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David Tennant
Hey, Georgia.
Georgia Tennant
Hi, David.
David Tennant
Have you ever wished that you could slip into a disguise and travel anywhere in an instant?
Georgia Tennant
Is that a joke?
David Tennant
No, no, seriously, Seriously. I'm talking about NordVPN.
Georgia Tennant
Oh, okay, I see.
David Tennant
Georgia, look, I'm relocating.
Georgia Tennant
Relocating? You're literally on the sofa.
David Tennant
Not physically. Digitally. I'm digitally relocating. Thanks to NordVPN, I can switch my virtual location to 111 different countries with just one click. So now I can access movies, shows, websites from all over the world. And I don't even need to teleport.
Georgia Tennant
And what about security?
David Tennant
Well, NORDVPN encrypts all my online activity, protects against cyber threats, even gives dark web alerts to keep my personal data safe. And I want my personal data to be safe. Perfect for dodgy public.
Georgia Tennant
Wi Fi's right, because nothing screams hack me like a bloke at an airport clicking on free Wi Fi.
David Tennant
Well, exactly, yes. Which is why we highly recommend downloading the NORDVPN app, especially for banking and sensitive data.
Georgia Tennant
Want to stay safe online?
David Tennant
Just go to NordVPN.com tenant, use the code and get four extra months free on a two year plan.
Georgia Tennant
So you're basically getting premium cybersecurity for the price of a cup of coffee per month.
David Tennant
To get the best discount off your NordVPN plan, go to nordvpn.com tenant. Our link will also give you four extra months on the two year plan. No risk with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee. The link is in the podcast episode description box. What's with all the notes?
Georgia Tennant
I've done a lot of prep, David. I've done a lot of prep.
David Tennant
You've researched your husband?
Georgia Tennant
Turns out I needed to do quite a lot of research.
David Tennant
Are there things that. Are there things that you didn't know about me?
Georgia Tennant
Well, this is what I'm hoping to find out. I think I've got a couple of little threads I'd like to pull.
David Tennant
Oh, Georgia, you can pull my threads anytime.
Georgia Tennant
It's nice to be in our own.
David Tennant
House though, isn't it?
Georgia Tennant
No, it's nice. Yeah, I quite like that. Although we forgot to turn the heating on in this bit of the house, so it's actually really cool in here.
David Tennant
I'm quite liking it though. It's keeping me shock.
Georgia Tennant
Okay, well, good. Georgia Tennant does a podcast with David Tennant. So this is his podcast, which I am hijacking, or rather temporarily borrowing, so that we can find out a little bit more about him, what makes him tick, his likes, his dislikes. Etc. Basically, we're going to go on a journey of David's life thus far. And at the end of said journey, we're going to have a better idea of who he is today. Welcome to. Georgia Tennant does a podcast with David Tennant. Hello, David.
David Tennant
Hello, Georgia.
Georgia Tennant
Okay, so I've become slightly obsessed with knowing the bits about you that you haven't already given away. So, like, part of the thing was.
David Tennant
You mean to you or to the world?
Georgia Tennant
Well, like, I mean, hopefully not to me. I mean, I hope this isn't what this is going to be. Imagine if something, some awful revelation.
David Tennant
Imagine if this podcast, this recording today, marked the end of our relationship.
Georgia Tennant
Be quite a nice end, wouldn't it?
David Tennant
Well, it'd be nice to have it down on record, wouldn't it?
Georgia Tennant
Nice for the kids.
David Tennant
Lovely. They could listen back. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
I became slightly fixated on my first question.
David Tennant
Right.
Georgia Tennant
Because I feel like that's the launch pad.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
For where this would go.
David Tennant
I'm a little bit nervous. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
I did have to take a lot of this off Google, which it could go.
David Tennant
You could have just asked.
Georgia Tennant
I mean, I know what your birthday is. It's the 18th of April.
David Tennant
That's right.
Georgia Tennant
1971.
David Tennant
Thank you. Yes.
Georgia Tennant
The year you were born.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Google got that right. To Sandy and Helen.
David Tennant
Oh, yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Born in Bgate.
David Tennant
I was born in Bate.
Georgia Tennant
I don't think I've ever been to Bathgate. I think you took me to Paisley. I don't think I went to Bgate.
David Tennant
No, probably not.
Georgia Tennant
Well, it's not massively relevant to your life, B, is it?
David Tennant
Well, I was born there in Bangower Hospital, which no longer exists, and I've recently found myself back there because by a weird quirk of fate, that's where we've ended up filming Good Omens.
Georgia Tennant
I have not been paying attention because.
David Tennant
You have not been paying attention. That's not news.
Georgia Tennant
It really is news to me. So when did you leave Bathgate? This is actually just for me.
David Tennant
I was three.
Georgia Tennant
Okay, so you don't have any memory.
David Tennant
I don't, but then Bathgate's where my parents moved back to after I left home.
Georgia Tennant
Oh, God, there's so much I don't know about you. Wow. This is going to be much harder.
David Tennant
Than, you know, this. Yeah. Okay, so Bath Gate. Yeah, Bath Gate is little sort of. I mean, it's when. When my dad was the minister there in the, I guess late 60s into the early 70s. It was a big factory town.
Georgia Tennant
Okay.
David Tennant
So he was a British Leland. Oh, I Hope I've got that right. I should know that. I think it was British Leland and other factories. That's what Bathgate was. It's sort of right in the middle of lowland Scotland.
Georgia Tennant
Okay.
David Tennant
So it's. It's very good for sort of supply routes and it had a big, sort of drew workforces from the surrounding areas. But then of course, inevitably through the 70s and 80s, those factories all shut down and so Bathgate found itself a little bit lost. It's in the Proclaimer song. Bath Gate no More, Linwood no More. That's all about big factory towns in Scotland that have been devastated by the closure of industries. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
So your dad must have been massively important to that community.
David Tennant
Oh, yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Because of that.
David Tennant
I think so, yeah. Yeah. Because also that was a time when the local minister or.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. As the.
David Tennant
Probably. I don't mean to make sweeping generalizations, but probably meant more to communities than it often does these days, especially that kind of a community. And also the kind of minister that he was, he was a minister in the Church of Scotland. For anyone who didn't know that, the kind of minister he was, he was very pastoral and hands on and he got sort of stuck into all the community stuff.
Georgia Tennant
So he would have been a bit like a sort of local celebrity.
David Tennant
Yeah, I think he probably was a bit.
Georgia Tennant
Are you a Nepo baby?
David Tennant
Oh, definitely, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because Also then Sandy MacDonald was. Became a bit of a television star in Scottish television. He. He used to do the thought for the day and the late night thought for the day. Have I never shown you any of this?
Georgia Tennant
You really haven't.
David Tennant
Oh, they're amazing. It used to be a thing that was on Scottish television every night after the 10:00 news, I think. A little sort of thought. It was called Late Call.
Georgia Tennant
Okay.
David Tennant
And it would be a little thought for the day. There'd be a. Usually a minister.
Georgia Tennant
Right.
David Tennant
I think, you know, as the years went on, they'd controversially, now and again have a rabbi or, you know, someone from another faith. It all got, you know, they got quite daring as the years went on. Yeah. And. And he would sit there on a little chair with a. With a little table with a bowl of flowers next to him and he'd go, good evening. You know, I was thinking today. And he would do a little five.
Georgia Tennant
Minutes and he wrote it himself.
David Tennant
He wrote it himself.
Georgia Tennant
He had notes like these.
David Tennant
Yeah, I used to. I remember him writing them. He did them for years. No, not every day. You would do them. You'd do like a Little. You'd do a stint, you know, you do your sort of a week at a time.
Georgia Tennant
I see.
