Well, 5 years after my last post, I should maybe use my blog again 🙈
Welcome to my little con report about David Tennant & Co. Anyone who knows me knows this was already a lie and that I can’t keep it short, always have to write way too detailed. So why should it be any different this time? However, I am including a few links so you can skip the parts that are too long/uninteresting to you.
Here’s the first one if you want to skip the prequel and go straight to the beginning of the con: Skip to the good part (if you get nausea from cheesy stuff, better skip too 😄)
btw: I’m German, so there might be mistakes in this English post. Please tell me if you find some so I can correct them. Thanks 🙂 (To the German blog post / Zum deutschen Post geht’s hier: *click*)
How to go the particularly stupid way to become a David fan
So, where do we start? 2015 I think. As I said, I have to go back a little. What was there almost 10 years ago? I was clicking around on YouTube and the algorithm suggested a thumbnail of a whiny guy, which I clicked. It was a video from the NTA Awards, which I had never heard of at the time, a Special Recognition Award was to be given to an actor called David Tennant. I’d heard of him before, but hadn’t seen anything other than Harry Potter. The award was a surprise for him; he was shown a video compilation in which colleagues/friends/family said lots of nice things about him. He was completely overwhelmed by this, his wife was constantly stroking his shoulder reassuringly. It was such a beautiful video that I watched it over and over again over the next years whenever YouTube suggested it to me. So what am I trying to get at? That I became a David Tennant fan almost 10 years ago? Nope. That I was a complete idiot almost 10 years ago.
Imagine you are going shopping and you pass a candy store. An employee stands in front of the door and gives away sweets for free. You take one and eat it and it’s so delicious! But what am I doing? I’m not going into the store because I think it will be expensive and unhealthy. This free candy was the NTA video. So I kept going back to the store to enjoy this same candy again, but I didn’t dare go into the store because I was afraid that it would be too good inside.
Fast forward to 2022. I’m at a convention where, among others, David Tennant is a guest. Visitors are really happy, I’m more like: aha, yeah, whatever. Someone on Facebook couldn’t come and gave away her DT photo voucher. I took it because a friend of mine is a big David fan and I wanted him to hold a photo of her so she can have a photo with him. It’s shortly after Covid, David has a no touch policy. Visitors are all sad, I’m more like: I don’t want to touch him anyway. Con over, friend is happy, great.
Another time jump. No idea where to exactly. Good Omens season one was out, Tennant and Gaiman and Pratchett fans alike were going crazy. I watched 3 episodes with Alex, my boyfriend, but somehow we couldn’t get into it and gave up.
So let’s go to late fall 2023. Friends are obsessed with Good Omens, especially the new second season. So I wanted to try again and binged the first season in one day, the second season in another (some episodes of it during a WAY too long bath 😄). And then I joined the ranks of my obsessed friends. What a wonderful series! And the two main actors were just SO incredibly good! That’s when I realized: I had been lured into the candy store. I was standing in the middle of it all, surrounded by the tastiest things in bright colors. I have no idea where the exit is, but I don’t even care. And in one corner there is also a big ball pit. I took a run-up and jumped in. And I’m still sitting in there today. Each ball is picked up one by one and admired until I choose a new one (thank you, Steph, for this metaphor). Non-metaphorically: I’m watching lots of David’s films/series and am extremely thrilled about what he does. I quickly discovered that he doesn’t have social media, but his wife does. I didn’t want to follow her though because I thought it was a bit unfair to her. Following her just because of her husband? A bit mean. But then I did it anyway and now I’m a big fan of hers too because she’s just so incredibly cool and great and funny. So she pulled me further into the depths of the ball pit. She must have also locked the shop from the inside, I’m sure of it.
And then happened what I had feared, but I was really happy about it: it was getting expensive. A convention organiser announced a Good Omens/Doctor Who crossover convention and it soon became clear: David would be a guest there. I’ve never thrown out so much money so quickly, but I did it with joy. The con would be my 43rd con (started early), and I think I’ve rarely been THAT excited. And I bought everything: ticket, fastlane, photo, autograph, meet & greet. It was exactly as I feared 10 years ago: going into this candy store called David Tennant was very expensive. Is it also unhealthy? I don’t think so. I don’t go stalking and I don’t have any wedding fantasies or anything 😂 But I’d absolutely love to work with him (wouldn’t be that difficult since we work in the same industry – but fuck you, Brexit).
Of course, other actors were invited too, I was also looking forward to them. Besides David I was most looking forward to Maggie Service and Nina Sosanya (Maggie and Nina in Good Omens), as I really like their roles. But I was also looking forward to Peter Davison and Ty Tennant, who played Job and Ennon in Good Omens. Peter also was a Doctor Who (the 5th), and they were also David’s father-in-law and his son, so it was a little family meet-up. It’s a real shame that Georgia didn’t complete the set, but of course someone has to look after the children. Or maybe she doesn’t feel like doing these events, which is fine too. There was also Janet Fielding, known as the companion of Peter’s Doctor and his predecessor, as well as Sylvester McCoy, who had played the seventh incarnation of the Doctor. I had seen him a few times before, even had the honor of filming him, so I was really looking forward to him. He’s so funny and even though he’s 80, he still has incredible energy. Last but not least: Rich Keeble and Donna Preston, who played Mr Arnold and Mrs Sandwich on Good Omens, were also announced, both members of the Shopkeepers and Street Traders Association on Whickber Street, where Aziraphale’s bookshop is located. Well, this was going to be a con with a full program, especially since it was only one day. And another thing: it took place in an old monastery! How fitting for the Good Omens theme!
Con preparations
A friend once sent me a link to Reddit that I couldn’t open unless I created an account. So I did that and decided to follow the /davidtennant channel. I quickly got to know a few people through this. One of them was called Su, she also planned to go to the convention and we quickly were on the same wavelength, so we decided to go together. I usually go to cons with a friend, but she hadn’t really gotten into Good Omens or seen Doctor Who, so it wasn’t for her. Another friend had thought about it, but since she’s from Scotland, it was pretty far away, so she had to think about it for a while. While she was still thinking about it, David’s photo op vouchers were sold out within a very short time. Shortly afterwards a second photo slot was opened up. I was worried that it would also sell out before my friend had made her decision. And what if she wanted to come and there were no more photos? How disappointing. So I quickly bought a photo in the second slot. Either she would come with me and I had secured the photo for her, or she wouldn’t come with me, then I would just have to take two pictures. In the end, reason prevailed for her and she decided against the con.
Another friend, Steph, (who lives even further away, in the US, so attending was out of the question) asked me to get an autograph for her from David on a piece of art she made. Of course I was happy to do that. So I had two vouchers each and also treated myself to a fastlane ticket (once you start with those, you can’t go back, it’s way too useful!). I also bought new shoes especially for the con: white shoes with glittery angel wings on them and LED lighting. Unfortunately one size too small because they are children’s shoes that aren’t available in my size, but I can bear for a day.
I had booked a hotel and a rental car for the 4-hour journey. I used the time listening to an audiobook of a beautiful fanfic that Steph had written and recorded. But I didn’t finish it in time, had to listen to the rest on my way back. When I got to the hotel, I checked in quickly (in the pouring rain), then picked up Su to go have dinner in an Italian restaurant. That way that we could get to know each other a little before we set off for the con the next day. We chatted for a long time, but still went back to our respective hotels early, so that we were well rested for the con. At the hotel I sorted my clothes for the next day: jeans, an Aziraphale T-shirt, and because it was going to be a little colder than expected a kind of blazer to wear over it.
The next morning, Su texted me saying that the actors were in the same hotel as her, she had seen them at breakfast. When I picked her up I also saw Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy, everyone was being picked up with a van. We waited a minute before driving to the con, so we didn’t look like stalkers or something.
Convention begins!
When we arrived, the parking lot was already quite full, we only got a spot in the back. Since I definitely wanted to go to the car every now and then, that would definitely be annoying, but that’s the way it is. The queue of people was already very long, but we thought we could skip the queue with our fastlane tickets anyway. But none of the securities knew about it, so we joined the loooong queue. And it was really long, went halfway through the forest, over narrow, muddy paths. The day before there had been pouring rain. Luckily that was over now, but everything was still wet. Good thing I left my white shoes in the car for now. As we waited, more and more people passed us to get in line too. A lot of people were in cosplay, one Crowley after another, one Aziraphale after another, one 10th Doctor after another. Very nice!
