as viewers on this channel we appreciate realness and honesty
Mr Tardis you are way off Nicola and JNT was one experience. And no I am not praising his decisions with Nicola they were wrong. There have been other actors who have spoken positively about working with him. Like Davison Colin fielding Waterhouse. Yea maybe JNT was an asshole in that situation but we all have been in are lives before. None of us is perfect That doesn't mean we or he wasn't a good man. To call him a bully I think is way off because you did not know him or have any experiences with him. We can only go off what other peoples experiences were. JNT had some big bad experiences with the higher ups in the late 80s because they were trying to get rid of the show. People like Michael grade was one of the reasons why the show went away for a year when Colin was the doctor. JNT deserves way more credit. He had to work on the show and fight against the bbc.
_JNT had some big bad experiences with the higher ups in the late 80s because they were trying to get rid of the show_ That didn't happen until after Season 22. This incident was *before* then. You can't make that excuse that he was bullied first.
@@sadako24 "The 5th doctor" didn't make that excuse. He simply said that, like most of us are once in a while, JNT was an asshole on this occasion. That doesn't make JNT a full-time bully.
The fact that he made Nicola appear in one of his pantomimes against her will at the same time as recording Doctor Who, whilst not letting her do a prestigious drama at the same later as recording later on, shows you what a hypocrite the man was. Giving a BBC employed cast member a hard time for not appearing in a non-BBC pantomime should have earned him the sack there and then.
I actually took the Drama thing as Nicola telling herself she wouldn’t be able to do both that and Doctor Who at the same time.
Tho if it was her that said it, perhaps she would have thought differently if she wasn’t “forced” to do the pantomime, giving her the mindset that Doctor Who just takes too long. (In other words, the concept of choice was taken away from her, so that when she DID have the chance for choice, she went negatively with her thoughts).
I have a feeling that John Nathan--Turner (1947--2002) used coercion on the set of Dr. Who to dominate the cast and crew--Nicola Bryant deserved better than that. So did Colin Baker. JNT often took unilateral decisions without consulting the cast & crew. I'd say he was unethical then, and by today's standards.
The photos of Nathan-Turner that survive him show a slightly chunky chap, bearded, wide-eyed, with a ready smile, giving him a laid-back appearance. Don't be fooled! Staged whitewash & propaganda! 😠
Now contrast that with how he was behind the scenes, from various accounts. 😤😐🇬🇧🐨
@@paulforder591 Colin wanted a simple black suit to show he wanted to play a more serious doctor, but JNT was forceful wanting that bright jacket. Peter Davidson said that the jacket felt like JNT was wanting to put himself into the show, seeing those pictures of him in flamboyant bright Hawaiian shirts, I’d believe Peter.
@@crimsondynamo615 It probably helped matters that John and Colin has curly hair.
Honestly the BBC should have told jnt if Nicola wanted to do the new drama she can
Nicola still could EASILY pull off being a companion again. Such a shame JNT treated her so poorly
Her big finish work has been great.
Should see her in Star Trek. She's incredible.
Lets be honest the entire character of Peri right down to the outfits they made Nicola wear were from the darkest depths of (watch out Bowlestrek, I'm using this term unironically!) uber-Male Gaze.
When you are quite literally being called "something for the Dads"- hoo boy, it's crazy how they regressed so far after characters like Liz Shaw, SJS etc.
Well done Nicola for being brave enough to bring this up. She was a trooper in Doctor Who in general and you can see how this one still smarts from how she was talking about it in the interview. Fair play to her and Colin Baker for still holding the show in high affection because they both experienced actual toxicity during this period.
Her outfits did become less sexy later on though.
Thank god Big Finish gave them the credit they deserved and treated them right.
Yes, Nicola was taken for a ride quite a few times by the JNT and Micheal Grade and their power games that ended up burning classic Who to the ground, as was Colin, an experimental duo who were sabotaged and then kicked out onto the street and their luggage thrown out after them. But as you say, they have turned tragedy into triumph and done it on their own backs (with some help of course) and done so largely because JNT and Eric Seward were out of the picture and so the characters of Doctor Six and Peri could finally flourish and reach their true potential.