David Tennant
And you'd record them, you know, in sort of a morning. In Scottish television. And then he. He had his own religious. Religious affairs magazine program as well, called that's the Spirit.
Georgia Tennant
There's genuinely more information. I never learned about this.
David Tennant
You know this about Sandy.
Georgia Tennant
It's not on Google.
David Tennant
Well, it should be.
Georgia Tennant
So I spoke to a friend of yours who knew your parents.
David Tennant
Really? Who's this?
Georgia Tennant
I'm going to tell you. Oh, and describe. Describes your mum as a Celtic beauty with massive brown eyes, sharp, didn't miss a trick. Very precise, very Scottish. A reassuring presence that you wouldn't mess with if you got her approval. It meant a lot. A very lovely lady, very decent.
David Tennant
That's nice. Yeah. You never met my mum, of course.
Georgia Tennant
No, I didn't.
David Tennant
She died not very long before we first met, but.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
Yeah, all that is very true of her. She could be quite sharp.
Georgia Tennant
Yes. Well, that's very much what's written here.
David Tennant
Yeah, she. She. Yeah, she was quite stubborn. Wasn't a lot compromising with my mum. If she decided, if she had an opinion about something, it was quite hard.
Georgia Tennant
To shift it, presumably. It sounds like your dad was quite a sort of a live wire, so maybe that's where that comes from. That sort of. She had to be the one that was.
David Tennant
Yeah, I think so. He was the sort of showman. He was the kind of public face and she was absolutely the glue. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
So this same person describes your dad. Sandy was a born performer, a showman. He epitomized safety and sunshine.
David Tennant
Safety and sunshine. What unusual combination of words.
Georgia Tennant
That was a really lovely way to describe Henry. I did know your dad.
David Tennant
Yes, you did.
Georgia Tennant
I would say that that's a very good description of him.
David Tennant
I would agree, actually. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
I went to watch him perform at Pont Street Church.
David Tennant
I don't think we call it performing.
Georgia Tennant
Well, I think he would, because that was very much what it was.
David Tennant
He probably did, but I think technically it's called preaching.
Georgia Tennant
I mean, I've. It was very, very much a performance.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
I've never had such a great time in a church. I mean, I've spent that much time in churches, but.
David Tennant
Right. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
They were both very, very good. Good people.
David Tennant
They were very good people. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you sort of take that for granted when you're being brought up by them. It's. You kind of look back on it. I look back on it and feel very grateful and lucky that I was Brought up by them.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. I feel like the description of certainly your father, I would say, is how I would describe you.
David Tennant
Safety and sunshine.
Georgia Tennant
Safety and sunshine.
David Tennant
Well, I like that.
Georgia Tennant
And a born performer. So your sister, Karen. Oh, yeah, We've had a little chat.
David Tennant
Have you? Oh, no, this is. You've gone. A lot's happened behind my back here.
Georgia Tennant
So she says about you in your younger years. As a primary school boy, he was very cute in a really geeky sort of way, with his NHS prescription glasses.
David Tennant
Yeah, that's pretty accurate. Thank you.
Georgia Tennant
I'm getting a lovely picture.
David Tennant
Thank you.
Georgia Tennant
Always into drama.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
I'm assuming she means acting as opposed to just being causing trouble.
David Tennant
Yeah, she definitely means acting. I wasn't really into causing trouble.
Georgia Tennant
The primary school deputy head wrote the school show with David in mind for the lead role.
David Tennant
Well, this would have been Gypsum's Journey.
Georgia Tennant
Where you played a fairy.
David Tennant
I played a goblin.
Georgia Tennant
Okay. She says it was a fairy.
David Tennant
Well, maybe I played it as a fairy.
Georgia Tennant
She then says, I like this bit the best. It was a musical and he had an okay singing voice.
David Tennant
I mean, that's pretty accurate. That's a pretty accurate review.
Georgia Tennant
Thank you, Dan.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
But your mum and dad were very proud, Shads. He remembers that.
David Tennant
Oh, that's nice.
Georgia Tennant
So you got the school play written for you.
David Tennant
Well, this is not something that was shared with me, of course.
Georgia Tennant
Right, okay. I mean, for someone to notice you enough to write a school play for you, that must be something at this point. You've. You've. I mean, you showed, I suppose.
David Tennant
I don't know what he's noticed because I don't remember doing a lot of drama at school, but do you think.
Georgia Tennant
Your dad went to him and said, can you rhyme a play?
David Tennant
Oh, I don't think my dad would do that. I don't think. No, I think that would be sort of. Because my dad, remember, was also the school chaplain. One of his duties as the local minister was that he would come in once a week and do a little address to the kids.
Georgia Tennant
Was that. Did you like it? Were you a bit embarrassed?
David Tennant
No, I wasn't embarrassed. I was never embarrassed by him doing that, actually. Interestingly, I've never thought about that. But, no, he was very good at it, so. And he wasn't boring. So you weren't sort of feeling like you had to apologize for him? Yeah, and he would be quite funny sometimes, and so. No, that was always fine. I think I was always quite. It was nice to see him.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. Okay. Right, we're moving on. Okay, okay. To your adolescent years. It's actually a bit. We. We're gonna speed through this.
David Tennant
Yeah, they weren't much fun.
Georgia Tennant
Okay. First celebrity crush, Madonna, because of the poster on your wall.
David Tennant
Well, just because of everything she was doing around that time, which then. And then I got a poster of her. I had two posters of her on my wall.
Georgia Tennant
Did you buy that yourself?
David Tennant
Well, I suppose I must have done. It wasn't like a poster poster. It was one of those. Do you remember poster magazines? That was a thing in the.
Georgia Tennant
I only ever used to buy Girl Talk.
David Tennant
Yeah. Okay. Poster magazines were a terrible sort of marketing ploy. You basically bought a big sort of thing that folded out into a poster that was kind of a.
Georgia Tennant
Magical. In it.
David Tennant
And it had the creases in it. Yeah. So I had the material girl where she's. She's. She's got a sort of purple silk sheet.
Georgia Tennant
I know.
David Tennant
In front of her.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
And she is apparently nude underneath. That got me very excited.
Georgia Tennant
Okay. Who was your first real crush?
David Tennant
God, should I name someone?
Georgia Tennant
Just first name. Don't second name him or her.
David Tennant
It was probably Susan. Susan knows who she is.
Georgia Tennant
All the Susans out there are gonna be going, me, it's me.
David Tennant
Oh, no, Susan knows exactly. I mean, we had a little. We had a little. We might have had a little kiss.
Georgia Tennant
Behind a shed, I think, in various places. I'm just talking about the first time, not like, only exclusively behind sheds.
David Tennant
I can't remember the first time.
Georgia Tennant
I think you told me it was behind a shed.
David Tennant
No, it probably was.
Georgia Tennant
My question next is, did you always know that you were straight?
David Tennant
I never doubted it. But then. But then it would have been harder to be gay. One of the. One of the progressions that society has made is that, you know, we watch our children at school now and that's. That's an option that is available to them.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
You know.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. Certainly an outwardly.
David Tennant
Yeah, yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Option.
David Tennant
Whereas, I mean, it would have been terrifying to be gay in. In a Scottish comprehensive school in the 80s. Terrifying. Obviously I was at school with gay men and gay women, presumably. But I know one guy that subsequently came out. There must have been more. But it was so awful. I mean, a terrible sort of close to any heat was around that time.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
It was really being demonized. It was. So I think I was sort of. I never felt like I had to grapple with that. So, yes, I suppose that means I did always know I was straight.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. Yeah. So as a teenager, you said that you were never sort of particularly rebellious. Or naughty or. Did you ever have any phase like that as a teenager or is. Or have you just sort of been quite. You sort of toe the line, don't you, as a human being?