Finally the gates opened and the line slowly began to move. It went pretty quickly, soon it was our turn and our tickets were scanned. We got an indefinable stamp on our hand, some kind of angel cat gummy bear? This allowed us to leave and re-enter the area.
Next stop: information booth. This time there were only 2 people in front of us, but a new line quickly formed behind us. When it was our turn, we were given a green and a pink wristband, as well as a lanyard. So now we’re ready to go. Almost. Because we were still standing on the monastery grounds with no idea where we had to go 😄 We quickly downloaded the map, briefly orientated ourselves, and walked to the next building.
There was already a very long queue in front of a door. No sign and no staff in sight, but this time we went to the front of the queue to find out how the fast lane works. Though at first we looked over all the people’s heads into the room behind the door. David was already in there, wearing his glasses and an orange jacket. No beard. We looked through the door in delight for a short while, then asked those waiting in line about fast lane. “You have to nudge the bald man and he will help.” The man was standing inside, I was standing outside, with lots of people between me. But with my arm stretched out and a folder as an arm extension, the nudging worked, he brought us in immediately, so we got in quicker than we thought 😄 We had to sort our things for a moment! We stood to the side, letting the people behind us go first. First I got out the correct autograph voucher, quickly tested the pen that I had bought before and off we went to see David. My first autograph for today wasn’t for me but for Steph, who had created a beautiful cross-stitch picture of Good Omens, including diminutive quotes. I was happy to have David sign this picture for her, on the Crowley part of course. At her request, with a silver pen, that I had previously bought specifically from an office supply store because, strangely enough, my go-to stores like Müller or Kaufhof didn’t have any silver pens that wrote on fabric. I had already prepared the pen the day before: shaken it and pushed it until the color came out, so nothing could go wrong.
Autographs, first round
So, let’s go. The woman next to David asked me for my name for the personalization, but I didn’t need one, Steph didn’t want her name on her own artwork. No problem, the woman just got my autograph voucher and I went to David. He was announced 3 months ago, now it was finally happening. I don’t think I’ve been THAT excited about a con guest in a long time. I said “Nice to meet you”, presented him with the cross-stitch and pen and told him that this autograph was not for me, but for a friend. “Oh, I’ll do my very best!” he said, and “Let me make sure this is working.” while he tested the pen again. Better safe than sorry! He made sure again “just down here?” and then signed the Crowley. It wasn’t that easy because the fibers from the pen got tangled with the fibers from the picture, but it worked quite well. As he wrote, he took a closer look at the picture and said “That’s amazing! What a piece of work!” and I explained to him that it had taken her forever to do it. “Yeah I bet! What a beauty.”
I told him she lived in Portland, so it was a little too far to get to the con. “Yeah, sure. Send her my very best!” I thanked him and said I would come back later for my own autograph (“Very good.”) and said goodbye.
Until the day before, I had thought that I was gonna take a video or at least a photo of David holding the artwork while it was being signed, so that Steph could see David holding her work in his hands. But neither was allowed. I didn’t want to upset anyone, so I didn’t even try to do it in secret. After the event I saw SO many photos and videos of David during autographs and photo shoots, so many had ignored this rule. I was annoyed that I hadn’t just done it too. David might even have understood if I had asked him.
Su got her autographs after me, I waited at a distance until she was finished, then we left the small hall through the exit. First round done, yay! Next on our schedule were our photos with David. But there was still time until then, and we didn’t have to queue right away. So we went back to the car first so that I could get Steph’s autograph out of the danger zone (aka my bag). And I wanted to change my shoes. Most of the puddles had dried and the con area and parking lot were mostly free of mud.
Photos, first round – and second
Back on site we quickly found the entrance to the photos, where there was another long queue. We went to the front and asked about fastlane. “Oh, they’re already in, come with me.” We were taken to a staircase where we had to wait again. For security reasons only a certain number of people were allowed up, so we had to wait for people to come down again.
Finally we were allowed up and stood in line again. I have no idea whether we would have been allowed to fastlane past it again, but we had nothing else planned anyway and so we snaked our way through the beautiful attic of the building. We each had two photos, one we wanted to take with a pose, one with just a hug. The latter first, that was easier, the pose then in the second one. But we weren’t sure if he was doing hugs. As soon as he was in sight – now without glasses and without the orange jacket – we watched the people and what they were doing when taking the photo. When there were only about 10 people left in front of us, our voucher code was scanned. The staff who did this noticed my glowing shoes and said she thought they were cool. Yay, thanks!
One of the guests had finished taking the photo, but asked David to wave to someone at the back of the room who wasn’t taking a photo. David waved randomly into the room and was immediately given a direction correction. Whereupon he apologized that he didn’t wear contact lenses and therefore didn’t know where to look because „I don’t see a thing“. Hahaha, poor guy! Funnily enough, when I was putting in my own contact lenses in the morning, I was thinking about what kind of strength David’s lenses/glasses might have. The kind of thoughts you have in front of the bathroom mirror in the morning, it’s completely normal!? *cough* But now I felt a little sorry for him because it’s really annoying when you see everything blurry and don’t recognize any people.
Every time someone left the photo spot, David held out his arm to welcome the next person. Nobody gave a real hug, but like a half-hug. Most of them put their hand on David’s stomach and he held their arm. Well, then let’s do it like that.
I was first, let his arm welcome me, said “Nice to meet you” and, like the people before me, I put my other arm halfway around him so that my hand was on his stomach. Ooooooh his sweater was SO incredibly fluffy! Before I knew it, the photo had been taken, I thanked him and made room for Su. I went to the photo table where the photos were being printed. The digital photos should also be available relatively quickly, “maybe be more patient with David’s pics”. But that wasn’t necessary at all. While the photos were being printed, paper slips with QR codes and a poor black and white copy of the photo were also being printed out. “Don’t forget your receipts!” the staff said again and again. Our photos and QR code receipts arrived quickly, and I noticed that David hadn’t held my arm at all. Now it just looks like I’m touching his stomach, it’s hysterical 🤣 But whatever, it’s still a nice photo!
We took our bags and stopped again at a kind of counter towards the exit to sort our things and put the photos away. Out of curiosity, I snapped my QR code – and there was the digital photo! I’ve never had them THAT quickly! I was always happy when I got the digital copy on the same day or maybe even a few hours after taking the photo. But within seconds? Amazing! Very cool. Big, big plus for the Con. And a gold star.
We were just about to go back down the stairs when someone from staff came by and Su had the presence of mind to stop him to ask if we could stay for the second photo slot as fastlane holders, or if we had to get in line again downstairs. He clarified it on his walkie-talkie and we were allowed to stay upstairs. So we got back in line. Su already knew what she wanted to do in the photo, a pose from Doctor Who. I had a lot of ideas, but I didn’t know whether they would work and I hadn’t found any good photos on the internet that could be shown as examples to avoid complicated explanations. One of my ideas was to include a Good Omens book in the picture, but it was still in the car. And the line in front of us got shorter and shorter. Should I ask for a hug? But what if those were his hugs from the first picture today? Then I would have the same thing twice. And I didn’t want to force him into a “real” hug if he doesn’t feel like it. Luckily, at some point I had started saving various pose ideas in my phone, so I picked a funny one at the last minute.
This time Su was in front of me, she showed David the scene on her phone. David immediately knew what was expected of him and the photo was taken quickly. When it was my turn, I held out my phone and asked him if we could recreate this photo. He agreed, quickly asked if he should take the part of the man in the picture, which he should, and he quickly took it. Actually, all he had to do was stand there and look stupid. I, on the other hand, “had to” hug him from the side. I’ve done that sometimes with my bf Alex, I can just about get around, I can just about put my hands together. With David, however… I wrapped my arms around him and was around him so fast, I didn’t know what to do with my hands 🤣 He was even thinner than expected (not that I „expected“ anything, but… there was so little there! 🤣).
Do you know that feeling when, for example, you have an accident with your bike and go flying over the handlebars and the second of the fall drags on forever and you still think so many thoughts while you fall? This situation felt similar, it felt like ages where I thought about what I should do with my stupid hands. But apparently I just folded them up pretty quickly. And squeezing David was also a bit more pleasant than a bike fall hahaha. I thanked him again and said “see you later”.
On the way to the photo table I thought about what kind of face David had made, hopefully similar to the photo I had shown him? But what was I thinking, he’s a professional, of course he made exactly the face I had imagined, if not even better! With our photos and codes we went back to the counter where we could spread out our things and pack everything safely – and I quickly downloaded the picture.