She was sexualized from the very beginning. I was uncomfortable with many of the shots in Planet of Fire-seemed a little too adult for something that was supposed to be for kids. At least Turlough showed some skin too...
@@parlinmainsI take it you don't watch the new rubbish them as if the sight of Peri in a bikini made you uncomfortable then the overly sexual modern stuff would no doubt male you have a stroke!
"She doesn't say no to things"
Jesus, what a child. Such a horrid experience for Nicola.
Thank you. I had no idea about this. I haven't thought about this period for so long. I never worked on Doctor Who but in my short stint at the BBC at the time I mentioned to a colleague that I'd love to work on the show and he said "trust me, you don't want to work for that c***". I was very young and put that comment down to professional jealousy and never thought about it again. You learn something new every day.
I think another way he bullied was in his costume choice for Colin Baker. Then there is the shenanigans he is associated with before his time as Show runner- going back to the Tom Baker era. He was certainly a tricky individual by all accounts
Wait what shenanigans are there from the Baler years
I always got the impression that Barry Letts was a sufficient showrunner AND a hugely respected man - the way to do it.
Barry Letts is so amazing
Barry Letts along with Terrance Dicks ushered in the "golden age" of Doctor Who in the early seventies. I have nothing but respect for this man.
That might be the reason why JNT disliked working with him during seasons 18 and 19.
@@BronyDanProductions Did not know this. It makes sense because JNT came in and proceeded to shake things up and remade Who according to his vision for the show. I can see if he saw Letts as representing "old Who" while he was trying to bring a new, updated version for the 80s.
Nicola Bryant still looks fucking great, nice to see that despite the shit she was put through she seems to be doing well.
Amen to that. Had the pleasure to meet and even question the dynamic duo at an event in London this year and they were even more inspiring in person than they are on screen or page.
Wow! That’s utterly disgusting and no one should of been treated like this! It’s makes me feel so bad that Nicola had to go through that. She’s such a lovely woman.
That shocked "You...killed Peri" was, I think, spoken actor-to-director (Colin to JNT), as much as character-to-character.
I see some people comparing Chris Chibnall to John Nathan Turner. Sorry, but not even close. Say what you want about his writing (I certainly have my own opinions), Chris Chibnall is a good person who cares for his cast and crew. This is very evident based on his reputation and his personality overrall. Same cannot be said for john nathan turner. Very sad to hear what happened with Nicola, hope she comes back. Really happy to hear that Chris is treating his crew well. This teaches us to not let our opinions of a person's writing affect our judgement on who they are as a person as I've seen those hate filled youtube channels do. What Mr. Tardis says about Rtd's crew management back during his era sounds very worrisome and I hope it doesn't happen again. I've heard so much stuff about the behind the scenes during rtd's era and tbh it's really disturbing. He may be a good writer but there's a lot of very suspicious stuff about his management. Apparently he already knew that noel clarke was a harrasser. Thanks for the video Mr. Tardis! You should make one that focuses more on rtd's era and the many controversies!
Do you suspect that’s why Christopher eccelston left and didn’t want anything to do with doctor who for the longest time
@@crimsondynamo615 of course! He himself said it! Look up his panel appearance, he shares some juicy details!
One thing that keeps me hopeful for the future of this show is the standard that Chris Chibnall set when it comes to the behind-the-scenes production of the show
JNT was the man who pretty much fired Colin Baker over the phone so this is hardly a shock
@@crimsondynamo615 Eccleston himself has said it multiple times in various ways - book, cons, social media, interviews etc. do we need to make it any more clearer?
Also sounds like Chris' objections to Billie being bullied into staying long hours especially as she was young and also had to deal with the music industry and personal issues before
Woah woah, i knew Ecclestone took issue with bullying but i didn't realise it was billie piper. Im surprised tbh because she was their big star, wouldn't male sense to possibly alienate her from the show.
Nicola not being in a fix with sontarans is maybe a blessing in disguise. That was a big pile of savile crap, only good thing about it was tegan meeting the sixth doctor, but it was still underwhelming. Shame she was treated so unfairly tho
Hind sight is tasting sweet .