David Tennant
Pretty much, yeah. Yeah, I do.
Georgia Tennant
So there was never a point where you sort of went a bit off the rails or not.
David Tennant
Not sort of noticeably. Not really, no.
Georgia Tennant
You dappled with the Lord. I don't mean like in a Star Wars y way.
David Tennant
I dabbled with the Lord.
Georgia Tennant
Did I say dappled? Yeah, I think that's in terms of an image.
David Tennant
I was dappled in the light of the Lord.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah, that's it. Yeah, that's what I was going.
David Tennant
Yeah, I had a holy ghost.
Georgia Tennant
You dabbled with the Lord.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
How long did that last for? And how old were you when that happened?
David Tennant
It lasted quite specifically from about 14 to about 18. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Okay. And why do you think that happened? Because you could not be further away from that now, I would say I think it happened.
David Tennant
I don't mean this to sound like. It might sound like. No, I mean, this was. This was all a debate I had with myself. This was nothing that was being projected by any of the people I'm about to talk about. But I felt because my brother and sister, both a bit older than me, had roundly rejected the idea of religion.
Georgia Tennant
Right.
David Tennant
And it was my dad's business and my mum was very into it. I think I felt guilty. I felt guilty that the. Were being sort of this, this very important part of their life was being rejected by two of their children.
Georgia Tennant
In those years after you sort of started going down that path, did. Did you feel like they were proud of you because of that? Did you feel like you were getting something from them that made you. Because 14 to 18 is quite a long time to be.
David Tennant
Yeah, yeah, probably, probably. But I remember thinking maybe not as much as I wanted.
Georgia Tennant
Okay.
David Tennant
Maybe I didn't quite get from it all the approval that I hoped for. My mum and dad were very loving, but it was never very expressed in. It was expressed in presence. In their presence and their actions and their consistency.
Georgia Tennant
But not. Not particularly tactile.
David Tennant
Not particularly tactile. Not. There wasn't. I don't remember us as a family saying I love you to each other.
Georgia Tennant
Right.
David Tennant
Because we do that to our kids all the time.
Georgia Tennant
Too much and they do so much.
David Tennant
And they do it back.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
And I. That's not an experience I had growing up. And I, I was. I, I remember occasion. I mean, we are on the west of Scotland, so one didn't see it a lot in other families either, but I would see. And I remember being jealous of that. So it may have been a sort of search for approval on some level. I mean, I never doubted for a second that we were adored. No, but it was always understood rather than exhibited or. No, that's not true. It was exhibited, but it wasn't stated.
Georgia Tennant
Because you told me a story where you went to someone's house and one of your friends was being hugged by their. Like, snuggled in with. Was it their mum?
David Tennant
With their mum, yeah.
Georgia Tennant
And you were like, oh, that's.
David Tennant
It almost felt a little bit embarrassing to watch.
Georgia Tennant
Like, I shouldn't be saying that.
David Tennant
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Because now you as a father are very tactile and very huggy and our kids always go to you often first if they've hurt themselves or so.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
You've obviously not brought that along with you on your journey.
David Tennant
Maybe I wanted it so much, I've sort of manifested it. I don't mean manifested.
Georgia Tennant
It cannot be.
David Tennant
I don't mean manifested it in a spooky woo woo way.
Georgia Tennant
So excited Fern Cotton can just calm down the words. I don't mean manifesting.
David Tennant
I don't mean manifesting. And I summoned it out of.
Georgia Tennant
Oh, my gosh, I can just give up now. I can move on.
David Tennant
No, no, no. I mean. I mean actually practically physically manifested it. So you come from that kind of a world. So that wasn't. That's not difficult to create within our household.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. My mother is. Was very. I mean, she's not dead. It's just. She was and is also very tactile and very huggy and very. There was a lot of. I love you.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
My father less so he's much more. I think probably what you're describing.
David Tennant
Yes, I think he is. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
With just like an understanding of those things rather than a. Necessarily a showing. But with our kids, like with Wilfred, I'll say to them, wilfie, can I say something? And they'll go, I love you, too. So.
David Tennant
All right. Yes, I love you.
Georgia Tennant
We've gone so far the other way that it's annoying.
David Tennant
I'd much rather have that. Yeah. Even when my parents were dying, it was so hard to say I love you, and it. It's quite sad.
Georgia Tennant
Do you mean to them you found it difficult?
David Tennant
I found it difficult. And they didn't really say it back. And that's not because they didn't. It's just because it's just an upbringing. It's just a way of being and a moment in time and a society and a. I mean it's not relevant because it's not. I don't doubt it.
Georgia Tennant
No.
David Tennant
It's just I'm very glad that our kids will be annoyed that we see it too much. I think that's definitely the way to be.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. I think we have to annoy them in some way and if it's in a nice way, we should embrace that as much as possible.
David Tennant
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Georgia Tennant
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David Tennant
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Georgia Tennant
You're a teenager and it's Christmas. What are you asking for?
David Tennant
I don't remember. I didn't enjoy being a teenager. I wasn't very good at it. I was, wasn't very cool. I, I, I really was leaning into the weird looking kid.
Georgia Tennant
But you realized you were funny and presumably.
David Tennant
Did I? I don't know that I did.
Georgia Tennant
Well, what was Susan into then?
David Tennant
I don't know what Susan was in. Thank goodness for Susan.
Georgia Tennant
You can get her to phone in. It's not live.
David Tennant
Yeah, it's not live. Thank goodness for Susan. It gave me some sort of hope that I wouldn't be alone and miserable for the rest of my life. But I never felt sort of like a confident person until I went to drama school and then it was like being released and I was still a teenager then. I was 17. I went, I managed to get in nice and early. So that felt like a release.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah, because for you school was just a process to get through, just something to go.
David Tennant
I knew where I was headed. Yeah, I mean I think the world didn't necessarily agree that that's where I was headed. My parents, I mean were deputy head.
Georgia Tennant
Did writing plays for you.
David Tennant
Well, that was in primary school though. Then you go into secondary school and all, it gets serious and you go to careers advice meetings and they're going to go, yes, acting. How about teaching?
Georgia Tennant
Yeah, you know. Well, because acting wasn't really a thing, was it?
David Tennant
Not really a thing, no. They didn't have a. They didn't have a sort of photocopied handout to give you.
Georgia Tennant
And when did you do your first job? Didn't your dad send off a picture of you to somebody?
David Tennant
He did.
Georgia Tennant
Another mate.
David Tennant
No, not a mate, because he didn't know the drama people at Scottish television, but he knew there was a drama department. And I suppose because he had a bit of an end, he knew how to get to it.
Georgia Tennant
It's nepotism again.
David Tennant
This is nep. This is absolutely nepotism. If I'm an apple baby, this is the moment I would have been. Just before I went to drama school, he took a photograph of me in the back garden and this is where he didn't really understand. He said, do some big poses. So there are photographs of me doing things like I was just in a white T shirt, I remember, and it was a very sunny day. I can picture. These are burned into my retinas. I was doing things like shouting at the sky and kind of doing big poses.
Georgia Tennant
Anyway, you get paid for that now.
David Tennant
Yeah, I know. He found someone at Scottish television to send them to. Not somebody he knew, but he found a desk for them to land on, man called Haldane Duncan, who was a producer, director, who was. It so happened, and of course there's so many elements of luck here. But they landed on his desk as he was looking for like a 15 year old to be in a. A children's drama called Dramarama.
Georgia Tennant
Okay.
David Tennant
Which was a kind of anthology show and every one of the ITV regional stations made two or three episodes each year and they all contributed it to this series for children's television. This was only three channels back then, remember? And he was looking to cast a ghost story for that needed three teenagers and this landed on his desk and he got me in and I got a part in a dramarama.