Crowley, Crêpes and Peter
Back out of the building, we went to the building where the panels were taking place. We had a quick look before, Rich & Donna had been on stage then. Unfortunately I left them out in terms of photos and autographs, but at least I saw them briefly on stage. Their panel was almost over though (missed because we took the David photos). We watched part of Maggie & Nina’s panel then, and checked out the handful of booths that were in the panel room.
There weren’t many seats available anymore, so we decided to find something to eat. Outside, Su wanted to go to the toilet quickly, I waited for her in front of the toilet trailer. While I was waiting, a woman dressed as Aziraphale came by and called out “Anne!” I was confused for a second, as to who was calling my name? When I saw her, I knew she didn’t mean me. She called again: “Anne!” And I called back (at a normal volume): “Yes!” – she looked puzzled, now she was confused 😄 “Is your name also Anne?” The other Anne soon arrived – a woman with bright red hair and a Crowley outfit. Aziraphale complained to her that she had to look for her for so long that other Annes had already showed up 😄
In the panel room I had seen two people eating crepes, and now I wanted one too! In the room itself there was only a bar with drinks; and there was a fish and chips stand outside. Su briefly thought about getting something there, but then decided to go for crepes too. But they were next to the photo/autograph building again, so we walked back there, planned go to the Ty panel with the crepes afterwards. Even though the crepe line wasn’t particularly long, it still took forever to get moving. There were chickens running around us, so at least that was quite funny. At some point I realized that if this queue continued to be this slow … I should better go to get my Peter Davison photo first. I left Su in line, told her I would either meet her right back in line or I’ll come to the Ty panel.
I was able to go straight through to the photo room, there were only a few people ahead of me. In front of me there was someone dressed as Doctor Who. When he stood next to Peter, Peter immediately showed him how he should stand, to make the photo look better. Very nice of him.
When it was my turn, he greeted me shaking my hand and I said my “Nice to meet you”. He complimented me on my shoes, we smiled into the camera, and that was it. “See you later” and goodbye. These photos are funny sometimes: you only stand next to each other for a few seconds and yet you learn so much about the actor. Sometimes you can see how much they don’t want to be there. Or that they couldn’t care less. Or that they enjoyed being there and are happy about their fans. It was the same with Peter: he radiated warmth and was very gentleman-like, absolutely lovely. And you could feel that just within those few seconds. Can I please go meet him for a coffee please? (oh no, wait, I don’t like coffee at all… I’ll have a coke). Now I was even more annoyed that I hadn’t managed to watch his Doctor Who series beforehand to appreciate his work more (blaming you, Amazon!). I had also wanted to watch the Tolkien film to see a little more of Ty. I had actually only seen him and Peter in their Good Omens episode, that was it. But as it is with these streaming platforms: the things you wanna watch can’t be found anywhere!
I picked up my photo and QR code and packed everything up. While I was packing – this time not on the counter, but at the photo table, there wasn’t that much going on here – a staff woman approached me because of my shoes, she thought they were great. But we realized that she couldn’t wear them though because she had shoe size 43 and, as I said, they only came in sizes up to 37. Pity!
I went back to the crepe stand. I didn’t see Su, she must have already gotten her crepe. So I got in line and wrote to Af, who I knew through a Discord book club. We had arranged to meet “after the Peter photo”, and she then came to join me in the crepe queue and kept me company. So far we had only written to each other very little, had compared notes about chapters of various books with others, otherwise we pretty much didn’t know much about each other at all. But we were still able to have a good chat, especially about the things we had just experienced. As we chatted, I saw Su leave the queue with a crepe and head toward the panel building. Wtf? I had completely missed her! I thought I would follow her in a bit, but it took forever until I finally got my crepe. Af ordered one too and we went to sit at a table with her boyfriend, continued chatting. In the meantime I texted Su that I was meeting Af and where we were, she then joined us after the Ty panel.
David with peacock and Bentley
As we were sitting there, we saw David coming out of the backstage area at some point. His lunch break was over and another autograph slot would begin soon. First he stood there for a moment and watched the chickens and peacocks, which he also took pictures of, then he was taken back to the building by two security people. Everyone looked, but everyone behaved respectfully. Nobody ran over, nobody screamed, no panic, no nothing. He looked pretty tired, but he had already looked that way this morning, so it wasn’t from the con. When he was just outside the door and a beaming crowd awaited him, he looked up and smiled back.
We sat around for a while until Su slowly made her way to the next appointment: photo with David and Bentley. I actually still had Peter, Sylvester and Janet’s panel on my list, but I went with Su to watch. A Bentley was parked in front of the autograph and photo building. Actually it wasn’t a Bentley, it was a Citroên, but it looked very similar to a Bentley if you didn’t look too closely. The car was re-parked and then the queues were slowly sorted. There were so many spectators that it was easy to lose track. Su didn’t want to go first, so she waited with me for a while until there were enough people in front of her in the fastlane line. Then I took the bag from her so that she didn’t have to take it with her to the photo.
At some point David came and sat in the driver’s seat. With the door open and feet out though, so that the other person could stand next to the door to be in the photo with him. Staff said several times not to take any photos or videos, and even warned people who took them anyway – but that didn’t help, I still found lots of pictures and videos online afterwards. Such a pity.
The photos then started, one after the other was photographed with David. Lots of Crowleys, a Jack Harkness had brought a Trans Kids sign for David to hold, and at some point it was Su’s turn. Then we watched for a while, but left shortly afterwards to avoid the masses – and to prepare for the meet & greet. Su got a place in the first slot, I had one in the second one. I went back to the car, I don’t even remember why. I saw that a parking spot had become available a little closer to the gate and quickly reparked the car before I went back.
Su was now talking to other visitors and I spotted Melanie, the organizer of the event. I had written a few emails with her beforehand and went over to say hello. My brain quickly said bye-bye and only stammered, what the hell? 🤣 I think it just got tired of constantly switching back and forth between English and German and simply abandoned me. She soon went to the Bentley shoot, which was slowly coming to an end. Or ran away from my stammering hahahahaha, I wouldn’t even blame her.
Waiting for Godot David, with Ty and some Crowleys
I looked for a place to sit at a table where I wanted to wait until Su’s slot was over and it was my turn. I looked at my schedule for about the 127th time that day – and realized that it was Ty’s photo slot! I quickly jumped up and ran to the photo room, luckily Ty was still there. I didn’t want to pose with him in any particular way, just stand next to him. I stood next to him and he asked what we wanted to do. „I don’t know? Something cool?” I didn’t even look at him, how rude of me! I have no idea why, but my arm then did a pointing pose at him. Awkward situation 😂 poor guy, I’m so sorry! I thanked him and went to pick up my photo. Awkward photo hahahaha, but still nice. And he was nice too, it was just my brain that was still on lunch break 🤪
I quickly packed everything up again and went back to the meet & greet room. We had already taken a quick look inside before; there was a small room in the basement in which a small bookshop was set up. The room was quite long but small, there was a long table in the middle with a bunch of chairs around it, close together, there wasn’t any more space. We were wondering where David would sit? One of the chairs almost looked a bit throne-like, would that be his place?
But first we waited. The female Aziraphale came by again and called out “Anne!” and I called out “Yehes!” again, she laughed. Crowley-Anne soon arrived, the two jokingly argued, they had a lot of fun. That could also have been due to the shandy that Aziraphale had in her hand 😄 Aziraphale saw another Crowley and ran over. According to Anne-Crowley, to ask about the silver “tie” and where to get it. I said that there were some on etsy, and Aziraphale came back with this same information. Crowley-Anne told me about her facial tattoo, the small snake below her ear. She put it on this morning – only to read that the tattoo needs about 36 hours to fully develop. Great 😄 But you could already see it, so it wasn’t quite that bad, but it’s still a shame! In the meantime I found out that Aziraphale’s name was Judith and that the two of them wanted to go into the bookshop to get Anne’s bag. When someone came out, she was able to ask for the bag and got it.
Staff went through our tickets and asked us to line up along the wall. There was already a short queue there, the rest of us were scattered around the door. We did the zipper method to merge into the queue. I came in front of a Roman Crowley (they/them), immediately apologized for cutting lines, even though I wasn’t, but they were absolutely fine with it. We immediately started talking, with two other people behind us as well. The Crowley contact lenses were a bit twisted and were more horizontal than vertical, but that was because those weren’t specially made lenses, but cheap lenses from temu. They turned the lenses straight again, but within a few seconds they were twisted again. I don’t even remember what else we talked about. All I remember is that a woman behind me (I was standing next to Crowley by now) realized that she had to follow Georgia on Instagram, which everyone immediately confirmed.
