Late Doctor Who legend John Leeson called for more 'clever ideas' to revamp the show in one of his final ever interviews
Late Doctor Who star John Leeson believed the sci-fi series needed fresh “clever ideas” to win back viewers, while remaining confident it would survive despite its latest upheaval.
Late Doctor Who legend John Leeson, the voice of K9, believed the writing on the show had gone stale and new “clever ideas” were needed to win back viewers.
The actor passed away after a “summer illness” at the age of 83, with his family announcing his death in a statement on Sunday (01.11.26).
Leeson voiced the robot dog, a fan-favourite character, opposite Fourth Doctor Tom Baker in the 1970s, making his debut in the 1977 story The Invisible Enemy alongside Tom and Louise Jameson as TARDIS companion Leela.
Leeson was brought back by Russell T Davies when the BBC relaunched the sci-fi series in the 2000s, appearing alongside Tenth Doctor David Tennant in the 2006 episode School Reunion and in spin-off show The Sarah Jane Adventures, which starred Elisabeth Sladen as the titular investigator.
In one of his last interviews before his death, John claimed the show had lost its ability to entertain, educate and challenge viewers, and that more "clever ideas" were needed from the writing team.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz, he said: “It needs clever ideas, really, somewhere to take viewers that they haven't been before, and some means of exciting viewers intellectually, as well as just simply by way of entertainment.
“Audiences change, expectations that audiences have change too. So you don't want to put what is standard fare in front of an audience, because that leads simply to boredom at the end of the day.”
John Leeson with K9 / Credit: Big Finish
The BBC has taken Doctor Who off air and put it out to tender after the deal with streaming service Disney+ came to a sudden end. Returning showrunner Russell T Davies also left his role.
Despite the turmoil the show is currently in, John was adamant that Doctor Who would survive because it is “part of the fabric of British television”.
John, who continued to voice K9 in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventures right up until his death, said: “It's gone through so many different changes in its time.
“It's run a very, very long course.
“It's very much a part of the fabric of British television.”
The sci-fi legend, who played the original Bungle in children's TV series Rainbow, was always grateful to Doctor Who fans for their unwavering love for K9.
He said: "I have been very lucky that the character went down so well with its audience.
"It's been quite incredible."
