Doctor Who: The Ginger Factor

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Photos copyright Owen Quinn

Sometimes you can see why Prince Harry is so diligent in his battle against the Press because when eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) regenerated there was this whole backlash from the press making it out that the Doctor’s wail about not being ginger in this regeneration was a slur on ginger haired people. So was born Doctor Who hates gingers lies. Again this was fake news just to fill a column with shit. And again all you have to do is watch the scene and you’ll see what is really going on. And who’s fault was it?

The tenth Doctor’s.

In David Tennant’s debut story the Christmas Invasion, he is pulled from his coma by a flask of Jackie Tyler’s tea. This is the first time he has any sort of sense about himself in this new body. As he tells the Sycorax, he has no idea who he is or what his personality will be in this incarnation. He asks Rose if he is ginger. When she replies he’s sort of brown, the Doctor is annoyed. He says, “I wanted to be ginger! I’ve never been ginger!”

It os clear from this reaction and his words, that the Doctor is desperate to have a ginger incarnation. Maybe he was jealous of companion Turlough’s barnet back in his fifth incarnation.

The ginger issue never raised its head again until the Eleventh Doctor’s manic arrival in the End of Time. As the flaming Tardis crashes to Earth, the Doctor is checking his body out. He grabs a length of hair and exclaims “And still not ginger!”

This statement according to the press at the time was made out to be a big anti ginger thing which was not the case at all. While any publicity is good publicity, it shouldn’t be coated in misinformation to mislead the audience. I gave up reading newspapers long ago because I realised a lot of it was false and being controlled as to what was reported. While the ginger thing seems trivial to most people and probably passed most by, you have to remember that there may be someone out there especially a kid who may feel isolated as it is for being ginger haired. What of this is used against them in the playground? It was no longer a stigma to like Doctor Who as it was in my day so imagine the bullies used this falsehood to say that not even the Doctor likes gingers. If this kid is a fan of the show then these words could cause damage. Again while you may think I’m exaggerating, look at the statistics for bullied kids and the seemingly trivial reasons they are bullied. There is no such thing as trivial when it comes to what bullies use to torture their victim. Although in this day and age how anyone isn’t a fan of the show is a wonderful reversal from my youth. Still the point is valid.

Accurate reporting is vital and made up stories can impact younger fans who look up to the Doctor. Indeed a bullied child wrap themselves in television and movies. It’s easier than dealing with the bullies. But the bullies now watch the same shows the nerds and geeks do so they have invaded our only refuge. They find heroes in celluloid because there are no heroes in their life. So if you ever exaggerate something or make up a lie or something that spins off into something painful, don’t.

I should know because that kid was me.