It really seems to be everyone who was under JNT got treated better by Big Finish
Anthony Ainley said that JNT pressured/"persuaded"/coerced/tricked him into doing American conventions for free on five separate occasions. Apparently this got JNT into the convention organizers' good books as it was known that he could get guests to appear for free and so save them money. No doubt he received perks for this. Of course he's not here to defend himself now (Obviously neither is AA) and he may have had a different story to tell.
No doubt Ainley's flights, hotels, food and drinks would have been covered, even if he didn't get an appearance fee. So he might just have been peed off by not making a "profit" out of what were ostensibly free holidays. He was privately wealthy in any case, so hardly needed the extra pocket money.
@@ftumschk That’s still not fare. If you’re hired to work you should get paid.
@@slumdogjay Not back then. They were less acquisitive times, and a free holiday should have been good enough for most people, including the already-rich Anthony Ainley.
@@ftumschk Hardly a free holiday, especially under JNT. Doesn’t matter how rich you are. Your employer should pay you for work when you are under contract.
@@slumdogjay Maybe he did. Ainley comes across an eccentric, almost narcissistic character, so I wouldn't put it past him if he exaggerated matters so as to appear hard-done-by.
I was an American fan when Peri was introduced, and what I recall being told was that Nicola Bryant had dual citizenship, so she was technically American, but she'd been raised in the UK. I don't recall ever reading anything that claimed Ms Bryant was actually culturally American. Sad to hear about how she was treated.
Many years ago, I actually played Peri in a fanvid production, "Illinois Smith and the TARDIS of Doom", produced by the Central Illinois Doctor Who Appreciation Society. Unfortunately, the person with the footage absconded with a good chunk of the club's treasury and took the videotapes with them. I really wish the footage would turn up, as I never got to see some of it, and it would be awesome to see all of us back then, but I fear they're gone for good.
Nicola isn’t American. She was born and raised in the UK
@@thomsboys77 I'm just reporting what the publicity was telling us back then. Dual citizenship but raised in the UK, so technically American but only technically. I don't recall any mention of where she was born or why she (supposedly) had dual citizenship.
Wow... poor Nicola Bryant. 😥
Yes gea
Yes yes
You can tell Nicola affected by this. I can remember from the old dvd documentary from mind warp that she said "when JNT asked me to leave the series."
The fact that JNT also sacked Peter Grimwade as a director for the pettiest reason (taking the cast and crew out for a meal because he planned to take JNT out separately) is just a prime example of how pathetic a bully he was
Wow it's also reminding me about how Christopher Eccleston was treated too by people involved in the show and also by extension BBC
There are two sides to that story. Eccleston was a difficult man to work with on Who and other shows and he had a talent for laying blame at other people's doors. Some of the stuff about him being blacklisted by the BBC after Who were outright lies which couldn't be put down to misinterpretation but I have no doubt things were fractious on Who and he was mostly blameless and hurt during much of it.
@@peterd788 The BBC put out a fake statement from Eccleston regarding his decision to leave and they eventually had to apologise to him. Worth also remembering that Eccleston was angry about on set antics/bullying - some of which we now know to be true. I've not read anywhere else that the actor is 'difficult' to work with with?
@@peterd788 - fuck me. _"Difficult to work with"_ - in these conversations - is a pretty accurate translation for _"wouldn't just shut up about unethical practice."_
I'm _"Difficult to work with."_ And I have no intention of stopping.
@@nightowl8477 you clearly already decided to pick a side on this issue
Chris was right to call out on the behaviour of the director and protected the crew and Billie, but he also holds a grudge and it affected his working attitude, which makes him grumpy toward others, even those that is not to be blamed for the bad behaviour, making him hard to work with. You see the way he talks about things now after so many years in a public forum, I have no doubt that at that time and in private, it affected his working attitude and that affected others. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being unhappy and grumpy, but don't go around saying that everything he does is right and everything bad said about him is just people wanting to get back at him for rocking the boat.
@@SirSX3 - you need to grow up. These are human lives and experiences; not cut scenes from Confidential that cast your favourite showrunner in a less flattering light.