Georgia Tennant
Okay. So, yeah, so you know you're going to be an actor. So you. You've heard drama school is like a thing.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Is that easy to get into? You just got, I want to go to drama school. And.
David Tennant
Well, I was a bit young.
Georgia Tennant
Did you dad do to get you to go to drama school?
David Tennant
I think my dad was involved, I think.
Georgia Tennant
So the nepotism stopped at the sending of the. Yeah, overacted.
David Tennant
I mean, there was only. There was one drama school in Glasgow, which is the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Georgia Tennant
So that was your obvious place to.
David Tennant
Go now, The Royal Conservatory. So, yes, when I was 15. Because you could leave school. No, not 15, 16. You could leave school at 16 if you had somewhere to go.
Georgia Tennant
Right.
David Tennant
But I was only going to. I was going to go back and do my sixth year at school school. If I didn't get into drama school. And then at the end of that year, I'd try all the drama schools. This was the plan, okay? I'd come to London and I'd do all that. I was quite. I was quite green at 16, so the idea of heading off to drama school in London was terrifying.
Georgia Tennant
So you go to drama school. I've spoken to a friend of yours who's at drama school with you. Now, this is where my note taking gets a bit. To be fair, this person was talking quite quickly and I was writing things down. So this is a note version of what this person said about you.
David Tennant
Was it Louise?
Georgia Tennant
Where's Holly?
David Tennant
Was it Alan?
Georgia Tennant
The first time that this person saw you, you were standing by a piano.
David Tennant
Okay?
Georgia Tennant
You were the tallest, slimmest, most golden person, golden person. You had a presence and you were so compelling. People were drawn to him. He seemed to have no defences, no construct which made him very relatable and open as a human being. Nobody got confused by him, nobody begrudged him and no one resented him. People just gave him things. You defied any limits or expectation because people wanted you to succeed because you were so bloody nice. David is a good person. A mirror, for goodness. It reminded this person of Atticus Finch.
David Tennant
To Kill A Mockingbird.
Georgia Tennant
Kill a Mockingbird. Makes you feel safe. Obviously a virgin. Innocent. So that's.
David Tennant
I was obviously a virgin.
Georgia Tennant
Obviously a virgin.
David Tennant
I don't know. This is the loveliest review I've ever had. It's making me well up.
Georgia Tennant
Had a horrible red bedroom.
David Tennant
Right.
Georgia Tennant
Anal about his CD collection. Obsessed with Smash Hits.
David Tennant
I know it's sounding a bit more like Louise.
Georgia Tennant
He had a love of Doctor who, which he didn't try and hide. The implication being that you should have done.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
A love of words, a love of J.D. salinger and literature. People liked him. Same as Sandy, Safety and Sunshine. Talented and good with text. Had no interest in going to London. This is interesting.
David Tennant
Yeah, yeah. She always brings this up.
Georgia Tennant
You had terrible eating habits. Would eat anything and everything and they were all. It was all terrible for you.
David Tennant
Why were you 17?
Georgia Tennant
I know you've still got a mental metabolism. I don't understand. It's horrible. It's really difficult to live with. Clearly this person felt that too. You did a teacher's course just to cover yourself at drama school because that would be just in case the acting didn't work out. You could also teach. And you always seem to have been on a golden road. You felt good about him. He's always been there when the shit has hit the fan. A good friend has a big heart. He's very good with people. Endless energy, big soul.
David Tennant
That is a very lovely review.
Georgia Tennant
That goes sort of back then and to now. We're sort of jumping from past to present. But it seems to be very consistent the way that this person spoke about you. Having known you back then and knowing you now couldn't really work out what the difference in you was.
David Tennant
Right.
Georgia Tennant
Which means there's been no evolution.
David Tennant
No growth.
Georgia Tennant
No growth.
David Tennant
Zero growth.
Georgia Tennant
Zero growth or exploration as you as a human being.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
But you started out pretty well. So what that has meant is this person still really likes you.
David Tennant
Oh, that's lovely. That's very lovely.
Georgia Tennant
The only negative this person did say, yeah, you did a Saturday teaching school with this person. And. And I think this bit, this, this is. Was my revolution.
David Tennant
Are we still pretending? I don't know who's revelation.
Georgia Tennant
Well, I just don't want this person to feel like, oh, okay. This is Lou Delamere.
David Tennant
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Louise Delamere, actress and producer.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
A friend of many, many years.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Now my friend.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
I broke through.
David Tennant
You did.
Georgia Tennant
You hated not being loved.
David Tennant
Oh.
Georgia Tennant
She didn't speak to you for a few weeks because during the Saturday school, you wouldn't take responsibility for being the teacher of these children. So she had to play bad cop to your good cop, which meant that she wasn't liked and you were adored. And she puts that down to the fact that you do not not like being loved.
David Tennant
That's probably true. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
And so then when I looked through your life and up until this point, I think the stories we've already talked about, I think that's quite telling, that bit of information, isn't it?
David Tennant
Yeah, I think that probably is quite true.
Georgia Tennant
Black fiber tip pen. Always had the same pen.
David Tennant
Wow. God, she's absolutely right. I've completely forgotten about that. I did.
Georgia Tennant
I've never seen you use one of them.
David Tennant
No, I don't know. I don't know if you can still get them. Used to get black ones and red ones and then sometimes blue ones and. She's right, I used have them.
Georgia Tennant
It's all the regular pen colours all the time.
David Tennant
Yeah. But they were sort of halfway between a normal pen and a felt tip. I love those pens.
Georgia Tennant
You were friends with everyone, but specifically your group was Jenny, Jill, Zoe, Alan, Mariel and Stevie.
David Tennant
Oh, yeah, it was. Yeah, yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Little shout out to them.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
This is your.
David Tennant
And Rodney.
Georgia Tennant
And Rodney, obviously. Rodney.
David Tennant
Well, Rodney's no longer with us, sadly.
Georgia Tennant
Okay. So he won't be at least insulted by the fact that I missed him off. No, but Rodney added to the group. It sounds like you were a really nice person.
David Tennant
Well, thank you for saying so.
Georgia Tennant
Well, I didn't.
David Tennant
I mean, you're having to take this on trust, obviously.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. I mean, it's just written down here.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Which you still are. And that, I think is. I think that's interesting. You have a very different life now. You have a very different. There's a lot more noise and yet you've still managed to continue to be quite a nice human being. So well done.
David Tennant
Thanks, darling. I'm finding all this quite difficult.
Georgia Tennant
Okay.
David Tennant
I mean, it's very lovely, but I find that I don't know how to react.
Georgia Tennant
It's just me talking, really. Aren't you?
David Tennant
Yeah, well, it's lovely, but I get a bit shy.
Georgia Tennant
Well, this is a good time for a little break. This is our question from a previous guest.
David Tennant
Okay.
Georgia Tennant
Guess who this is.
David Tennant
Okay.
Georgia Tennant
Why is Olivia Colman your favorite co star?
David Tennant
This is Jodie Whittaker.
Georgia Tennant
Right.
David Tennant
Wow. She's hard not to love. That's why.
Georgia Tennant
Because she's hard not to love.
David Tennant
She's fun and doesn't take herself too seriously. And.
Georgia Tennant
And she's won an Oscar. That's when you'd really start to take yourself seriously.
David Tennant
She's won an Oscar. She'd have every right to take herself seriously. Yeah. Back when she was slumming it with me, though. She hadn't won an Oscar.
Georgia Tennant
No, she hadn't.
David Tennant
Yeah. No, but. But she doesn't seem to have changed very much. Seems. She seems pretty consistent.
Georgia Tennant
She's another good person, though.
David Tennant
She is a very, very good person. She's got a good bones.
