Tom Spilsbury (born 1976) is a British writer, magazine editor and journalist. As of 2021, he is a feature writer for ''

TV Choice ''TV Choice'' is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group.Total TV Guide'' magazines. A former pupil of

Bristol Cathedral School Bristol Cathedral Choir School is a mixed gender non-selective musical Secondary Academy, located in the Cabot area of Bristol, England. Until 2008 it was known as Bristol Cathedral School. It is situated next to Bristol Cathedral, in the cent ...

, he was, for ten years, editor of ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'' (DWM).

TV Zone and Visual Imagination

Spilsbury started his career in journalism with

Visual Imagination Visual Imagination Ltd. was a British company that produced genre magazines. It was founded in 1985 by Stephen Payne and originally only published the science-fiction magazine ''Fantasy Image''. After Payne bought the magazine '' Starburst'' f ...

in 1999, where he contributed to many of the company's publications, including ''

TV Zone ''TV Zone'' is a British magazine that was published every four weeks by Visual Imagination that covered cult television. Initially, it mostly covered science fiction, but branched out to cover other drama and comedy series. History ''TV Zone'' ...

'', '' Starburst'', '' Shivers'', ''

Film Review Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlet ...

'', '' Ultimate DVD'', and ''

Cult Times Visual Imagination Ltd. was a British company that produced genre magazines. It was founded in 1985 by Stephen Payne and originally only published the science-fiction magazine ''Fantasy Image''. After Payne bought the magazine ''Starburst'' fro ...

''. He was then promoted to editor of ''

'' in 2001, which he edited for two years until 2003.

Doctor Who Magazine

Spilsbury joined ''

'' in March 2003, on Issue 330, becoming deputy editor to

Clayton Hickman Clayton James Hickman (born 5 January 1977, in Bristol) is a British scriptwriter, magazine editor, journalist and designer. Magazine work and ''DWM'' Hickman's first published work was in '' SFX''. Hickman officially joined the magazine indus ...

. He later took over from Hickman as editor in August 2007, with Issue 387. He redesigned and revamped the magazine with Issue 390, persuading

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

to pose with a Dalek for the cover of the new look magazine in December 2007. Spilsbury later became the first person to clock up 100 consecutive issues on DWM's staff with Issue 429 in December 2010, and later became the longest-serving editor of the title, overtaking Hickman in May 2013, and editing his 100th edition with Issue 486 in April 2015. He also oversaw the 500th issue of the magazine, and recreated the cover of the very first issue, explaining that he wanted 'something which somehow paid tribute to the past, as well as celebrating the present.' Reflecting on his long tenure on the magazine, Spilsbury said that "I just enjoy being a magazine editor. So I'd happily be a magazine editor for a different magazine! I don't suppose I'll be editing ''

'' for the rest of my life" and noted that "you must never get complacent about it. Never ever think that these are the only people buying it." While editing the magazine, Spilsbury interviewed subjects such as

Freema Agyeman Freema Agyeman (; born Frema Agyeman; 20 March 1979) is a British actress. She rose to fame with her role as the Doctor's companion Martha Jones in the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' (2007–2010), and received further recognition f ...

(Issues 392 and 393),

Nicholas Courtney William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Ear ...

(Issue 402),

Graeme Harper Graeme Harper (born 11 March 1945) is a British television director. He is best known for his work on the science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', for which he is the only person to have directed episodes of both the original run (1963–89) and ...

(Issues 380 and 392), and

Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...

(Issues 417/418, 447, 468/469, 484 and 515), amongst others. He also served as co-editor of the magazine's comic strip with Scott Gray, and wrote the regular ''Public Image'' column, which reports on the series' ratings, which he has continued to provide since his departure as editor. Spilsbury has admitted to being greatly influenced by ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'', paying tribute to covers of the listings magazine on several occasions. In 2015 Spilsbury appeared on

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

's '' Doctor Who: The Fan Show'', where he was complimentary about the episode ''

The Witch's Familiar "The Witch's Familiar" is the second episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 26 September 2015. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Hettie MacD ...

'', and confirmed that the story he first remembered watching was ''

Destiny of the Daleks ''Destiny of the Daleks'' is the first serial of the 17th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 September to 22 September 1979. The story introduces ...

'' A further episode in 2016 saw Spilsbury and his team appear as themselves in a spoof documentary, showing the production of Issue 500 of DWM. On 12 July 2017 Panini UK announced Tom Spilsbury was stepping down as ''Doctor Who Magazines editor after Issue 515 and would be succeeded by Marcus Hearn.

Inside Soap

Spilsbury's first freelance work for ''

Inside Soap ''Inside Soap'' is a weekly magazine published in the United Kingdom, released every Tuesday. It covers current and future storylines in soap operas in the United Kingdom, including '' Coronation Street'', ''Doctors'', ''EastEnders'', ''Emmerdal ...