After a while the first M&G group came out to take a group photo with David. Everyone was standing all over the place, no one knew exactly what needed to be done. David also stood there, towering everyone, not knowing what to do either. It was really funny, although I also felt a bit sorry for him. Someone quickly coordinated the photo and David knelt in front of the group. David then left the group and asked, “Do we go back in?”, and several people in the line quietly murmured “Yes, please?”
Meet & Greet with David (Skip it? *click*)
David went back in and finally we were allowed to go in too. David did not sit on the “throne” but on a couch in the middle of the table. Actually that was much better, because the “throne” was pretty much at the end, so not everyone would have seen well. But it was also funny because the couch was so low, that David almost looked like a small child at the dining table that can barely see over the edge of the table. We squeezed our way through the table and chairs on the opposite side of David. When he was right across from us, Crowley and I said to each other that we wanted to sit right here. Unfortunately that wasn’t possible, people were still coming and we had to keep moving. Nobody wanted to sit on the “throne” and the chair next to it though, because from there you wouldn’t have been able to see much of David. Suddenly, as if there had been a secret sign, we all just sat down and didn’t move up to the throne. And it was just right, everyone got a seat, despite the two empty chairs. And we still sat not far away from David and could see him well. Except Crowley, but that was because of their contact lenses. When we were still waiting outside, they had said that they could only see clearly in the very center, further out it became a little blurry. So now they decided to take out the contact lenses to properly see David. David noticed this and was happy with them when the lenses were out: “Oh, you can feel the relief!”
The first question David got asked, was about Crowley, and how much the role had changed his life. And when he buys a suit, if he thinks about if it fits Crowley (or something like that). David replied that it was quite life-changing as the series had received such a great response. And that it means he now only works with Michael Sheen 😂 He didn’t quite understand how that had to do with suits, but he said that when he started getting invitations to events, he thought that he couldn’t buy that many suits. But the good thing was: he doesn’t have to buy any suits! Because he’s provided with the suits and simply returns them. This means he doesn’t have to buy a suit for every event and doesn’t have a bunch of clothes that he never wears again afterwards.
He was asked, if – from an actor’s point of view – it was more challenging to act in a play or in a film/series. He said the work is very, very different, both in how you work and what is expected of you. The one thing is about rehearsing and then playing it through in one go. With the other, you do something 10 times until you get it right once, and then you never go back to it again. So they’re very different, rhythmically. He doesn’t think one is more challenging than the other, it’s just a different way of working. And it always depends. Sometimes things happen that you don’t necessarily expect. He gave Macbeth as an example. He never thought he would play this. He thought that it didn’t suit him well. And now that he has come to Macbeth, he thinks the language is beautiful and that it fits well. He said, sometimes you do something and it doesn’t work; you start with something, think you know it. And you end up feeling lost. He then summed it up again by saying that it’s just a difference in the way you work.
The next person would have had the same question, but also had a second one ready. She said that we all loved Staged (a show they did during lockdown, with Michael Sheen) and asked what it was like working with his wife. And quickly added that we all loved Georgia. David quickly explained to those who didn’t know Staged what it was: Because of the lockdown there was nothing going on and a friend had written a script which they then simply tried out.
At first they made it far too complicated. In the first episode there were a lot more camera angles, they worked with the camera in Zoom and also set up their mobile phones for additional perspectives, made it way too complicated, overthought it. They initially only produced one episode to see if it would work – it did, the BBC ordered 6 episodes and later another two seasons. So it was something quite unplanned and became a happy accident for them in lockdown while everyone was stuck at home trying to homeschool. David asked if anyone had homeschooled their children. Someone responded very sarcastically, „Yeah, fun!“ and David responded both compassionately and annoyed, „Oh my Gooood, it was hell!“ He said that he and Georgia always had to catch a moment when the kids were busy. And of course he thought it was great to work with Georgia. He said that the two recorded their scenes on their own. During the Zoom calls everyone was there: the director in his home, Michael and Anna in theirs, Samuel L Jackson and other guests in their house, so it felt like you were working with a lot of people in one room. But then they recorded their scenes alone, without a director, just the two of them: set up the camera, press play (my inner smartass wants to say “press RECORD!”), and try to keep the children quiet. He particularly enjoys working with Georgia and would like to do more. Just not necessarily in their home.
The next person said something about Ty’s panel and that they had talked about Georgia’s cooking skills and that she often burns the food. David understood “burn the poo” and was extremely confused. The questioner apologized, but David immediately assured her that his bad hearing was to blame 😄 and then confirmed that something burns every now and then. The question came as to whether he was a good cook: yes, if he had time and a recipe, and everyone left him alone 😄 He said he could make pretty much anything, he just needed the recipe and everyone should go away. But that never happens. So he rarely gets to do it. But when he does, he can follow a recipe very well. Georgia, on the other hand, is the opposite: she can’t follow the recipes, even refuses to. So they are very different and approach things differently. She is a bit more instinctive, which means that sometimes things are cooked a bit too long.
We came back to Crowley next. A pretty cool Crowley wanted to know, how David stopped the contact lenses from twisting. She said that less than 10 minutes after putting in her Crowley lenses, she would already look like a goat. David immediately understood what she meant and explained that in the second season they had slightly better lenses that were weighted to keep them from swiveling as much. But they still did, so he had to constantly fiddle with his eyes. Some of it was also corrected digitally afterwards, which is why he asked himself at some point whether they couldn’t just be put in digitally? Does he really have to wear them? Couldn’t he save himself that? But yeah, they’re imperfect. They were better in the second season, maybe they will be even better in the third?
The next question was also about Crowley. He was asked, when he took on the role, if he intentionally made it genderqueer, or if it just happened along the way. He replied that he had never thought about it and it was never written that way. Some people just assumed that, and he’s fine with that, he said it actually makes sense. Apart from what is in the script and how these characters are described (both in the book and in the scripts), they are essentially their own creations. They are not human, and therefore, in his opinion, they are not something that necessarily needs to be recognized specifically. But that’s just what he thinks in retrospect. There was no conscious decision, it was just what happened.
The person who had asked the question quickly added that the way he portrayed Crowley meant a lot to many non-binary people. David said, that was one of the lovely things about how the series was received. It was well received everywhere, but especially in the LGBTQ+ communities, which has been a real joy for him. Coming to events like this and seeing how many people dress up as characters from the series and talk about how the characters have influenced their lives, he said he’s thrilled and couldn’t be more honored to be a part of it.
The next question was about the changes in David’s life and he didn’t really know where to start. What changed things on a professional level, was probably Doctor Who. There would be something good and something bad: he kinda lost his anonymity, because until then he was „just an actor some people knew from some things“. But now he was in a show that had such a level of enthusiasm and worldwide recognition, which changes a lot, but would also bring wonderful advantages. He also met his wife there, which probably changed his life the most. Otherwise he wasn’t entirely sure and had to think about it again.
Next up was Doctor Who, the questioner said it was a gift to see him return as the Doctor. “Oh, for me too!” said David. She wanted to know what he had thought when he got the script and read about the bi-generation. Would he have expected it? David replied that he always knew Russell T. Davies was going to do that. He always said he had a little plan for some kind of return. And that was always that plan. The idea was that David should come back. But it shouldn’t just be a little extra story that was just never told, it should be part of the ongoing story. (I haven’t finished watching Doctor Who yet, in fact I only just started watching in January, started with 9th, am still at 10th, so I don’t understand everything – yet.) David said he probably didn’t know every detail of Russell’s plan, but he did know the basic idea that the Doctor would split in two and one would be left behind. David found this unexpected and lovely. And a reason to tell a little more of this story. It would have been great to come back and run around again anyway. But adding a new chapter, so to speak, to this sixty-year-old story was something he was very proud of and it was a great honor for him to be a part of.
We went back to Good Omens: what was David’s best and worst experience while filming? “Being bitten by the dog wasn’t great.” 😄
He thought it was best to get to know people. He liked the fact that there were some people in his life who weren’t there before. He had known Michael (Sheen) a little bit, “but now I can’t get rid of him.” And that wouldn’t have happened without Good Omens. And since it was so successful and had such enthusiastic fans, it changed his life quite a bit. He said it was very humbling to be on a show like that, he thought it was wonderful.