Georgia Tennant
Her and Ed both do.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
So I'm presuming their children also do.
David Tennant
I think that's how well their children are. Sort of perfect children.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. So once you finish drama school. I'm just going to run through drama school. Yeah, you do really well. Blah, blah, blah, blah. 784. Get a job. 784.
David Tennant
First small touring small theatre company in Scotland. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Lovely. A bit of, like, worthy theatre.
David Tennant
Pretty worthy. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
That is. That. That feels like a big deal.
David Tennant
Oh, just getting a job is a big deal.
Georgia Tennant
Just getting a big job.
David Tennant
Yeah, no, it wasn't a big job, but. But the thing is, because I didn't have any sort of precedence around me. I mean, a Nepo baby because my dad did late call a couple of times maybe. But beyond that, it's not nothing. But beyond that there was no sense that it was possible to be an actor. So whenever I said it from three onwards, people had gone, yes, but you' get another job to back yourself up.
Georgia Tennant
A proper job, A proper job.
David Tennant
So I just wanted to finish drama school and get a job.
Georgia Tennant
So was Lou right?
David Tennant
Because Louise is absolutely adamant that I used to go. No, no, no, I'm not, I'm not leaving Scotland. If I did, and it's possible it will have been fear, it will have been because I didn't know what that would be and I didn't feel capable of doing that because especially at 17, having never not lived at home.
Georgia Tennant
And you were the youngest of all of the people that you were a drama school with? Yeah, Lou was very cool. She was very London in a really co. London.
David Tennant
Yeah, a lot of them were. One of my other best mates at drama school was Alan McHugh who was 10 years older. So he was just, he was a proper grownup. He'd worked in a bank for 10 years. I mean, he was a proper human.
Georgia Tennant
Right, okay.
David Tennant
And I'd, you know, I didn't know how to feed myself. So, yeah, I, I grew up very quickly at drama school and that's why after a few years I could go to London because I, you know, I just became a grown up, lost my virginity, did all those things that I should have done a bit earlier, clearly.
Georgia Tennant
Wasn'T a virgin anymore.
David Tennant
Clear? Well, I don't know how clear it was, but by the end of drama school I was no longer a virgin.
Georgia Tennant
You don't have to be more specific than that. We could just leave it there. We don't need that. You moved in with Arabella Weir?
David Tennant
I did, yes.
Georgia Tennant
And she says this about you.
David Tennant
Oh, I thought she'd turn up.
Georgia Tennant
He was swatty, extremely polite, earnest, easily shocked, kind, pretty self assured, hard working, bit of a germaphobe, freaked out when he saw me taking sauce with a spoon, licking it and putting it back into the sauce.
David Tennant
Well, I mean, it's not that I was a germaphobe, it's just that Arabella and she's not nearly as bad these days, she used to live in an element of squalor.
Georgia Tennant
No. Okay. And I can see that. Yeah, yeah. I don't think I'd love it if she did that now. No, no.
David Tennant
Ew.
Georgia Tennant
Very excited to be making his way in London and horrified when someone thought he was my toy boy.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
So you move to London, you get a job at. What's the first London job?
David Tennant
Young Vic Theater Company.
Georgia Tennant
And that's also fancy.
David Tennant
Oh, God. That felt like.
Georgia Tennant
That felt like I've done it. You've done it. You made it. I've done it big time.
David Tennant
I mean it was doing a play set in Paisley, the Slab Boys Troja by John Byrne, which is set in paisley in the 50s. So you could call that low hanging fruit in terms of getting the shoe in.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
David Tennant
But, but I still managed to get it, so that felt like a big, big deal. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
So you go straight from drama school to just working as an actor. That feels quite rare and unlikely. You're not having to go and get like a pub job to.
David Tennant
No, no. I've been incredibly lucky. I'm credibly lucky and also I'm aware of my own. Again, this is the imposter syndrome. I wouldn't have had to not work for very long before I would have accepted that nobody wanted me because I'd been told all my life, nobody's going to want you to do this. You know, the world doesn't need any more actors. People can't make a living as an actor. So it wouldn't have taken me very long to prove that true to myself. So thank fuck I got a job pretty quickly and managed to join them up. It's also in a world where there was a lot more subsidized theater around that were. And it's just harder now. There just were more jobs available for.
Georgia Tennant
Brand new actors and fewer actors.
David Tennant
Probably fewer actors as well. I mean still far too many, but probably fewer then. But just more opportunities to work in subsidized theatre and to, you know, there were I don't know how many rep companies doing an all year round program in Scotland at the time. So there were places to audition and there were always jobs coming up that you could at least try for. So it was, it was a different battleground to enter into when I was graduating.
Georgia Tennant
I'm just thinking of the things that you have talked to me about, like the moments in your life where I feel were quite relevant in terms of work. Yeah, I feel like the RSC was a big one. Getting a job at the rsc.
David Tennant
It was, it was a big one. But just before that I'd had a job at the National Theatre.
Georgia Tennant
Oh. And that's fancy pants, isn't it?
David Tennant
And that felt like the first proper fancy pants kind of. Oh, it's possible to penetrate this inner circle.
Georgia Tennant
Okay.
David Tennant
I was suddenly in a play at the National Theatre with Richard Wilson, who at the time was the most famous man in the country.
Georgia Tennant
Right.
David Tennant
And suddenly I'm in a play with him and it feels very shiny.
Georgia Tennant
What is this play?
David Tennant
What the butler saw.
Georgia Tennant
Okay.
David Tennant
And that was. So that was immediately after that Young Vic job where I. I'm in a. I'm. I'm feeling quite good about it because it's the young. Reckon it's in London, but it's still a play set in Paisley.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
And then I managed to kind of punch through into the. Into the premier division. The RSC came quite soon after that. And then the RSC became somewhere that I would revisit. And that ended up offering me a lot of very lovely opportunities.
Georgia Tennant
Because you became quite a big star within the RSC quite quickly. Like the way that you can take Shakespeare's words and turn it into something that someone like me can understand. That's a unique talent. And not even being nice to you. I'm just. That's a fact. That had been very nice to me.
David Tennant
I'm finding this. I'm loving it. How nice you're being. To be.
Georgia Tennant
It's because I made you think I was going to be horrible.
David Tennant
Yeah, you did. I thought this was going to be really brutal.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. Nordstrom brings you the season's most wanted brands. Skims, Mango Free People, and Princess polly. All under $100. From trending sneakers to beauty must haves. We've curated the styles you'll wear. On repeat this spring. Free shipping, free returns, and in store pickup make it easier than ever. Shop now in stores and@nordstrom.com. so I'm gonna get to Doctor who now.
David Tennant
Okay.
Georgia Tennant
I feel like that's why people are listening. Okay. So you go. You do a thing called Casanova.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
I'm timeless. And tell a story.
David Tennant
Okay. Just do it. Do it.
Georgia Tennant
You do a thing called Casanova with Russell T. Davis.
David Tennant
Yep.
Georgia Tennant
Julia Gardner. And they go, oh, he's quite good. He's funny. Things aren't working out with Christopher Eccleston. Something goes wrong there. They're looking for a new doctor. Doctor who hasn't even been on yet, though. So we don't know whether this is gonna be a hit or a damp squib.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
But they come to you. They sort of lure you to the House with like a. Oh, come watch a little bit of an episode. And you're like, okay. And you go along. And then they go, and guess what? Do you wanna play it? And you pretend to think about it for like, what, like a day or something.
David Tennant
Oh, it was longer than that.
Georgia Tennant
Okay. But you were clearly gonna do it.
David Tennant
Well, maybe I was clearly gonna do it, but there was definitely a moment when I wasn't.
Georgia Tennant
When Was that?
