The Time Lord returns to TV with a two-part adventure that sees him tackling the scariest baddies yet, The Silence, in the US of A…

How does the new series of Dr Who kick off?
We’re in Utah, America… and that is about all I can tell you! I mean without giving any plot away. The Doctor, Rory and Amy are faced with a sea of impossible choices and have to navigate their way through them.

What do you think of The Silence?
I think they’re the greatest monsters since The Weeping Angels. These are a scary couple of episodes. I mean, I’m really proud of them, they feel grand and epic.

Do we find out who River Song really is?
Well, that’s what we’re going to be exploring.

Erm, right…
You know…

That’s quite vague.
Well, when does Steven Moffatt [the show’s writer] give you answers? You have to keep watching to find out. But yes, that’s something that’s very present for the Doctor in this series — just who is River?

Was it any easier filming way out in Utah? Did you get less bothered by fans?
Weirdly, there were still quite a few. Bear in mind we were filming in the middle of nowhere, six hours from a big airport. And there were still eight or nine people who had somehow found us. They were there on chairs and they were all so happy to be there. They had these iPads — the world’s gone completely digital — and they’d hold them up with a message that read, ‘Autograph, please’.

How long were you in Utah?
About a week. I think these episodes will feel American. It was strange, because it’s the desert. So it’s quite warm in the day, but as soon as the sun goes down it gets freezing cold.

A lot of the episode is set in the Sixties…
Yes ’69, which is a great era isn’t it? It’s got great style. I think the costumes have, again, really lifted the identity of it.

Would you like to do more location stuff?
Yes, I think it’s great, actually. I think it says something about the ambition of the show. I’d love to do one in New York or Hawaii, or anywhere lovely and warm and hot like Barbados.

Were you miffed Dr Who didn’t pick up anything at the National Television Awards?
Well, hey, it’s always nice to win, but you know, I was working so I wasn’t there on the night. At least I didn’t have to go through all the stuff of trying to be a gracious loser. I was once nominated for an Evening Standard Award, which I didn’t win, for Best Newcomer. I could have invested a lot of effort in the thought of winning that, but I had to go on and do the play that I was in that night, so I sort of promised myself that from then on I would never really invest in any award ceremony. Although I think a BAFTA or an Oscar would be a slightly different prospect, because if you win one of those it’s a great thing. Even then, it’s not what defines you or what defines the success of your show. So some you win and some you lose. There’s always next year

Graham Kibble-White