In 2007, David Tennant came to Blackpool to switch on the Illuminations after having just won the role of Dr Who in the BBC series. Here he takes a break from filming to light up the town. That year, the lights incorporated a Doctor Who display, including monsters from the revived series. As the then star of the show, David Tennant was invited to switch on the display for the massive event on August 31st. Also present was TV personality Dale Winton, who hosted the evening, and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, who designed part of the display, while acts performing included Natasha Bedingfield, Natalie Imbruglia, Gareth Gates, McFly and Ghosts. The Big Switch On went out live on BBC Radio 2.
David travelled up to Blackpool from Cardiff in the company of Julie Gardner. Due to work earlier in the day on the shoot for series 4 episode Planet Of the Ood, David was late leaving the set and then was held up in traffic on the M6. As a result, they were met by police motorcyclists on the outskirts of Blackpool and given an escort, complete with sirens and blue flashing lights, into the centre of town to ensure that they arrived on time.
A few years prior to then, he was in Blackpool playing Detective Inspector Carlysle in the BBC drama: Blackpool. In the series, he heads up the murder investigation of Ripley Holden (David Morrissey), and discovers he has an unexpected crush on Ripley’s wife, (Sarah Parish). The clip below is from that drama shot in Blackpool, August 2004.