David Tennant
About 48 hours after they asked me. And I sort of had to go process everything that it meant. And I had an agent at the time who was like, don't touch it. It's not gonna work. So you go, not my current agent, previous brilliant agent, who's since retired, but.
Georgia Tennant
She definitely didn't call that correctly.
David Tennant
She. That correctly. As it turns out, she said, it's not been on yet. It's not going to work. You don't want to have that hung.
Georgia Tennant
Around your neck like a scarf.
David Tennant
Like a scarf. Like a big, heavy scarf.
Georgia Tennant
Like a big, heavy, massive scarf. Okay, so you decided you're not going to do it a bit. Like, you're not going to move to London because you're a little bit scared.
David Tennant
Yeah, it's a different kind of scared. Scared of a different type of disappointment. But.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah, yeah. So. But you do. Because you're always going to. So you say yes to it.
David Tennant
I say yes to it. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
And you do it.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
And it's a massive hit.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
And you love it and you have a great time.
David Tennant
I do, yeah. I do. Yeah. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
I'll put a link to all the other podcasts that he's done where you can listen to his time on Doctor who.
David Tennant
And then we meet.
Georgia Tennant
We do. Yeah.
David Tennant
I mean, Doctor who gives us that.
Georgia Tennant
Doctor who has given us a lot of things.
David Tennant
Oh, my God. Doctor who's given us everything.
Georgia Tennant
So it's not. I don't like Doctor who. It's just. I feel slightly oversaturated by Doctor who. Well, I have lived with this show much longer than you have.
David Tennant
Yeah, that's not true. Because you lived in a slightly different. You've had a different relationship, much more.
Georgia Tennant
Immediate living with, like, you enjoyed it.
David Tennant
I thought about Doctor who more, though, over the years than you have.
Georgia Tennant
And the character or the show?
David Tennant
The show. The character. What order the stories came in in William Hartle's second season.
Georgia Tennant
And this is the thing, you see, I don't care about any of that. Like, I loved being in it.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
I really like doing the Jenny Adventures available on Big Finish, but I don't I don't care. I don't care. Like, I don't care. I, I, I was brought up at conventions and the people were lovely, but I didn't care about the show.
David Tennant
Yeah. I, you.
Georgia Tennant
It comes from a place of. Whereas it, it came from a place of, like, not being able to escape it.
David Tennant
It.
Georgia Tennant
From my point of view. So I've always found it a little bit suffocating as a, As a thing, and now it is even more in my life. So I have to, I have to slightly protect myself from the Doctor who chat.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Because it's a bit much.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah, yeah. But I, I appreciate it as a. I also now watch it. I think, actually the new who I have now watched more episodes than you have.
David Tennant
I've watched every single episode.
Georgia Tennant
Don't do the shaking your head at me thing and pretending you've watched them all. I have actually watched them all, and sometimes the kids weren't even with me. So actually, I'm a better person than you are when it comes to Doctor who. Don't even. We're not cutting that. I'm in charge of this edit. Don't listen to him.
David Tennant
Trouble.
Georgia Tennant
So Doctor who happens.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
How much do you think? Because I. So I think as a person, you haven't actually changed, but there was definitely a bit where right at the beginning of Doctor who fame enters the equation.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
And suddenly you are vulnerable to people having opinions about you and talking about you in a way where they think they can say anything and they slightly own you and they can be overly critical in terms of who you surround yourself with. Do you feel like in that moment, you. Because I know you talk about starting having therapy at that point because you struggled with that. You struggled with being able to walk into a room and having people know who you are and having a preconceived idea of who you are and sort of feeling like you needed to perform from them. And because up until that point, you are volunteering the funny thing on the head, you're making people laugh under your own terms, and suddenly the world's now going, okay, yeah, fine. Especially being on the BBC, which people do feel like when you're in a show like that, because of that you pay to have it there in your living room, people feel like you have an ownership often of those shows in a way that they wouldn't necessarily on another platform. How do you protect yourself apart from just the therapy, the people around you? Do you have to suddenly become aware of those people? Do you feel like, what's your Armour at that point. What do you reach for in your arsenal of sort of tools to.
David Tennant
It takes a bit getting used to for sure. And that suddenly you've got to establish what the rules are for yourself and there's not really anyone to help you or teach you.
Georgia Tennant
No.
David Tennant
And that can be a little bit challenging. And that's where. And I've found things like my parents being doorstepped a lot early on. I found that really difficult because I felt like I had to protect them and they were not interested in being protected.
Georgia Tennant
Loving it.
David Tennant
They were loving it.
Georgia Tennant
Loved a visitor.
David Tennant
And then that. So then I. There'd be articles coming from inside their house with photographs of. Photographs of me on the mantelpiece. And I found all that. It's just. It's just that sense of it all getting away from you.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
Very quickly.
Georgia Tennant
You're so not in control of anything anymore.
David Tennant
No. And that's quite. That at its worst, that's quite panic inducing because you just feel exposed, you just feel very vulnerable and you're having to figure out your own guidelines and your own boundaries and there's not really anything to go on. There's no playbook. And Billy Piper was sort of by chance, sort of next to me every day for the first bit of that.
Georgia Tennant
And she had already experienced that.
David Tennant
She had had that in a pop.
Georgia Tennant
Star way when she was much younger.
David Tennant
Yeah. Baptism of fire. So she just battle hardened and that was really helpful. I learned a lot from her about how to be and how not to sort of lose yourself. But Billy at the time was only 21 or something.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
So thinking back now, I looked to her as a sort of mentor.
Georgia Tennant
That would be like looking to Ty.
David Tennant
Yes.
Georgia Tennant
Someone who could.
David Tennant
Yeah, yeah. And. And she was actually be quite a.
Georgia Tennant
Good person to look.
David Tennant
Yeah, probably. Yeah. So, you know, that was sort of. I mean, thank goodness for her, but that was sort of all I had as a kind of guidance on that. And so that takes a number of years, I'd say, of that kind of attention to figure out what you're comfortable with. And at first I was very sort of. All the portcullises went down.
Georgia Tennant
I feel like when I met you, which was 2008.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
It. You were. There were a lot of walls.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Around you.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Which I recognized.
David Tennant
Yes. Because you. Your family will have had the same.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
So I feel like. And I think actually, I mean, I've known you for 16 years now. Does that math work? Yeah. And the walls are definitely not as high.
David Tennant
No, no.
Georgia Tennant
They are in some areas. Some areas, they are higher, probably.
David Tennant
Right.
Georgia Tennant
But in terms of your ability to take back control and those moments when you lose it, I think you've got much better at it. When I first met you, there were moments of panic that. Were you in quite vulnerable places. I think one of our very, very earliest dates that we had ended with you on the floor rocking.
David Tennant
This doesn't make me sound very cool, does it?
Georgia Tennant
No, but. No, but you have talked about Matt before. This isn't a new story. But the sort of relevant part of the story is that early on, in those first sort of. Probably, actually until you left Doctor who, there were a couple of those moments where you were physically very sort of fetal and would sort of close down. You don't have that now. You have moments which would have gone there.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
You are able to use your big words now and clearly process that. Process that in a way that is. And I'm just wondering if that's because within your walls now, there are lots of people.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Whereas when I met you, you were. Because Billy had left Doctor who.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
You had new companions who you loved, but you were slightly mentoring, certainly sort of the younger ones that were on the job in a way that you had been mentored by Billy. You were the grown up then, so you had to sort of look after them. So when I met you, there wasn't really anyone in the circle. There were. There were. There were the Loos and the. The Aries and the Jenny fathers in the. Within that, interestingly, all women in your walls.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
But in terms of like your. The. The actual wall, that was probably you.
