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BAFTA Celebrates 10 years of Doctor Who with New York event

12 May 2015

BAFTA to celebrate 10 years of Doctor Who in Wales at special event with Steven Moffat in New York, USA

Anniversary screening and Q&A to be hosted by BAFTA Cymru, Cardiff Business Council, BBC America and BAFTA New York

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts in Wales, BAFTA Cymru, has today announced a special Doctor Who screening event in New York, USA, on Thursday 14 May to celebrate 10 years since the critically-acclaimed Doctor Who franchise was revived and went into production at BBC Wales.

The event, hosted in partnership with BAFTA New York, Cardiff Business Council and BBC America, will offer 220 industry guests a big-screen showing of recent episode Listen, starring Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with showrunner and writer Steven Moffat.

Hannah Raybould, Director of BAFTA Cymru, said: “We are very excited to be co-hosting this celebratory event in New York, which will be an opportunity to showcase the talent, skills, locations and innovation of the Welsh creative industries talent working on the Doctor Who series in Wales.

“With millions of fans around the world, and significant viewing figures in the US on BBC America, we felt the 10 year anniversary was a great occasion to toast the team behind the franchise, and offer US industry practitioners an insight into the way the series has developed, as well as an overview of the creative industries sector in Wales.”

Charles Tremayne, Chairman BAFTA New York, said: "Doctor Who is such an iconic part of British television culture that it’s always a privilege to celebrate it’s enduring success here in New York. The last 10 years since the re-launch in Cardiff have been among the most memorable of its many years on air. Apart from some great backstage stories, it will be great to hear from Steven how they keep Doctor Who so fresh and part of the zeitgeist around the world."

Steven Moffat said “I loved Doctor Who on screen, long before I ever worked on it, just as I loved New York in the movies long before I ever got to go there. It will be a pleasure to combine both fantasies.”

Doctor Who is a significant part of British popular culture, and elsewhere it has become a cult television favourite. The show has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989 and was re-launched by BBC Wales in 2005 with Russell T Davies as showrunner and head writer for the first five years of its revival, alongside Julie Gardner as BBC Wales Head of Drama at that time. The first series of the 21st century, featuring Christopher Eccleston in the title role, was filmed in and around Cardiff, with the south Wales area doubling for a number of other locations including London. Doctor Who also spawned spin-offs in multiple media, including Torchwood (2006–11) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–11), both created by Russell T Davies; K-9 (2009–10); and a single pilot episode of K-9 and Company(1981). The series is widely recognised as a key catalyst for the boom in drama made in Wales.

Cardiff Business Council, sponsors of the event, will be hosting a reception to promote the capital city as the gateway to Wales, a country that has seen significant increases in production of film, television, games and commercials in recent years.

Cardiff Business Council Chairman Nigel Roberts said “Cardiff is an international Capital City and we are delighted to take our place on the world stage at every opportunity to promote our Capital City Region and the whole of our country, Wales. 

Creative Industries forms a big part of our successful economy and we want Cardiff to be like the Doctor ‘at the centre of the universe’! We are proud to be the home of Doctor Who and we are looking forward to meeting with the movers and shakers of New York at this prestigious event.”

Ken Poole, Head of Economic Development for the City of Cardiff Council and Director, Cardiff Business Council, said “Working with our partners in the Business Council, the Council is committed to raising our international profile to instigate investment to the Welsh Capital.  We have an excellent track record in attracting the creative industry to Cardiff, with the success of the Doctor Who Experience, Sherlock, Torchwood and Casualty, as well as the recent news that Pinewood has set up in Cardiff.

“The creative industry is the fastest growing sector in Wales. Around a third of all Welsh creative industry jobs are based in Cardiff, with over 6,000 jobs in the capital. We will continue to embrace every opportunity to show what Cardiff has to offer, further establishing the fastest growing European Capital City on the world stage.”

The event, which will take place in New York, USA, on 14 May, will be one of 60 events BAFTA Cymru will be hosting in 2015 as part of its year-round programme of screenings and learning events.

For information regarding BAFTA Cymru membership and events programme please see www.bafta.org/wales

About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world’s most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. To access the best creative minds in film, television and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.