There are some very frightening things on record about JNT that we shouldn't talk about but I'm sure you have heard
I think RTD coming back probably won't be an issue because he's most likely improved management, communication and looking after people a lot since the chaos working on series 1.
On the topic of RTD's return and if he has learnt from those mistakes, maybe it's time to look at his past shows after Doctor Who, if anything like what happened with Noel and Barrowman happened in those productions.
Honestly, if we're going to have a reckoning with JNT? Then we need to have a reckoning with John Wiles and RTD too. No more ignoring what they did, no more putting RTD on pedestals and bullying or harassing the people who call him out, no pretending to be progressive and ignoring RTD's casual racism and wrongdoings during production of Series 1-4 because you like him, reckoning for everyone who's abused their authority on the show. Don't make exceptions for your favorites, full reckoning.
I like "The Memory Cheats" reference. Never had a good opinion of JNT and his apparent focus on anything other than doing his main job, and this doesn't undermine that.
I suspect the reason JNT was not well liked in the BBC was partly due to these extra curricular activities, and it probably didn't do the show any favours.
You wonder if that might explain why the Beeb targeted Doctor Who but didn't move JNT.
It's great that she got to speak about her experience and it's important that we listen to her and dont retarget or editorialiae it.
You might want to think this through a bit more before you kick this off the next time. I say this because you've mentioned in vague terms the behaviour of actors on the RTD sets, and now with the reevaluation of JNT a huge part of this conversation has to be the fact that straight people judging the behaviour of gay men in eras where just being visibly gay was offensive to many in the heirarchy in the 80s and the behaviour rules were all over the place when it came to on set behaviour and how you get some parts of the job done in the 2000's.
Thankfully we have much better rules around so much of this now, perhaps the thing to look at is not how much of a villan we need to think of gay men in the industry as but rather acknowledging folks experiences while looking at what parts has the industry made progress on fixing?
Years ago, I met Colin Baker in the 80s decade alongside Tom Baker. I met Tom previously. I have a pic to prove our meeting together because hubby was there with me. Colin Baker noticed how hubby made way for me to meet up with him because his eyes were following him. He leaned to my ear & said he noticed what hubby was up to. Americans can be quite impatient btw. I was ready to lose hope. That that moment in time was very precious to me.
Great review. I subscribed with one minute into this review
Would love to hear your views on doctor who
Nicola could be a super star today now. Go for it
I hadn't heard this when, years ago, I wrote a Star Trek fanfic wherein I named Federation Timeships for Doctor Who showrunners, insomuch as they "wrote time travel stories", same as Wells, Verne, et. al. DW could after all could be valid fiction contained within the Trek "reality". And for some reason, I had chosen the USS JNT to be the vessel in particular that had met a bad end, holding necessary computer data eventually salvaged by a later-generation Timeship, the USS James P. Hogan. Hearing this, I think I'm going to double down on that choice.
JNT certainly treated Nicola Bryant horribly. I seem to remember reading in the book written about JNT that the last time he saw Nicola Bryant was at a convention. Apparently he spat in her face, jealous that she was getting more attention than him...
Wow.
Spat in her face?!
Thats horrible behaviour!
Nicola is wonderful!
Jnt was a horrible guy wasnt he?
Jeez!
Nicola way more talented than jnt by miles!
JNT also told Janet that Tegan's purpose was just being eye candy for the dads
Not defending him, what he did was horrible. But I can't imagine anyone in his position during that time period who wasn't a bit of a bastard. Like you couldn't get to that level unless you were cut throat during that time. It's wrong, but it's how it felt growing up to me!
John Nathan - Turner was also mistreated by The higher ups from The BBC because he wanted to get out of The Producer's chair but they wouldn't let him.
they didn't want him. They wanted someone else but they declined
@@benmiller3252 from what I understand, it's not that they didn't let him leave, it's that they couldn't find a replacement. So they persuaded him to stay. If he had left, it would mean hiatus or cancellation, which eventually did happen.
@@SirSX3 still he wasn't responsible for trying to get Doctor Who cancelled, that has to go to Michael Grade
I would love to see Perpugilliam ( Peri ) Brown return to Doctor Who at some point in the future.
