Doctor Who: Caroline Skinner steps down as Executive Producer

Wow, they have a real hard time hanging onto Exec Producers on Doctor Who for any length of time, don't they?

That seems to be slightly worrying, as the way she was speaking in DWM the other day, it seemed that she was very much involved with the 50th Anniversary. I hate to jump to conclusions, but this 'moving on,' just one series after Pier Wenger and Beth Willis 'moved on' kind of suggests that there may be some problems behind the scenes... Although I may just be jumping at straws here.

Good luck and thank you,Caro.Sorry Caro has decided she would prefer to work on other projects for the BBC right now.I have to say that whenever Caro made any public relations appearances promoting the programme,it was obvious that she loved the programme and being involved in creating it.I'm sure there will be the usual unnecessary and unpleasant speculation about her decision encouraged by people who have personal agenda's against Steven Moffats creative decisions.I wonder if the obvious candidates to work with him and the BBC would be his fellow executives at Hartswood films who are in charge of producing Sherlock with him,it would be the obvious solution to making sure that Moffat doesn't have to handle the outside speculation about his relations with other producers that he shouldn't have to respond to .

Allegedly JNT wasn't the only DW Producer who couldn't keep it in his pants.

Congratulations.First person to demonstrate how unpleasant Moffat critics can be on this forum.Considering how close Moffat is to his wife and children the fact that you are irresponsible enough to spread trash like that on a forum is deplorable and disgusting.Placing allegedly in front of it shouldn't be enough to protect you from the repercussions of denigrating somebody like that.Nonsense.What would Verity and Sydney make of fans like you.

Well both Moffat and his wife were cheating on other people when they got together, so hardly without form. (No allegedly there since he said so himself in an interview with The Scotsman.)

Even if Moffat made a comment like that in an article,it was almost certainly made off the record and shouldn't have been printed since he made time for the journalist in the first place and it certainly doesn't mitigate your attempt to damage his relationship with his family in a public forum now by making a rumour you probably can't substantiate available for people to read presumably because you don't like his work on a television program or like him personally.It's completely unacceptable and offensive.Wouldn't be surprised if you had a journalistic background if you can actually recall The Scotsman article and can provide access to it or even if you can't.I'm certainly not aware of it .It absolutely justifys nothing you,ve said anyway.

i should imagine it's a pretty rough job. incredibly punishing shoot schedules and of course at least a quarter of the fanbase will hate everything and anything you do!

Uh, you know American TV series produce 20 to 24 episodes every year.

Doctor Who is down to about six to eight per year.

So... ummmm.... what does an 'Executive' producer actually do? I always believed that was a vanity credit.

Those big american productions cost millions and millions (Criminal Minds costs around $6m an episode), while Doctor Who runs on a comparative shoestring and gets away with more. It's a difficult job.

Any chance Phil Collinson can be coerced back to Doctor Who?

Very good idea!

I wonder what the problem was?

Seeing as she's Exec Producer, you'd think she should know that it isn't a new series coming back at Easter, it's the 2nd part of season 7.

Actually, I was replying to your assertion about "incredibly punishing shoot schedules."

Actually, the show's production schedule is extremely relaxed.

Maybe it's time to stop making excuses for Doctor Who foisting half-seasons of a half-dozen episodes or so a year off as full seasons.

In movies, it's frequently a vanity or money credit.

In television, an executive producer is one of the main players.

As I understood it,going from interviews and articles,Caro was involved with communicating with the controller of BBC1 and the head of drama,commissioning writers and directors,securing actors and negotiating contracts,arranging preparation work and shooting schedules for filming,balancing the programmes financial considerations with accountants,public relations strategising and hiring appropriate crew.Considering what a challenging programme Doctor Who is to realise,it's a particularly difficult job for anybody who hasn,t a lot of experience of making television series.Marcus Wilson does the day to day supervising of production with the directors on set and on location and troubleshoots any complications which may not have been considered during preparation work

There is no way that Matt Smith is shooting 14 hours a day for 10 months of the year on Doctor Who.

>Matt Smith has also specified a desire to move on due to 14 hour days for filming over 10 months of the year (which is clocking in at 13 episodes with a break in).