Worst? There weren’t really any bad parts, it was a really great job and he was looking forward to it again. He was actually sad because the worst thing was that there wouldn’t be a fourth season. Although they would have been lucky to have had three seasons at all, since everyone always assumed they would only get one. But the contact lenses are a bit annoying. “And the glasses!” someone said. But he said he doesn’t mind the glasses. It’s just a little challenging to see something with it when you’re in a cemetery in Stirling in the middle of the night with contact lenses and sunglasses. But it’s worth putting up with that, because he gets to be a part of the show.
The next person said that she had been following David’s career for quite a few years now and also mentioned „Takin‘ over the Asylum.“ That’s a show I’d like to watch soon, have heard lots of good things about it. And I saw on the cover of the series that Ken Stott also plays a big role in it and I like him a lot too.
The questioner told David that we all love to watch his work and seeing him do it with so much passion. And that working on Doctor Who must’ve been a dream come true for him (“Yeah!”). That’s why she wanted to know if David had more dreams or goals that he still wanted to achieve in his career.
David said that it was hard to know. He said that as an actor you’re kind of at the mercy of the script, and before you’ve even seen it, it’s difficult to aspire to one. With Doctor Who it was a little different because it already existed, he grew up with it and grew up loving it. But if the Doctor Who reboot hadn’t been well written, or somehow half-baked, then he might not have wanted to be involved. He was very lucky. He was lucky that something that meant so much to him as a child came back and, when he came along, it was written by Russell T. Davies. There was a lot of moving parts and he felt very fortunate to be in the middle of it.
Otherwise, there might be a few plays he would like to do. But he usually only knows what he wants to do when someone shows him something or writes to him, or says “There you go, there’s this.” He said it’s also nice to develop ideas. And that it’s nice to work with people he knows and loves. He is always happy when such opportunities present themselves. Because part of the joy of work would be hanging out with nice people. And the more you do, the sooner such opportunities arise. He would like more of that. But until he sees a project, he doesn’t really know what he wants to do next. „That’s the problem.“
The next question was how many scripts Neil Gaiman had already sent him for the third season of Good Omens and how many of them he had read. „Three so far, so we’re halfway through.“ There was a short moment of expectant silence, followed by David’s laughter: „I’m not gonna tell you!“. He read the first three episodes and the last scene. A delighted “Oooh” went through the room. David believed that Neil wrote the final scene before writing the first episode. So he’s read a little more than half, and he’s very excited. The questioner asked how many scripts Michael Sheen had received, to which David explained that they both received the same thing. It would be problematic not to send them the same. Therefore, the two are as up to date as one can be. And he believes that the fourth episode is imminent.
Next, David received a gift: a book that someone had made, which he immediately inspected and expressed his thanks. The gift-giver’s question was about an appearance David made many years ago with Derren Brown, a magician. The questioner was married to a magician, so she was interested in what it was like for David to experience magic and whether it worked for him (it was about hypnosis, among other things). David said he definitely wasn’t acting. And no one had told him what to do. Still, he said that he knew it was expected of him to a certain extent and that it was part of Derren’s genius to make him just go along with it. Then it was about a cat (I’ll have to look for it and take a look at it), David couldn’t figure out this trick. He told us his theory and quickly added „Or maybe it’s magic.“
Now that so many questions had already been asked, I had finally worked up the courage to ask something too. I had thought about what I could ask before and had now decided on a question. But then Melanie, the organizer of the event, spoke up. She had sat next to David most of the time, but at one point she had to cough and moved to the side. She said that there wasn’t much time left and that only two more questions could be asked. I slowly raised my hand, which David saw out of the corner of his eye and pointed his hand at me so fast that everyone laughed. “Go! Go! Go!” David shouted through the laughter.
I asked what made him happy and what a perfect day would look like for him. David was a little surprised by the question: “Oh! Wow!” Crowley next to me quietly said that it was a good question and a few of the others also mumbled quietly. Made me a bit happy that they all liked my question. David was almost annoyed with himself that he couldn’t give a direct answer because he had so many answers. So I said he could have three perfect days.
He would like a day where everyone is home and noone wakes up before 7 am. Everyone laughed, he followed up with “or maybe even 7:30” in a conspiratorial voice, as if this was such an impossibility. “Then we have bacon and eggs and everyone just hangs out, is happy and no one has a meltdown.” That would be lovely. He also loves discovering places in London that he has never been to before. He and Georgia had started going to galleries they had never been to, there were so many of them in London. He finds things like that exciting. But he also enjoys working, he said, on some of the great things that he gets the opportunity to be a part of. He feels like he has quite a few versions of perfect days, but probably the real one he dreams of is a day where nobody wakes up till eight o’clock. „And then we all just hang out and everyone’s nice to each other.“ Because there’s not really anything better than that.
I thanked him. What a lovely answer. If he knew that I usually sleep until 10 am when I don’t have to work 😄 But without children it’s not that difficult.
Opposite of me, two people spoke up at the same time, David pointed to one of them, the other one made a disappointed “ooh” sound, but then laughed and said that she was married to the other one, so it wasn’t that bad. Her question was about the body swap in the first season of Good Omens and how they prepared for it. Did he and Michael give each other tips on how to play each other? David said that they didn’t do that, they actually did an impression of each other. But this scene came very late in the shoot anyway, so they had had enough time to learn what the other person was doing. And for most of the scene they would have had to play it as if there had been no body swap anyway. So it’s a bit of a trick, this one scene at the end, in which they drop the facade a little.
There was a fun bit during rehearsal: Michael pretended to be David and said all the things that David would say to him if he was rude. Neil heard this and thought that David had really said those things to Michael and thought he had to break up a fight between the two of them because Michael was saying so many awful things about himself. Hilarious! There was a lot of laughter in our M&G group. (Reminds me of school theater, about 100 years ago, where my role argued with a friend’s role, we were practicing at a table in the school’s hallway, another friend came over and was completely horrified because she thought we were having a serious fight 😂). The thing with Michael unfortunately happened off-camera, unfortunately no funny behind the scenes footage for us, what a shame! David summarized that he and Michael hadn’t really talked about the body swap scene, but that it was definitely a fun way to end the series.
Melanie said that one more super quick question could be asked, then we would go out to take the photo. Someone didn’t have a question, but a request, her question had already been answered anyway. But she wondered if David could still pronounce that long place name in Wales. Without batting an eye, David started: “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch”. I don’t know if he said it all correctly, but he said it with such confidence, it must’ve been correct. The ending was certainly was, I remember the „gogogoch“ 😄 He got a round of applause for that and we all got up and walked out.
We positioned ourselves for photos. Of course, the inner spaces around David were quickly filled, I had to stand pretty far from him. So I decided to kneel in front of other guests like a few others did too. It was still far away from David, but I already had two photos with him, so that’s alright.
Missed photo – and the search for seats
Next I went back to the photo room to ask if Maggie and Nina were still there. I had asked beforehand when it was obvious that David’s M&G would be delayed, but unfortunately the photos were all on time. That’s why Nina and Maggie were already gone, but together with another M&G participant who had also missed them, I was told that there would be another opportunity later for everyone who had missed photos due to the M&G. “It’s best to be there a few minutes early.” Okay.
Su was standing in line for a trio photo, I told her I would go to the panel room and find us seats for David’s panel. There was still almost an hour left, but I didn’t have anything else to do until then anyway. I’d rather secure a good spot. Or so I thought. Well I thought wrong: the panel room was packed. Of course, I wasn’t the only one who had free time in my schedule, and many of the people hadn’t booked many/any photos, so they just stayed in the panel room all day and were entertained there. I would’ve probably done the same!
I stood relatively close to the entrance for a while, but you couldn’t really see that well, there were too many people in front of me. There were already people standing on the wall opposite me, but I saw a fairly large gap, big enough for two people. Just before I got there, another person walked into the gap, damn it! I still went in there too to secure the place, then we’ll see. The people who stood alongside the wall weren’t crowded together, so Su would find room there later.
The line of questioners was soon placed in the narrow aisle that was still left between us wall-standers and the rows of chairs. Now there was hardly any space left. Su finally came, I was able to direct her to me via messenger and by waving at her. She was able to take up the very last bit of space that was left. She wasn’t sure yet if she wanted to ask a question, but we had just the perfect spot for that: to get in line, she just had to take a tiny step forward and she was in line. But in the end she didn’t ask anything. I discovered that one of my shoe’s lights had gone out. I didn’t have them lit up all day, but sometimes for quite a long time. So I switched the second shoe off too and walked around without lights for the remaining few hours. They’re still cool, the wings alone are pretty!