David Tennant
Yeah, but that's definitely in no small part because we've been together for 16 years and that gives one great comfort and strength. And, you know, that's. Yeah, that's been hugely beneficial, obviously, in a multitude of different ways. But. But it certainly calmed me down. Yeah, you've calmed me down, Georgia.
Georgia Tennant
Calmed you down.
David Tennant
You have.
Georgia Tennant
What makes you. What allows you to be vulnerable as a person? What is the thing that you. When you talked about feeling like you couldn't say I love you to your parents when they were leaving us. What. Because that. That's a sort of fear of being vulnerable.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
And I think that's the thing that is. Has followed you throughout your life, is that sort of. That. That sensation scares you, so you don't like going there. What now allows you to be vulnerable? What allows you to go to that place to overcome?
David Tennant
I think it's knowing that you are loved, isn't it? I mean, I Think that's what it is. It's. And feeling that beyond doubt that it's not conditional. I mean, obviously it's conditional as long as one is, you know, kind and good to those people. But. But it. Yeah, it's knowing that you're enough. God, that sounds very. This isn't. This isn't. This isn't my usual type of conversation, but it is. It's. It's being in a situation where you feel, oh, it's okay, I'm enough. And therefore I can show the slightly vulnerable bits.
Georgia Tennant
Safe.
David Tennant
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Safe and supported and held.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. So you and I meet.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
We get together. Like, not straight away.
David Tennant
No, no, not straight away.
Georgia Tennant
Nice sort of healthy period of time where we're mate.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
And then we are very private.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Because I think I. What I do is I go, oh, I see what this. This person's done. They built the wall. I'm gonna have to get in, but I'm gonna have to close up behind me.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Because this is the same. This is the. The only way I'm gonna be able to get to know this person is if I jump in.
David Tennant
Yeah. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
To the poor Carlos.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Brick it up.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
And then spend 16 years pulling the bricks down and then eventually make him do a podcast where I interview him.
David Tennant
I know. I mean, where are we? Where have we ended up?
Georgia Tennant
I mean, it's mad, isn't it?
David Tennant
This isn't. I mean, nobody's gonna listen to this, so that's fine.
Georgia Tennant
But it will have gone this far in.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
So then we have, like, a lot of kids. Well, I've already got a kid.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
That you like.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
You get. He likes you already because he's watched you on the telly.
David Tennant
Yeah. Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
It's got your face on his pants.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
So that was. It was an easy sell. Do you want a dad? How about this one? Yes, please. But you've got to. That. You've got to work at that. That's a. You know, that's not just a sort of here's a child. And.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Out of all of the sort of moments of parenting, is. Has that been the sort of most sort of challenging or is having a fresh baby being handed to you four other times and going do something with that, you know, without the sort of five years with the work that I put in first? Like, what. How. What is the difference between sort of parenting a fresh out the box one or one that has already got.
David Tennant
I mean, every moment of parenting is different to the moment that went before. So I And each of those moments requires you to just react to whatever is required. I don't, I don't know that I've got a kind of checklist of most difficult moments.
Georgia Tennant
It's not really most difficult, I suppose, I mean in terms of like the, you, the development of you as a parent, as you as a father. Because actually you had to be one before you were one.
David Tennant
Yes.
Georgia Tennant
In order to be with me.
David Tennant
I've always found though that easier because, because I take my lead from you, actually is what happened because I, I, I, you already had Ty. You were already parenting Ty. I, I sort of just joined in.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
And then we had a new baby and you'd already had a new baby.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah, yeah. We went to parenting classes, didn't we?
David Tennant
We went to parenting classes. Absolutely. Yeah. But I was spared that absolutely terrifying thing of two people who've never done it before taking a little bundle home and being told to get on with it. I had the advantage of your experience, I think, which I, I've always very heavily relied on. So I suppose, I think that's probably made it easier for me rather than more difficult.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah, I think that would be.
David Tennant
You make everything easier for me.
Georgia Tennant
Well, babe, rather than more difficult.
David Tennant
McDonald's meets the Minecraft universe with one of six collectibles and your choice of a Big Mac or 10 piece McNuggets with spicy nether Flame sauce. Now available with a Minecraft movie meal.
Georgia Tennant
I participate in McDonald's for a limited time, a Minecraft movie only in theaters. I think that's time for the final question from a past guest.
David Tennant
Okay, who's this one?
Georgia Tennant
This comes in a three part.
David Tennant
Wow.
Georgia Tennant
If you had to be stuck in a lift with someone for an entire night, who would you choose? Georgia part the second. The answer to the first one is obviously Georgia. What is it like to be married to someone funnier and smarter than you?
David Tennant
A delight, a relief.
Georgia Tennant
Part three. If you didn't answer Alan Cumming to part one, or indeed even if you did, could you now perform the first minute of the conversation between yourself and Alan as you discover that you're stuck in the lift, followed by the last thing you say to each other eight hours later, while still alone, just as you're about to be released?
David Tennant
Michael Sheen is a fucker.
Georgia Tennant
Then my next question was. Who asked you this question?
David Tennant
I'm not.
Georgia Tennant
Do you do a really good impression of Alan Cumming?
David Tennant
I'm not going to do it live because we might want to have him as a guest one day and we, you know, I Don't want him. Not that it's offensive. I actually think it's a.
Georgia Tennant
It's clearly. I mean, it's noteworthy. No, he's based an entire three part gag around it.
David Tennant
Michael makes me do it sometimes just to cheer him up.
Georgia Tennant
What else does he make you do just to cheer him up?
David Tennant
You don't want to know.
Georgia Tennant
Georgia, you've drawn attention to yourself in recent years speaking about causes that are close to your heart. I'm not gonna be specific about it because I don't want that horrible newspaper to be able to write any another little sort of nasty story about it. They know exactly who I'm talking about. When that happens, when it does happen and it has actually happened sort of by accident in moments of not really sort of thinking it through. Moments of passion, moments of enthusiasm, moments of feeling strongly about something.
David Tennant
Not because I've accidentally said something I didn't.
Georgia Tennant
No, no, no. But just in moments of not really thinking through the concept consequences of the thing that you're. Whilst you completely agree with what you're saying, you don't. Because you don't live in a world where social media exists.
David Tennant
I don't know.
Georgia Tennant
It's quite odd to live with someone who sometimes doesn't think through what I feel is an obvious consequence to doing something. Like, I can. I will. I will always, before I say anything, go, how is this going to be tweeted about? I'm not going to say it's a new name, it's stupid, or how will this be click baited for that Nasty.
David Tennant
Or twisted into a head.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah, exactly. What's. What's the sound bite they're going to take from this? Like I always think about that because that is the world that I live in.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
You do not have that.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
None of the these moments that have happened to you have come from very much just being in that moment and not thinking through the consequences. Not that the consequences are bad, but just in that sort of immediacy. And so when those moments happen, what is the. What is the feeling? What's that first thing that happens when I sort of go. Which is what happened in the most recent situation? You got a text from someone going, hope you're okay.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Because you didn't know. You had no concert.
David Tennant
You had no idea the social media pile on.
Georgia Tennant
Social media pile on. That was happening. It didn't touch you?
David Tennant
No.
Georgia Tennant
None of it touched you?
David Tennant
No.
Georgia Tennant
They were screaming into the wind because it was nowhere near you. Yeah, I was aware of it. Some of it. Not actually as Much. Because I left Twitter for different reasons, but I left Twitter.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
So I wasn't aware of it in the sort of way that it actually was playing out. When you get that text, what's that feeling?
David Tennant
Initially, it's bemusement.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
Because you go, why are people sending thoughts and prayers? What's happened now? Yeah. I mean, obviously, as you say, it's very liberating to not be in that.