Exactly right...God knows she will have been paid more than enough. My heart bleeds for her that its a "difficult" job. Being a Nurse is a difficult job, being a soldier is a difficult job, being a police man / woman is a difficult job. Sitting in an office or running around a studio etc ordering people about and having catering and everything laid on for you, and picking up about 60 - 100 K a year is not a difficult job compared to what a Nurse has to do every day, or a policeman etc.

Especially when its now only six to eight episodes a year. Its not like they have been filming every day of the month all year round. They are lucky at the moment if they do three to four months in a row. So she does not want to do it and is moving on. So what. I dont think anyone will even notice she is gone and its someone else in charge.

I did not even know who she was until this broke. Its Moffat who does all the hard stuff, the writing and directing and runs things etc...thats when he can be bothered as its only six to eight episodes a year now as stated.....

Damn right he is not doing 14 hours a day. It makes me laugh...14 hours a day on a Tv set, sitting around with your mates, reading scripts, playing lets pretend in front of the camera, acting in front of a green screen, standing pressing buttons on the Tardis set, waving a sonic screwdriver prop around...free food and having a great time and getting paid thousands. It must be an absolute nightmare for him.....

Compare that to standing in a factory like Nissan on your feet from 8am until 5pm with only one break for lunch and doing shift work and only getting £250 - £350 a week to live on. Or being a soldier in Afghanistan, and knowing the next time you leave camp it might be the last thing you ever do, or a nurse having to clean up after people and care for the sick every day and getting paid a pittance wage...Its just stupid.

Plus theres the fact that for the last two years there has only been one season split into two, so thats 13 episodes across two years they are hardly pushing it and run off their feet. Matt Smith has had plenty of time to go off and do other projects IF HE WANTED TO...as he did with the Olympic rowing drama. If he was working so hard and it was so bad, he did not have to make that as he would have been sooooo tired from all the work he has been doing. Words fail me...well they dont but I hope you can see my point. If its so bad and so hard then leave and let someone else do it....Actors...overpaid playschool presenters half of them....

I haven't seen complaints from Matt Smith, who is a very good Doctor, much better than I expected.

It's more on the line of excuses for why the show is down to so few episodes ...

Executive producers are a dime a dozen. By tomorrow we'll all be like: Caroline.... Who

wow you are a sad bitter and twisted little man. i doubt many of us work in jobs as noble or hard as nurses or soldiers, but I bet most of us all have stress in their lives and work. 14 hour days for smith are quite normal, look around plenty of news stories discussing it and often they are shifts in freezing cold quarries over night.

It's an extremely hard job as is the executive producer role. It might not meet your lofty ideals but until you've walked a mile in someone's shoes quit beating them up when you have no idea how hard their work or lives are.

Actually,there was an incident during production of the almost people and the rebel flesh when Julian Simpson,the stories director was injured as a consequence of the terrible conditions during production and he persevered and made the programme anyway and there is often considerable pressure when there is limited access to locations like Stonehenge to get everything that's needed in the story,especially when the weather is very difficult.Everybody involved in making that story endured sub zero conditions for fourteen hours in a location which was quite dangerous because of the effect of the weather for a number of days,

Moffat doesn't do 'all the hard stuff' - Skinner's the executive producer which means she allocates money, makes sure everything's legal, and gets everyone there on the day. One of the most important jobs there is.
RE: it being a hard job- i mean relatively hard, if you're a tv producer. Probably about as hard as a tv producer has to work. Obviously it's not as hard as being a nurse/soldier/police officer, but then hey I never said that!

Fair enough. However I am just calling it as I see it. My wife is a Nurse and so is my Mother in Law. I have also worked long hours and done shifts. Being freezing cold in a quarry in the middle of the night cant be that nice.
However there is a difference between doing that for nothinh and getting paid a LOT to do it, and having people on hand with a warm coat, coffee or anything you want, and going out for a walk on your own in a freezing quarry at night with no one to help you and not getting paid for it. Do you see my point?
Anyway peace..and no I am not bitter, just very cynical now...and the fault lies in the life I have lead and what has happened to me personally. Its not your fault I know. Or Mat Smiths. I do actually rather like him and want him to stay around, but there are a lot of actors out there moaning about stuff they should be glad to do.

I know...see my above posts. Thing is most people in the UK now would be glad to do any of the above as things are so bad. So seeing people complain about it when getting paid so much, when some of us are struggling to find money to live on, eat or turn the heating on, does not often sit well.

Perhaps if you turn off your high-speed internet connection you'll be able to buy some food.