She did do that trailer for the new BD set... shows potential.
@@frankshailes3205 I mean in the actual show itself.
There is a rumour the 60th will have a Classic companion... and she is still doing active Big Finish sand that boxset trailer so she'd be down if they wanted Peri
@@jaded6530 I thought they already did a commercial showing Ace and Tegan?
@@CritterKeeper01 that's the centenary
The whole industry needs the same rights and protections as every other industry, this reminds me so much about hearing about abuse and crunch cultures in video game developers and it's sickening...
We need a maximum amount of working hours for employees, we need a minimum level of respect and fair treatment from management, and safe working environments free of predatory behaviour and dangerous conditions...
Yeah reminds me of I think it was n actors roundtable with Thandiwe Newton where she mentioned that "actors don't have HR" or something similar to that. She had a list of things that had happened to her then like nude shots showing more of her body than was said and I recently read that when she dies she's going to release a diary she kept all that time about things that had happened.
It can't be down to the bargaining power of agents who get money for getting roles to fight for everyone
Too many bloody creeps swarming within the entertainment industry.
@@robotx9285 and then they go beyond too, like Savill in hospitals and Clarke teaching classes and going to talks etc etc and now especially with social media you get people contacting directly
It's all so depressing, I hate hearing this stuff happened in my favourite show.
I worked with JNT once, he was great with me. I was a VT engineer and he praised my dedication to the show and asked for me to do all the rest of his programmes too... ! Wow ! This is not the way the Beeb worked back then, nothing came of it, but I thought - what a nice chap ! I heard no stories about JNT when I worked on the show.
12:26 Sorry, JNT was a wealthy and influential person at the BBC?
Hardly influential, to quote Jonathan Powell, "I hoped he would fuck off or die".
Even into the 90's, the only things he worked on were the VHS like Shada and the _____ years.
I am not too much of a Whoovian but I was a big fan of Peri and I thought she added something more to the show than just looks. I was shocked to hear that such a nice and talented woman as Nicola Bryant was subjected to such treatment. Shocked, and yet, sadly, not very surprised. Abuse of performers by producers is an ancient story in entertainment and that abuse can and does take many forms other than the sexual. And those who say that what was done to Nicola was "small potatoes" are absolutely wrong. Working very long hours is common during TV and film production, and being "asked" (forced) to do a very heavy stage show schedule on top of that is utterly out of line. Would you ask a miner or a dishwasher or an airline pilot to work such a brutal schedule? Yes, TV performers are usually (not always) well paid for their time, but they are human like the rest of us and acting is far harder work than most people know. If actors and actresses are pushed beyond a reasonable mental and physical limit then their health will suffer and so will the quality of their work. I know all this because one of my closest relatives is an actor, and after a long night of shooting I have seen him literally falling asleep in his breakfast. When the field is full of competition and all you have is acting ability while others control the money and the venues you are not in a good bargaining position. It is all too easy for powerful producers to lie to, intimidate, and bullyrag young performers who are desperate to make their careers, and this seems to be what happened to Nicola. "We can always get someone else who will be less troublesome," is such a common threat that it hardly needs to be spoken. Actors' unions exist to prevent such abuse, but it is hard to hold the line in a field with such a large labor surplus. Peri deserved better.
Poor Nicola! No wonder Tom got fed up with him as well.
To be honest I think you're taking something that was relatively minor and exaggerating it quite a bit. Yes it was certainly very wrong indeed and should be called out as such but you're rather overstating it I feel. The man was clearly a bit childish at times and yes abused his power and we have to acknowledge that. Nicola Bryant also however has lots of positive things to say about JNT. You're taking one small bit of negativity and putting it way over the top. I say that to you with respect and as my personal opinion.
JNT was also friends with Jimmy Savile...Just saying.
(And his partner was a bit *ahem* forthright and... pushy with young men)
Adam Walker! Love your work, man!
I've read a fair bit about JNT, but I don't recall him associating much, if at all, with Jimmy Savile, let alone being friends with him. Besides, Savile's primary "interests" were rather different to JNT's, both in terms of sex and age.