The panel with Gerrit Hamann, David’s voice actor, soon came to an end and we saw David already standing next to the stage. I took out my camera, which I had taken with me especially for the panel. Hadn’t used it in ages. In front of me (in the question line) was a Doctor Who who immediately apologized for standing in front of me and leaned to the side so I could take a better photo. But he was a lot smaller than me, so watching the panel and taking photos worked without any problems.
David’s panel (Skip it? *click* )
Someone recorded the whole panel, so if you’d rather watch than read, you can watch it here:
The host announced the next guest – in German – and listed how we would know him. David was already smiling expectantly – but then Gerrit Hamann was invited back onto the stage. Everyone – including David – was confused for a moment, which was very funny. David was then brought up on stage and Gerrit asked him if he was practical. David thought about it for a moment, then said “yes,” and Gerrit wanted to know to how. David stammered very hard and finally said “I can have some transferable skills. I can make things happen.” It was so funny! Made me think of the series “There She Goes” that I had just watched before. David plays a father and has pretty much no practical skills at all, the stammering reminded me of it 😄 Gerrit asked if David could repair things or break things – “I can definitely break things!” Hahaha, the panel was already hilarious. You could also tell that David didn’t know AT ALL what Gerrit was getting at. Gerrit briefly talked about his hobbies until he came to the topic of screwdrivers. There’s of course one in Doctor Who, and Gerrit brought one for David as a gift. However, a real screwdriver, for screws. David was happy and was very excited when he saw that you could even swivel it, even more so when he also got a fancy box: “I’m almost aroused by this screwdriver.” 🤣 And when he saw that his name was written on the screwdriver, he was even happier. Even though he now no longer had an excuse not to fix things. But when, out of sheer enthusiasm, he asked the audience if we had ever seen screwdrivers that swivel and almost everyone said “yes”, he was a bit pissed at us 🤣
Gerrit then left the stage, David and the host sat down on two old, upholstered chairs. Well, let’s put it this way: the host took a seat, David needed several attempts to find a sitting position on the chair hahaha. But completely unconsciously, he didn’t even notice that he was sitting strangely at times. David said this was the most beautiful con he’s ever been to. It was about the location, but I think he liked the rest too. First there was a short chat about Scrooge McDuck (David is his voice actor) and the pronunciation of “This is my number one dime”. The R is rolled from the numberrrr into the one, but you shouldn’t overdo it because otherwise you’ll sound like Scotty on Star Trek. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not really a proper Scottish dialect either. At least that’s what David said. Now I’m wondering if he was talking about the original Scotty or the new one 😄
The first question from the audience was if David thought he would get along well with Crowley if he met him in real life. David said he would definitely be fun to hang out with. “The thing is: he actually got a heart of gold. […] He’s a rubbish demon. He’s absolutely awful at following what hell has inscribed.” And that he’s no longer part of it anyway and is a freelance agent. But it would be fun to hang out with him. Aziraphale, on the other hand… „well, he would keep the place clean“, but with Crowley you could have a good night out. Maybe you shouldn’t rely on him too much though.
The next question was if David had ever stolen anything from the set. He said if he would, he couldn’t admit it, otherwise it would be theftery. He thought about it for a bit, but couldn’t think of anything. He only has things that had been given to him. He explained that it would also be problematic if you steal something from the set that they then need again. So if you don’t want to bring production to a halt, you have to be careful what you want to steal. He doesn’t think he’s ever taken anything he shouldn’t have taken, but he still has a few things. During their panel, Sylvester, Peter and Janet had said that they had all stolen something from the set – “Well that just means that they’re not as good people as I am!” 😂
The host spotted a boy in the audience, who had apparently made a bet with his friends and received €5 after getting a high five from him. The host wanted to know how much money the boy would get if he got a high five from David. “A lot.” David jumped up and waved the boy over, even gave him two high fives. Then David sat down again and said that the boy would probably get 6,15€ now 😄
The next questioner said that David had been to Germany a few times now and asked if there was anything that would impress him, like some buildings or food or something. “The peacocks are very impressive!” He said that the German peacocks are much more approachable than the British ones. It would be better not to get close to the British ones, but the peacocks here would almost come up to you for a chat. We had already seen David walking around taking photos of the peacocks with his smartphone, he seemed to be very enthusiastic about them 😄 But they were indeed very impressive, especially a white one. David briefly chatted with the host about peacocks and that it’s actually not that good when they put up their feathers because (David) „they want you to f off, or f…“ – „in.“ (host) . But to summarize what impressed him: “the German peacock.”
He also said that he liked being a part of Europe and he wished he still was. The host said that David had a piece of Europe at home because he had a Mercedes van. Blank look from David, murmur in the audience, David: “that’s an odd detail” and immediately justified the car by saying that he also has a lot of children. I think he was a little uncomfortable that someone knew what kind of car he had. Ok, several people probably knew that from Georgia’s videos, but brought into conversation so randomly, it was a bit strange. David quickly brought the conversation back to Europe and apologized for the “stupid British politicians” and that he would like to be more connected to Germany, but still is in his heart.
The next person in line said that she was a big fan of emotional scenes. She wanted to know if David had an emotion that he loved portraying and if he also had an example of a scene that he particularly enjoyed. David’s answer was that he doesn’t have a emotion that he likes most. Rather there’s some kind of a tingle when he reads the scenes. It can be a sad scene, a poignant scene, a scene full of anger. It doesn’t matter what, but that’s what he looks forward to when he reads something. It’s as if the emotion is rising from the page. As an actor, he then looks forward to this scene, although it also makes him nervous. Because you know that it is a very special scene, but you only have one day to shoot it. His example was a scene from Doctor Who, in which the Doctor says Goodbye to Rose on the beach. He said you look at the shooting schedule all the time and know: you have to be in good shape that day! But luckily you have Billie Piper as your counterpart and it always turns out well.
David was then asked to talk about what it was like when Georgia told him about the fennec foxes. Quick info for those who don’t know: there is a Twitter page (and an Instagram page based on it) that does daily posts of side-by-side pictures of a fennec fox and David, in which the two of them look the same.
David thought about it for a moment, then jokingly asked annoyed: “Now what is this!?” but knew straight away that it was something Neil Gaiman said. But that immediately turned back into complete confusion, which was expressed in a high-pitched voice and “What…what…what?” Big laugh. The host said that he felt like Georgia was getting him in situations like this all the time, but David was quick to say that he didn’t think it was her fault, which the questioner confirmed. David thought that Georgia didn’t quite understand that either and asked if the person asking the question had understood. Half the audience said yes, and David had it explained: When asked about the next season of Good Omens, Neil had once jokingly said that there were money problems and that they couldn’t afford David. That’s why they got a few fennec foxes because no one could tell the fox from David anyway. David asked if Neil was very drunk and said that a fennec fox would definitely do an excellent job in the third season. When the questioner commented with “Oh yes, please!”, David was briefly confused and pretend-offended that he was already being recasted. But first he wanted to know what a fennec fox actually was. The host compared it to a Salisbury steak (huh?) but then said that it was the cute foxes that you would like to have as a pet. That finally calmed David down: “Oh, as long as I’m a cute one, that’s alright.” 😄 The questioner added that the foxes mainly lived in the desert and that’s why they had such big ears. David repeated the first part of her sentence: “They live mostly in the desert…like me. I understand how you can mix it up.” 😂
Next question was if there might be a change for another season of “Broadchurch”. There was thunderous applause, which even David seemed surprised by. He didn’t want to disappoint the fans after their reaction, but he said that it actually didn’t look that good. He said it was a great time, with great people and wonderful scenes that the fans were thrilled by, but nothing was planned at the moment. “Never say never,” he added, as he didn’t expect to return to Doctor Who again. “Everything is possible – but nothing is planned.” Before she left, the questioner said that David’s sweater was so incredibly fluffy, whereupon David stroked his side with weirdo-sexy hand movements, it was hilarious. He opened the sweater – finally, I had wanted to know what was on the T-shirt (I don’t know… zebras?) and started looking in the sweater for the blurb. He said he got the sweater at a job, he didn’t buy it himself. The host said that the sweater was something he had stolen from the set, but David quickly denied this and continued to look for the blurb in his sweater. The host asked if it was Kashmir. David said he thought so, because he would never buy one. Finally he found the blurb: 100% cashmere. He leaned back in the chair proudly. The host went back to the first part of the question and said that he was still waiting for the second season of Blackpool. David said there was a second part, but he wasn’t in it. “That’s why it was rubbish,” he said jokingly.
