David Tennant on There She Goes: 'It's one of the things I'm most proud of'
The celebrated actor explained why the show is so important to him.
David Tennant has said that BBC Two comedy-drama There She Goes ranks as one of his proudest professional accomplishments.
The series is written by married couple Shaun Pye and Sarah Crawford, drawing on their real-life experience caring for their daughter, Joey, who has an extremely rare chromosome disorder that severely impacts her development.
There She Goes sees Tennant and Jessica Hynes (Life After Life) step into the roles of Simon and Emily Yates – stand-ins for Shaun and Sarah – while Miley Locke (The Royals) plays young Rosie, who is directly inspired by Joey.
At an event celebrating the launch of a new hour-long special, which recounts the story of how Joey's disorder was finally identified as she became a teenager, Tennant reflected on his reaction to the pilot script.
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"I'd never read anything like it," he said. "As Shaun rightly points out, stories about children like this are very rare. But one that was told so candidly, with such rawness and truthfulness, it just felt so compelling to read.
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"I’d met Shaun a couple of times, but I didn't know this was his life experience. It was a total surprise to me and yet I was immediately kind of captured by it… every moment.
"I just thought this is so bold and yet it's so true, and so real and so effective."
Tennant continued: "It remains one of the things I'm most proud to be part of. I think it's really special and really different and really human. I'm just really glad we've got to make it once, twice, and now this special as well, because there's not much else like it.
"I haven't met anyone who's discovered this show who hasn't been absolutely transported by it."
There She Goes has been praised for its authenticity, packed with hard-hitting emotional scenes as Simon and Emily come to terms with the reality of raising a child with such demanding care needs.
Moments of comic relief come regularly also, with Tennant going on to explain that the show's sharp and cynical voice has rung true with viewers who have found themselves in similar situations.
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"This isn't how these stories are often told," added the Doctor Who icon. "They're often told rather sentimentally, they're often told rather coyly.
"The very rawness of this, the sort of political incorrectness of it at times, I think is what makes it particularly sing for a lot of people who have direct experience of this."
There She Goes returns for a special episode on BBC Two at 9pm on Wednesday 21st June 2023. Catch up on BBC iPlayer.
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