@@somerandomguy2073 Indeed, and Downie seems to have been the "bad cop" in their relationship.
Saville was very influential at the BBC and his show got massive viewing figures... appearing on his show doesn't neccesarily suggest a close relationship.
JNT is basically John Wiles who succeeded.
Poor woman, Nicola’s eyes at 4:00 say it all.
Edit: Colin Baker is indeed a gentleman.
Nicola has more class and dignity at the tip of her finger than JNT had in his total body.
I met JNT once. He was very nice.
Is there a biography on Collin Baker ?
He's released an autobiography, I believe.
I think we have to be careful about levying accusations and I'm already seeing people making connections to JNT and Saville. This attitude is very dangerous, there is no reason to believe that predators exclusively make friends with other predators, and apparently its debatable if JNT even was friends or not. I mean we live in an age where the press will use being photographed with a dictator or terrorist to automatically mean you're in league with them. Criticise JNT for what he did do, if there is genuine evidence to confirm he was an abuser then point me to it, but don't levy accusations purely on the basis that he knew or associated with a sex offender. I have a friend for example whose own brother was arrested for assault of a minor, my friend had absolutely no idea, he has completely cut ties with his brother now. Point is the 'no smoke without fire' line of reasoning is how we end up with lynch mobs and kangaroo courts, it's not smart and it's not clever.
Richard Marson wrote a book alleging that JNT and his partner preyed on and made unwanted sexual advances on teenage fans, including himself. People make the Saville connection for that reason, and rightfully so.
@@marxistlynchist I didn't know about that, thank you for the info
@@marxistlynchist JNT and (especially) his partner Gary Downie made advances on some male teenagers, who would have been above the legal age of consent today. Not that there was ever a "legal age" that excused sexual harassment at any time, of course, but the age of the youths involved is important to bear in mind. I've seen no evidence that JNT was attracted to anyone younger than their mid-teens, which is more than can be said for Jimmy Savile. I don't recall hearing that JNT was "connected" with Savile in that sense, and - given their very different proclivities - I see no reason to suppose that they were
Would have been far worse if he were around today as any criticism of him at all would simply be dismissed as 'homophobia' and he would be totally exonerated.
What
It's not really a surprise that JNT didn't treat people, especially women, with a great deal of respect. As you say, the 80s wasn't a time of equal opportunity and the like. He was a product of his time, and according to the mores of that time, he was less of a bully than most other higher-ups in all walks of life. That doesn't make it right, but it's a odd stick to beat someone with, especially as that person's no longer around.
Shifting gear slightly, I think we need to be careful now when talking about Noel Clarke. He was never brought to trial and the investigation has been closed. Although he's admitted that some of his behaviour was inappropriate, he vehemently denies it was in any way malicious or anything approaching sexual. This is important because, as the recent Johnny Depp trial has shown us, innocent until proven guilty - with emphasis on the proven - is the proper way to look at it. If you must refer to his actions, it's probably safer to append "allegedly" to the beginning of any statements about it. After all, you never know who may be watching.
Lastly, as I've said before, the whole John Barrowman thing is making a mountain out of a molehill, frankly. I and a lot of other fans at the time were well aware of his japery, and took it in the spirit in which it was intended.
The John Barrowman thing is nothing and as you said, Noel was never charged with anything
Over many years as a Who fan (actually decades) I have gradually become more sceptical about JNT. Even in the DWM he copped a lot of flack for the decline of ratings etc...
But putting that aside I also began to feel that this producer was egotistical, domineering and obssessed with flashiness and fandom over substance. This video is in my opinion a sad discovery of how horrid he was. Whether I liked Peri as a written character, I have always thought her to be a person/acxtress of a very high calibre, a caring, kind, considerate and talented lady. She and Colin seemed to have got on really well and that friendship exists today so obviously is genuine. Howevere in all those press photographs where JNT inserted himself in publicity photos was when I detected this man was more about celebrity than integrity. He would not listen to others whatever they suggested including the dreadful costume he made Colin wear.