The next person noted that Crowley and the Doctor both had connections to the stars: Crowley had come up with a few constellations and the Doctor comes from the universe. And “Around the World in 80 Days” also has a star connection, the name “Stella”, which Phileas Fogg is in love with. In addition, David had recently worn a lot of beautiful suits (David thanked him happily) that were also star-themed. The questioner therefore wanted to know if he had a special connection to the universe, and if so, whether he had had it before playing these characters or if it came afterwards.
First, David made it clear that he thinks astrology and zodiac signs are bullshit. Applause from the audience – David had to laugh about it, thought it was a surprisingly good reaction. And was glad that Catherine Tate wasn’t there because she loves that stuff .
But he is still fascinated by the stars and what actually happens in the universe, how mysterious and, above all, how far away they all are. He can’t get it into his head that even the nearby stars are so far away: When you think about it, you realize how insignificant you are. He would find all of this endlessly fascinating and beyond what his brain could compute. If he thought about the Big Bang and how matter compressed and what happened before that, that it was all so inconceivable, he would find it all extremely fascinating. When he thinks about it, it makes him a bit queasy. Since everything was so far outside of our comprehension, he was overwhelmed by it and sometimes panicky a bit about it. The host asked if he has anxiety about it. David said if he asked him about what happened before the Big Bang, „I’ll get a bit panicky about it,” He would find it very exciting. But he is not interested in what the Pisces will do tomorrow. Nevertheless, he asked the questioner for a zodiac sign – Pisces! “I knew that, I saw that you were a Pisces,” said David. “Typical Pisces!” Before she left, the questioner quickly said that she had asked the question about astronomy, not astrology, because she knew that David didn’t like astrology. David: “That’s because I’m an Aries.” 😄
The next questioner – also Aries, by the way – had a question about David’s roles. If David could meet the characters he played, what would he say to them or do to them? Of course David would want to fly around in a time machine, you couldn’t resist that. And then it could last longer than just staying for a day, he could stay as long as he wanted since time is wibbly wobbly. But he would also like to be on Team Killgrave for a day, there is so much good that can be done. Whisper in Putin’s ear, or tell Boris Johnson to lock himself in the house and never come out again. That is very tempting.
Next up was “West Wing,” David’s favorite show, and whether David had a favorite scene. His favorite character is Josh and he also likes CJ. But a favorite scene? He thinks it’s great that everyone is smarter than you could ever be, that they can think faster than they can talk. However, he thinks more and more often that it is unfortunately a kind of fantasy show in which the government actually helps people, and where people go into public service to make it better. That made his heart swell.
Next topic: the Dilf list. Of course it would be a bit silly, but he won’t take himself off the list. He’s very happy to be on it. But Pedro Pascal? He’d be hot and a good-looking man, but he’s not a father at all? The host explained that Pedro plays a father in two of his most popular roles. David angrily said that he had played the Prime Minister of the UK and that wouldn’t make him the best politician. The host suggested the title “Pilf” instead, but David just said that that would be a very short list. And that it was a little unfair. Losing Pedro would only move him up one spot, but he’ll take what he can get. The questioner said that at least he was above Michael Sheen. “We don’t need to bring it up. Again. But tweet at him. No, don’t do that.” 😄
The next person was from France, a short exchange in French followed, I didn’t understand a thing (3 years of French at school, nothing stuck, yay). The question then was how David prepared for his role as Doctor Who. “I watched it since I was three.” 😄 That was his preparation, he never missed an episode. So he had already prepared long before he came on set. Otherwise, he just reads the scripts and then does his own version of them. Fortunately, they are very well written. The way Russell T. Davies wrote the stories and reinvented the world of Doctor Who, and still stayed true to the old world without contradicting itself, but moved it forward. Bringing Doctor Who into current times makes it a good show. It’s generally a great show that he’s loved since he first saw an episode. So it was a treat that didn’t require much research. During the conversation, David repeatedly received praise for being a good actor, which also contributed to his success. It always made him a bit uncomfortable, but he always thanked her politely. Well she’s absolutely right!
The next questioner was from the UK and was born on April 18th (David’s birthday) but in 1998, so he was 7 years old when David became the Doctor. David: „Let me guess, you’re Aries?“ 🤣 The questioner said that he liked re-watching the Who seasons he grew up with, as he watched Doctor Who obsessively back then. He wanted to know if being the father of one of his childhood Doctor’s grandchildren influenced David’s watching old Who episodes. David had to correct the sentence first, as he was, after all, the father of ALL the grandchildren of a childhood doctor. It took him several attempts and several confused facial expressions – and then he forgot the question 😄
He said he doesn’t really watch old episodes very often. But things had already changed while he was the Doctor, so he would have had a different view of it, in a positive sense. It still felt weird, watching the show. Not so watching the new episodes, he likes to watch them because he wants to continue to be a part of it, but going back is weird. He definitely doesn’t watch his own episodes, only when he really has to to look something up. The questioner recommended that he do it anyway. David wanted to know which episode he should watch. It was “Midnight,” which David also liked.
Doctor Who was such a big part of David’s life that it would never really go away. And it’s also a big part of his family’s life, so they don’t actually sit down to watch old episodes. But that’s also because he has 5 children and doesn’t have a minute to spare. He actually didn’t see anything. But he’s seen a lot of Paw Patrol, so much he could tell us about every episode. But when he does catch an episode of old Doctor Who on TV, it brings him endless joy because it meant so much to him as a child. It still brings a tickle of joy when he hears the theme music, no matter which version of it.
Next up they brought a statue onto the stage, David didn’t even know what it was at first. The host explained to him that it was the statue from his (Crowley’s) apartment. It’s an angel and a demon fighting each other. The statue bearers (dressed as Crowley and Aziraphale) tried to turn the statue so that one figure’s bare bottom wasn’t pointing directly in David’s direction, but that attracted David even more, he even stood up to look at the whole thing, take a closer look and knock on the statue. He thought it was really beautiful.
David pointed to the statue’s butt: „Is that based on my bum?“ 😂 And when that was answered with a „yes“, he thanked her in a serious tone. Then added “That is the correct answer.” and laughed. The host said it would be funny if David signed the butt. David asked the owners of the statue if he should sign it and then immediately jumped up to attend to it. “I’ve got four bits of bum to choose from.” David stated. After consulting with Aziraphale, he decided on one of the butt cheeks. But the pen the host had given him was mashed up and wouldn’t write properly. The host wanted to show that the pen could write, but David stopped him with “don’t mess it up” and then asked for a Sharpie. It was brought to the stage for him so he could sign. Afterwards he said “It’s not the first bum I’ve signed, but it might be the prettiest.” He elegantly threw the pen back to the owner while the host asked what he meant by it not being the first bum he had signed. “Oh I’ve signed plenty of bums, what are you talking about?”, as if it was the most normal thing in the world 😄 And then complimented the butt again, saying it was beautiful.
From bums it went back to astronomy. Someone asked David about “Eddington” and wanted to know if he had ever seen a total solar eclipse. He hadn’t seen any yet. There had been a solar eclipse in the UK in 1999. At the time he was in Manchester, which was just outside the line of totality. The questioner said that there would be a solar eclipse in Spain in 2 years, which David wanted to put into his diary. David said he was recently in the US when the solar eclipse happened there, but he was on the wrong side of the US, so that didn’t work out either. The questioner explained what it felt like to see a total solar eclipse, and David finished by asking what her zodiac sign was. “Sagittarius.” – “Typical Sagittarius! Typical! Textbook Sagittarius!” 😂
There was now only time for one more question. The questioner let David decide whether he wanted a question about the BAFTAs or about Macbeth, he immediately chose Macbeth. The question was about the role of the king in Macbeth, what being king meant to him. David replied that it was about ambition and what people are aiming for. Whether you can manifest your dream, etc. I didn’t quite understand the answer, which is probably because I haven’t seen or read Macbeth (YET!).
Before ending the panel, the host pointed to someone in the audience and said that a young visitor could use some comfort since he saw her crying all the time. David looked through the audience until he saw her. He immediately jumped up and calmingly asked her what was up, waved her to him. „Come on, you’re just amongst friends.“ David gave her a big hug and told her everything was going to be great. By chance I later found the girl on Instagram, and if I read it correctly, she was crying because of her joy over David. He jumped back on stage and said thank you, ending the panel.