'' magazine was an interview with director

in November 2010, about the tram crash seen in the 50th anniversary episodes of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'',. Since leaving ''Doctor Who Magazine'' in 2017, Spilsbury initially contributed to ''

'' as an occasional writer, before joining the full-time staff in 2018 as a regular writer and sub-editor, contributing stories on ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'' and ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

''. In March 2020, he took over editing ''Inside TV'', the television section of the magazine, providing features on ''

Red Dwarf ''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...

'', '' We Hunt Together'', and ''

Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow ''Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow'' is a British game show which premiered 30 May 2020 on ITV. Hosted by Alan Carr, the series features reworked and "supersized" versions of past ITV game shows (primarily from the Fremantle Fremantle () () is a p ...

'', among others.

TV Choice and Total TV Guide

Spilsbury left ''

'' in July 2021, and since then he has been a regular feature writer and interviewer for sister listings magazines ''

TV Choice ''TV Choice'' is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group.Total TV Guide'', published by

Bauer Media Group Heinrich Bauer Publishing (german: Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG), trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 ra ...

Other magazines

Spilsbury has occasionally contributed freelance articles to other magazines, including '' SFX'' features on

Jean-Luc Picard Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''T ...

of ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' in issue 324 (published February 2020) and an interview with

Carole Ann Ford Carole Ann Lillian Ford ( Higgins; born 16 June 1940) is a British actress best known for her roles as Susan Foreman in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and as Bettina in the 1962 film adaptation of '' The Day of the ...

in issue 327 (published May 2020).

Doctor Who DVD appearances

Spilsbury was a regular contributor to

/ 2 entertain Ltd's ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' DVD range, appearing as a talking head on documentaries for the Region 2 DVD releases of ''

The Androids of Tara ''The Androids of Tara'' is the fourth serial of the 16th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 November to 16 December 1978. The serial is set on ...

'' and ''

The Armageddon Factor ''The Armageddon Factor'' is the sixth and final serial of the 16th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 20 January to 24 February 1979. It was the las ...

'' in 2007, '' The Rescue'', ''

The Deadly Assassin ''The Deadly Assassin'' is the third serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 October to 20 November 1976. It is the first seri ...

'', ''

The War Games ''The War Games'' is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. In the serial, an unnamed alien r ...

'' and '' Enlightenment'' in 2009, ''

'' (Doctor Who: The Movie) in 2010, and ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

'' in 2013 – on which he appeared talking about the 'Other Eighth Doctor', David Burton, who allegedly made a new series of ''

'' in the early 1990s, despite there being no photographic evidence of the production ever having been made. Spilsbury wryly noted that Burton's main claim to fame seemed to be that he possessed a car with the words 'the new Doctor Who' written on the side – but pointed out that ''anyone'' could have put that on the side of their car!

Television and Radio appearances

Spilsbury has often been called on as a ''

'' expert, appearing on

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

and ''

BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television Breakfast television, breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from ...

'' on several occasions. He was called on to comment on the departure of

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the Eleventh Doctor, eleventh incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the BBC series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targarye ...

on 1 June 2013, where he was asked about the controversial 'regeneration limit' of only 13 Doctors being allowed. Spilsbury commented that the writers had "just made that up," and so the writers could "make up something else." He later appeared in a discussion on ''

'' over the identity of the new Doctor, revealed on 4 August 2013. When asked by presenter

Naga Munchetty Subha Nagalakshmi Munchetty-Chendriah (born 25 February 1975), also known as Naga Munchetty, is a British television presenter, newsreader and journalist. She regularly presents '' BBC Breakfast''. She is also a former presenter of BBC World Ne ...

who he thought might be in the frame, Spilsbury praised names such as

Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. Known for her comedic and dramatic roles in film and television, she has received various accolades, including an Academy A ...

. He also quipped that the reveal of a new Doctor was "like the Royal baby for sci-fi fans," with all the same speculation as to whether it would be a boy or a girl. When pushed who he thought would be cast, Spilsbury confirmed that he was as in the dark over the new Doctor's identity as everyone else. He stated that he wouldn't be surprised if a woman was cast in the role in the future, but doubted it would happen on this occasion. The same day he was the special guest on the

BBC Radio Manchester BBC Radio Manchester is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater Manchester. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford ...

show hosted by Eamon O'Neill and Jimmy Wagg, where they discussed the arrival of the new Doctor, and Tom suggested that he might be keeping it secret because he himself had taken the job! Later that evening,

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

was revealed as the

Twelfth Doctor The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three series as well as four specials. As with previous incar ...