Having watched this post I am disgusted in the way he treated Nicola Bryant. I tend to think that maybe Eric Saward was the real victim in the dramas that took place behind the scenes of Trial of s Timelord. This is not the picture JNT painted. I now feel it highly likely the JNT was a borderline narcassist and not a thoughful man. I would wish this to be wrong but the evidence over the years seems to increasingy stack up to an indisputable portrait of a control freak who put his own ego before any concerns for others. Very sad.
I know what you mean. It is one of those things I wish I didn't know.
I think he was narcissistic and undoubtedly a control freak, but I'm skeptical of whether he was a narcissist in the full blown cluster B personality disorder sense of the word. I don't think he was entirely without empathy.... although sadly it often felt like his era was.
When it comes to Saward, I sometimes think they were both as bad as each other (and both equally bad for the show), but other times I feel like Saward just wasn't allowed to do his job well under JNT's paranoid control.
When it comes down to JNT's era, in terms of what's good for the show, I tend to think he did a great job on Season 18, and it was downhill from there. He probably should've left at the end of Davison's first season, and even then the rot was beginning to set in (Time-Flight, some of Adric's worst sexist moments). A lot of fans praise him for keeping the show going, but frankly I would rather have seen it end on a high (maybe on The Five Doctors) than be carried on into a miserable decline.
But, there is always that part of me that thinks JNT just should never have been given that position of power. If he hadn't, he might've been a nicer person.
@@sadako24 What an articulate, intelligent, balanced and engaging reply.
I would have to share your opinions on nearly every point. And thye one or two I may differ is purely just opinion based as your ideas are very well justified in my humble opinion. I appreciate all the effort you went to in writing such a detailed response/viewpoint. Much appreciated.
@@triplejazzmusicisall1883 Thanks :)
It is easy for us to get bombarded into agreement by the cliches and excuses, or just go along with the way the show has been steered. But for me, when I revisited the classics in 2005, the culture shock of going from Hinchcliffe's best to something like Warriors of the Deep really conveyed to me that the show had taken a very nasty, soulless, mean-spirited turn indeed under JNT, and the excuses no longer cut it. And that pointed to something very nasty going on behind the scenes and at its heart that couldn't just be pinned on BBC management/interference.
@@sadako24 Yes, I suppose we have all worked at some time or other in a toxic work environment. It seems to be part of life. We know a lot about some things but there would be so much more that we are not aware of. Definitely beyond BBC management as you say. Personalities can be fraught with issues when they clash.
JNT certainly saw Nicola Bryant as his star, that he had found her and made her a household name. That being said I met both a a convention back in the day and can say that they both appeared to share genuine affection and friendship towards each other. If you read the Life and Scandalous Times of JNT you get an idea of who JNT was, he was no angel, everyone knew that, in the same way as people knowing John Barrowman know what he's like. We don't need to throw a dead man under a bus.
Can someone explain to me how on earth someone can in a day do 18 hours filming Doctor Who and within the same 24 hour slot do two pantomimes?
JNT was a terrible producer.
And, more and more, it sounds like he was a terrible *person* as well.
Yet meanwhile RTD had a well known flasher and sex pest running round on set, the latter throwing his weight about and trying to ruin the careers of those who turned him down, threw tactless fat jokes in despite two of his leading actors having an history of eating disorders , described his critics with a well known slur against the disabled and created an cliquey atmosphere in fandom that has worsened since 2017....
Double standards, methinks?
@@derroboter2895 my god, you guys are the champions of nitpicking and masters of complaining.
Where was this energy 10, 15 years ago? Now that it's fashionable to complain and write threads and cancel, NOW all you rats run out of your sewers to get your 15 mins of fame and fake internet points
It's so weird that Nicola Bryant is British
JNT was certainly a complex character.
I'm certainly not defending him and it might have been for the best if he had been allowed to move on from the show as he wanted but he wasnt allowed.
This may have affected his behaviour as he became increasingly frustrated.
Of course there wasn't anyone who wanted to take on the job as it was seen as a poisoned chalice.
Everything i learn about JNT makes me hate him
Im surpised Eric Saward dont bring up these stories. He hates JNT with a passion. Mind you Saward was rude to Colin Baker, so maybe he only cares about JNT's sins when it affects him and or Robert Holmes Graham Harper and or Peter Gimwade.