Last photo op
The panel started later than planned, so of course it ended later. I wanted to go to the Nina & Maggie photo immediately after the panel, the alternative slot was now. The thing about “being there 5 minutes before” didn’t work because of the delay, to be more precise it was more like “5 minutes later” now. I left Su behind, jogged across the grounds back to the photo building and asked the staff if Maggie & Nina were still there. They were, but I should hurry. So I hurried up the stairs and through the hallway into the photo room, where all the guests were (except David of course, who was just at the panel). Sylvester was sitting on one of the chairs, the others were standing around talking. Maggie and Nina were almost leaving, but were asked to go to back the photo spot again for me. I apologized to them several times, but they both said “no no, it’s okay!” several times. As we stood there, Nina noticed that the two of them were now standing the other way around than in all the previous pictures. “Your photo is very special!” Heehee! The photo was taken quickly again, I said goodbye with “see you later at the autographs.”, which both were happy about.
I packed everything up again – scanned the photo code first, of course – and went back downstairs, where the staff immediately asked if everything had worked out. It had! Later I wondered if the woman who had asked about the duo photo earlier also made it to the photo? Did she leave the panel early for this? Did she run over too? Before me? After me?
Last autographs
I went out again, sat at a table in front of the autograph room and told Su where she could find me. Then I started printing again. I had already printed out the two David photos, and now I quickly printed the pictures of Peter, Ty and Nina & Maggie. I had bought a mini printer, which was a really good idea. Even though the pictures could be a little bigger, it’s still a great thing. The original photos are always way too big for my autograph book. I glued the pictures into the book and a woman at the table curiously asked about the printer and whether it would print stickers. Unfortunately not. Of course that would be even better if the pictures were adhesive, but I bet you can buy that too. I now had to work with sticky dots, also easy. I also wanted to put a sticker in my book with the two David photos; I had previously bought a few funny David stickers from etsy. But I couldn’t quite decide, so I asked Su, who decided on the Pineapple version (alternative was Stan the Pan Man). I stuck the stickers in, then we got in line.
Luckily we didn’t line up in the incredibly long queue, but right next to the door, with our lovely fastlane wristband. So that we didn’t come across as rude, we did the zip merge process again – but the people in the other line hadn’t quite finished preparing, so we went straight in with only a few people in front of us. In front of me was a really great Muriel who wanted to get a pillow signed. It had a Doctor Who image embroidered on it. David wasn’t sure if it would work and was afraid of messing up the pillow. I think because the stitches were so coarse, it wasn’t quite as easy with “my” fine stitches earlier today. He tried, but it didn’t work, so she quickly pulled a Doctor Who DVD (or BR?) out of her bag. “This will work, for sure!” said David, signed, and recommended that she let it dry before she put it away again.
Then it was my turn. I put my autograph book in front of David and said he had the whole page – „Oh, I love it!“ As he was writing I told him I was a bit late with the whole David Tennant fan thing. “Oh, you’re never late, there’s always time to catch up!” I kinda tried to tell him how it happened, but the eyes of the person sitting next to him, who had already been piercing me with looks when I started the new sentence, was getting even more piercing and pushed me away with their looks. David laughed at my story, but I didn’t want to push it too much, so I thanked him and said goodbye to him. How stupid of me, I actually wanted to ask him if he ever visits cons in Asia, since a friend in the Philippines would really like to see him. I thought I’d get it covered in the conversation, but well, that did not go as planned. Especially because of Mrs Homelander’s eye hahaha. But I don’t blame her at all, she had to make sure that things moved forward. Especially since David had to get to the airport on time.
Su was next. This time I didn’t wait for her because I still had a few more autographs on my schedule. Ty was next. I gave my voucher to the staff and handed my autograph book to Ty. The staff (I think it even was the same one with shoe size 43?) saw that I had printed out my photo in small size and asked me about the printer. I helped her find it on Amazon and because we were speaking in German, I quickly told Ty what we were talking about so he wouldn’t feel left out. Not that he would be interested in the printer, but I think it’s weird when you have someone standing in front of you who doesn’t even talk to you 😄 I asked him how he liked the con („I had a great time!“) and how many cons he had already done (four) and asked him about his music, which made him a little more talkative. He currently doesn’t have any gigs outside the UK yet, but he would like to. But it’s not possible yet, from a financial perspective, of course, he’s probably not known enough for that yet. I think it would be cool if he could maybe combine it with a convention, he thought it was a good idea. But maybe it’s weird for his band colleagues? No idea. Anyway, I wish him lots of success!
Next I went to Nina. My words this time: “You’ve got a half page.” 😄 I had taken the duo photo, so they both had to share a book page. Nina wasn’t quite as talkative, but still very kind. It had certainly been a long day for her too and she was probably looking forward to the end of the day. It was still a nice autograph, and when I asked her if she enjoyed the con, she confirmed.
The second last thing I did was go to Maggie. When I showed her my autograph book, she thought it was great and asked if she could see the cover. I’ve had actors flip through the whole book, of course she can look at the cover! She liked it, but I also told her that it was a slip-in cover, which means you can insert a postcard-sized picture from the inside, which then becomes the cover. And I just put in a free postcard that I had found at the book fair where I bought the book. But Maggie still thought that was nice. And thought it was cool that I had a mini printer to print out the photos in small size. She then looked for a black pen because Nina had also written in black. But she didn’t find any. I assured her several times that I didn’t care about the color and that she could write in another color. So she chose a blue pen, and said that she wanted to at least write something as nice as Nina. She did, and I said I hoped she had a good time at the con. She said she had. I wanted to know if she had done a lot of cons before – it had only happened through Good Omens, so she had only been to a few cons. But she’s having a lot of fun. I was happy about that and wished her a nice day.
Now all I needed was Peter Davison. But I had already reached the end of the autograph “hallway”, had I missed him? Nah, that can’t be? I spoke to someone from staff, who said that he should actually still be there. So I went back again and finally found his table, but without him. I asked the staff at the table when Peter would be back. “Oh, he’s just gone, let me get him quickly!” He was already at the door but was called back. I apologized and said I could come back later. He said we’d better do it now since he won’t be there later. Oops! Lucky me! He also missed his black pen and needed several reassurances from me that any other color would work. He also chose blue, wrote a lovely autograph into my book and also said that he thought the con was great. Very nice!
I went back outside where Su was already waiting for me. She had seen from outside that Peter was already leaving when I still needed him, but she couldn’t do anything and was glad that it still worked out, haha.
Con is coming to an end
We sat down at a table, sorted our things for the hundredth time (okay, mostly I did that) and reviewed the day a bit, telling each other what was said at our respective meet and greets.
The line for autographs was getting shorter and shorter. We had heard from somewhere that David had to leave by 7 pm at the latest, so that would work out quite well. In fact, the queue had disappeared at 6:40 pm and shortly afterwards David came out the door with his “overseers”. There were still a few people standing and sitting around, but once again everyone was very respectful. Nobody came running, nobody screamed anything. But every now and then someone shouted “Thank you” and “Bye!” to him, which David responded to several times. He walked right past our table, so we were able to take one last look at him before he disappeared back into the backstage area.
We decided to leave too, I still had a long drive ahead of me and Su didn’t want to be too late to get to her hotel in Düsseldorf, from where she would fly home the next day. So we headed towards the exit, I took a quick photo of a whole bunch of Crowleys holding Job’s scroll, then we passed the back of the backstage area where David had just gotten into a car and was being driven away. However, he didn’t get far because Metwabe’s sprinter, one of the dealers, was in the way loading stuff. But it was quickly driven away.
When we were the monastery outside and and walked across the parking lot, the car with David drove by. That wasn’t planned, and yet we kinda saw him until the last second of his attendance 😄 But we waited in the car a short while before we set off. So it doesn’t look like we’re chasing him or something.
I took Su to the Düsseldorf train station, where I said goodbye to her and then headed home. Somewhere along the way I made a stop at Burger King, where I finally took a photo of Steph’s autograph and sent it to her so that she didn’t have to wait any longer for it. Had burgers, continued the journey, another quick fuel stop, and then I was home at a quarter past eleven.
Conclusion
What a long day. What a great day! It was really a wonderful event. And it’s nice to be at a small con again. And one that was put together with so much love. It had just been a wonderful atmosphere all over the place. It felt like everyone was just walking around with “their heads in the clouds,” but in an absolutely positive way.
I hope the event will return, I would buy tickets again immediately. There are also other themed events, but I don’t know all of them. Maybe I’d check out their Game of Thrones con if I find the guests interesting enough. In any case, I can only recommend the cons with all my heart, it was SO amazing! So, everyone, go buy some tickets at www.proud-nerd.de