. The next morning, Spilsbury was widely quoted saying that Capaldi "was brilliant already." A year later, when Capaldi made his full début as the Doctor in August 2014, Spilsbury returned to ''

'' to give his full verdict, giving the new Doctor a thumbs up.

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales b ...

interviewed Spilsbury about the imminent series 10 of

on 30 March 2017. When

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress who is best known for portraying the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022) and as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017). She came to prominence ...

was cast as the

Thirteenth Doctor The Thirteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the fictional protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme, ''Doctor Who''. She is portrayed by English actress Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to portray the character, sta ...

in July 2017, Spilsbury appeared on numerous BBC local radio programmes to talk about her casting. He was challenged by

Nicholas Pegg Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, writer and director. Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Acti ...

to include a

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the First Doctor, first incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, ...

-era episode title into each interview without the presenter noticing. Spilsbury accepted the challenge, culminating with the unlikely observation on

BBC Radio Suffolk BBC Radio Suffolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Suffolk. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on St Matthews Street in Ipswich. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience ...

that Whittaker was like a '' Rider from Shang-Tu''. On 29 May 2012, he appeared in ''La Nuit Doctor Who'', a television documentary for the French channel

France 4 France 4 () is a French free-to-air television channel owned by France Télévisions, focused on children's programming. The colour of France 4 is purple. Originally launched as Festival in 1996, the channel took its current name in 2005 when it ...

. On stage, Spilsbury hosted the Doctor Who Night at Ciné Lumiere on 19 January 2013, interviewing

Toby Whithouse Toby Lawrence Whithouse (; born 5 July 1970) is an English actor, screenwriter and playwright. His highest-profile work has been the creation of the BBC Three supernatural television series '' Being Human''. He also created the Channel 4 telev ...

about his writing career. In May 2018, Spilsbury hosted the first ever on-screen joint interview with former ''

'' showrunners

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...

and

for the BBC's official ''

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel, as the two writers talked about their book adaptations of ''

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

'' and ''

The Day of the Doctor ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. In June 2018, he took part on a panel of ''

'' experts to introduce a new audience to the 1963-89 run of the series, which was streaming on

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...

Newspaper interviews

As a commentator on ''

'' (he was assistant editor of ''

'' at the time), Spilsbury was among the first to get to see the relaunch of the show in 2005. He commented on the revival starring

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series '' ...

and

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...

to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', saying "I really enjoyed it. Chris and Billie were great. It was great to see everyone else enjoying it. They laughed at the funny bits and were scared by the scary bits. It bodes very well for the series. I think kids will love it. It's exactly the sort of thing I fell in love with as a child. Christopher Eccleston still feels like a Doctor Who. He'll be looked back on by kids in 20 years' time as their doctor." In September 2015, Spilsbury was again interviewed by ''

'' about the new series of ''

'', commenting "I think it's a stronger run than last year. There are more two-part stories than we've had recently, which means the whole pace of the storytelling is a bit different. They've shaken it up, which is quite exciting."

Popular culture

In the 50th anniversary ''

'' story ''

'' the character of

Coal Hill School Coal Hill School is a fictional school in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series ''Class''. It is located on Coal Hill Road in the Shoreditch area of London. The school first appeared in the first ...

teacher Tom (played by Tristan Beint) was named after Tom Spilsbury, a tribute by his close friend and writer of the episode

. The recurring character of Walford Gazette journalist Sarah-Jane Spilsbury, who first appeared in the 23 April 2018 episode of ''

'' played by Shannon Murray, was named after both Tom Spilsbury and the ''

'' character

Sarah Jane Smith Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction on television, science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and two of Doctor Who spin-offs, its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged in ...

, as both are also journalists. The episode was written by Johnny Candon, who had previously written articles for Spilsbury in ''

''.

Awards

In May 2012, Spilsbury accepted the Eagle Award for Favourite British Comicbook (Colour) for his editorship of ''

''. ''

s executive producer

tweeted his joy: "Punching the air @TomSpilsbury and team with an Eagle Award for Doctor Who Magazine! AMAZING!" Spilsbury himself tweeted his shock: "OH MY GOD, WE WON!!!" In May 2016, Spilsbury accepted the certificate from the Guinness Book of Records, on behalf of ''

'', of World Record for the longest-running magazine based on a TV series, which it had been since 2010.

Other media

Spilsbury assisted

on his book ''The Complete David Bowie'', and was thanked for his contribution in the book. In September 2017 Spilsbury recorded a short audio contribution to mark the official 11th YouTube anniversary of colourisation artist Stuart Humphryes.

References

External links

*
Tom Spilsbury
on Twitter
Tom Spilsbury
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Spilsbury, Tom British magazine editors Living people 1976 births