Listening to Nichole Bryan talking I'm reminded that she faked her accent on Doctor Who.
JNT episodes were what I grew up with with the 5th. But after 5 left the awful production quality really showed. Not fair on Colin cause the cheap quality made us turn off on him
"bully" is a phrased used by manipulative people.
@mr TARDIS 80s Dr Who doesn’t get better than Mindwarp. You absolutely must do a review to justify that. I’d love to see it. Interested.
She was there as fluf eye candy, she knew the gig.
Agreed. She did her job very well. Loved the pink outfit from ATTACK.
Yes
JN-T punched Nicola Bryant? I thought he spat in her face at a 1996 convention (over an argument with his boyfriend, Gary Downie)?
I thought he spat in her face, too. Gary got jealous of the friendly relationship between JN-T and Nicola Bryant, and he confronted her about it and she told him off. JN-T turned against her for that.
Look how he bullied saward until he told him to shove it !
Mind you, Saward wasn't exactly a paragon, the way he stabbed Colin Baker in the back.
@@ftumschk oh what happened there
@@garysharman3981 Saward basically said that Colin Baker was miscast as the Doctor, and that he was more of a supporting actor than a leading man. Colin was deeply hurt, and he hasn't spoken to Saward in decades.
@@ftumschk Damn.
Saward was hardly bullied and there's a reason he's never worked in the UK again after his Starburst interview.
I don't doubt people will still be screaming Chibnall was worse.
Chibnall ALMOST killed Doctor Who, but JNT actually did kill Doctor Who
@@SirSX3 And here we have not getting the point.
JNT always gave me Saville vibes
less of a paedophile but he did have a habit of sleeping with then under age men, it was 21 for gays back then.
I know Colin Baker's Dr was an A hole, but I really wish that they hadn't made Peri so whiney.
Apparently they're better in Big Finish, but I think they were a terrible match for each other, 6 and Peri did not go well at all
Rewatching that period of Dr Who on BritBox, I’ve just watched The Twin Dilemma which I was tempted to skip. She is really ballsey in the story, after telling the Master she can shout as loud as he can, she (the character) was obviously very sick in Caves and the back on form in Dilemma, when not being strangled she is feisty and assertive. She also gives as good as she gets with the Doctor in Attack part 1. Take away all the discussion about revealing costumes and you’re left with a good and solid companion.
That's a Shame because i have nostalgia for The John Nathan - Turner Era
What was the sweet interview about Peri?
OMG! Am employee had to do what her boss told her and when she didn't she was reprimanded! The horror! 🙄 They should call you guys the Dunning -Kruger generation.
Barrowman did nothing really wrong in the grand scheme of things. You might need to toe the party line on these matters cause perhaps it affects BBC employment but as viewers on this channel we appreciate realness and honesty
JNT bad 👍I agree/gen
Yea, a misogynistic bully. Gx
Honesty jnt was such a terrible person
Mr Tardis you are way off Nicola and JNT was one experience. And no I am not praising his decisions with Nicola they were wrong. There have been other actors who have spoken positively about working with him. Like Davison Colin fielding Waterhouse. Yea maybe JNT was an asshole in that situation but we all have been in are lives before. None of us is perfect That doesn't mean we or he wasn't a good man. To call him a bully I think is way off because you did not know him or have any experiences with him. We can only go off what other peoples experiences were. JNT had some big bad experiences with the higher ups in the late 80s because they were trying to get rid of the show. People like Michael grade was one of the reasons why the show went away for a year when Colin was the doctor. JNT deserves way more credit. He had to work on the show and fight against the bbc.
_JNT had some big bad experiences with the higher ups in the late 80s because they were trying to get rid of the show_
That didn't happen until after Season 22.
This incident was *before* then. You can't make that excuse that he was bullied first.
@@sadako24 "The 5th doctor" didn't make that excuse. He simply said that, like most of us are once in a while, JNT was an asshole on this occasion. That doesn't make JNT a full-time bully.
Disgusting