Georgia Tennant
It's a magical power that you have.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
That is. I mean, I think you're. You're missing out partly because of that. Sometimes it could be a joyous place and of course, the community that can come from it and the support and there is a. There's a lot about. I mean, I'm only on Instagram now, but there's a lot about Instagram which is lovely. It's the people that are lovely. So I do feel that's. To not have. That is. You know.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
But the magical power that you have, where these people do not exist to you.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Because they can't. You can't hear them, is an amazing thing. And I have spent many, many years of going, you know, and I know that we. You know, you've had conversations with. With agents and publicity people where they've been like, you really need to get on social media. And people are always asking me, you know, will, will David ever get an Instagram account? And there's part of me that sort of thinks, oh, there might be something really sort of great. We can. And then you. Something like that happens and you go, oh, my gosh, this is the key to everything. You. Have you figured out how to exist in this world as somebody who has passions and wants to stand up for the right thing and for people who need you to stand up for them and to be a voice without having to have anyone scream at you as a result of it.
David Tennant
Yeah. I mean, I've never. Yes. I suppose there's a couple of times I've misspoken is not what it. Because I. Because I don't feel like I've ever said anything that I didn't mean, but I suppose there are times. Do you think if I could do that again, I could be more elegant about it? Which wouldn't allow certain people to make hay out of it. That's the only thing I ever regret.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
But I think if you're. If you're being, you know, if you're being. If you're seeing the right thing.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
I'm in a. You know, you're right. I'm In a. I'm in a slightly blessed position because I'm not on that. In that sort of social media swamp. I have a very good agent who, when those moments happen, just tells everyone to off. And I don't. You know, I don't have to.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
You know, I never feel any pressure to make a statement or counteract.
Georgia Tennant
And there is something glorious about being the middle person between seeing these people shouting and ranting and demanding apologies and asking you to speak and seeing you carrying on living your life as a really good person, and it doesn't touch you. And there's something wonderful about that. And I feel sort of empowered by that and also really jealous that you have that and that I. That I. Because I. Which is why I ended up leaving Twitter, because I felt like. Well, certainly that we all know that the algorithm got skewed to sort of make us see the things that we didn't want to see. And that's why it became a place where everyone shouts at each other, and shouting at each other doesn't lead to conversation, and nothing can ever be solved by not talking about things.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
So I had to leave because ultimately it wasn't good for me or anyone else. Like, it just became a place where no one listened anymore, which I don't think yet has happened to other platforms. And that's. Hopefully will stay. But there is something sort of joyous about seeing the one side of a world very clearly and very acutely, and then seeing the reality of how that's just. You're still. The way that Lou describes you having first met you, like you are. Goodness and kindness, and the fact that that isn't able to touch you and isn't able to change you and isn't able to make you feel less passionate, things that you feel passionate about is such a relief. And I'm so glad that. That you never succumbed to that, because it would have been so awful for that to have touched you.
David Tennant
And it would touch me. Yeah, it would touch me. I wouldn't react well to all that stuff at all. I don't like it. I don't like feeling.
Georgia Tennant
You don't like not to be.
David Tennant
I don't like not to be liked. No. It's true. And I find that. So. So it's probably. But it's. It's as much by luck than judgment. I mean, it's just because social media kind of started.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
In its modern form. When I was at my most vulnerable for feeling sort of invaded. It was just as I was becoming well known as the Doctor. The last thing I wanted was any.
Georgia Tennant
More access to you.
David Tennant
Yeah, exactly.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
So it. It's really by chance that that's how these things. That's when these things started growing.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
I was able to kind of go, I'm not going to go there. And that's just persisted. And now I don't feel like. Yes. I don't feel like it.
Georgia Tennant
Oh, you're not like it would do.
David Tennant
Me any good at all. I think it would. I think I'd spend a long time worrying. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because actually, in real life, you get very little of that.
Georgia Tennant
Oh. Because real people aren't like that. That's the thing. In real life, people aren't like that. They might have thoughts that are.
David Tennant
Yeah. But they also. They don't have the most people who have the courage to be incredibly vicious.
Georgia Tennant
Not in real life.
David Tennant
And don't do it in real life. Yeah. So they either keep quiet or people that genuinely lovely and generous and, you know. And also, you know, I'm in a very privileged position, so I can take the odd.
Georgia Tennant
Exactly.
David Tennant
Criticism from someone else in a very privileged position.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes I'll have to tell you something funny that someone said. We'll have a little giggle.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Okay. So coming to the end of our podcast now. You're 53 years old.
David Tennant
Am I really?
Georgia Tennant
Anyway. And I did have to double check that to Google it. And also, I would get it wrong because I do think you're 55. And then you remind me that that's Michael Sheen.
David Tennant
Yeah, It's Michael Sheen. Yeah. So easy to mix us up.
Georgia Tennant
You're not. It's not. It's not the. It's not the end yet. You've still got probably a couple more of things to add to the obituary.
David Tennant
But.
Georgia Tennant
But.
David Tennant
Wow. It's not the end yet. But.
Georgia Tennant
There is a but. But as you start to. I've put power down.
David Tennant
Wow.
Georgia Tennant
As you start to power gown, the fear is for me.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
I fear this for myself, but I fear it for you because you're going to get that before me. That you start to give up and you will start to disengage. What do you do to check yourself?
David Tennant
Do you mean from the world?
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
Or from professionally?
Georgia Tennant
No, I don't. I'm not talking about professional. I'm talking about you as a human being in a world that needs people like you. The goodness, the golden. How are you gonna keep checking yourself? How are you gonna make sure that you're keeping evolving as a human and making sure that that you're standing up for the right things.
David Tennant
You're challenging me here rather than looking for.
Georgia Tennant
I want it on record.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
That's what I want.
David Tennant
I don't know. It's hard, isn't it?
Georgia Tennant
It's really hard because it happens to people. And you're. You've managed to be the same person at 17 as you are now. The description of you at 17 is exactly the description now that someone would. She was unable to determine whether she was talking about you then or now because you are the same person. How are you going to make sure that you are still this person? Because you are actually a very. Like. Obviously to us you're important because you're ours, but like, you also slightly belong to other people in. In the world and you are important to those people and you have a responsibility as a sort of progressive human being to maintain that. And as you start to power down.
David Tennant
I can feel it happening.
Georgia Tennant
How are you gonna check yourself?
David Tennant
Well, I'm sure you'll help.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
I would hope we would help each other.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
I suppose we all just have to keep challenging ourselves to be the best versions of ourselves we can be, don't we? I mean, of course, one person's progressive, positive idea is another person's sacrilege, isn't it?
Georgia Tennant
It.
David Tennant
So you just have to be honest about keeping examining what you believe to be true and being true to it. And that means sometimes admitting that you might be not quite understanding the way the world might be moving. And that gets harder as you get older because you feel less powerful, more disenfranchised. The youth is coming to get you and you have to keep looking for that to be a positive than something that's threatening.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah. Because the moment you feel under attack.
David Tennant
Yeah.
Georgia Tennant
Is the moment that the portcullis will come back up again.
David Tennant
Exactly. Yeah. And especially that is harder if you get. If you're starting to feel vulnerable because you're not as powerful as a human as you once were. I suppose.
Georgia Tennant
Yeah.
David Tennant
So I hope that's something we can all just keep challenging ourselves with, because the world will keep changing and will keep altering and there will keep being new subsets of minorities that get. That become the whipping boy or the scapegoat for whichever angry politician or. Or there's always someone else in the firing line who's weaker than the person that's shooting at them. And that's what you've got to keep sniffing out.
Georgia Tennant
I think you're not standing close enough if you're not getting hit by the debris there you go, yeah, this is my last question. What this year would you like for Christmas?
David Tennant
Is that how you're asking this question? I'd like a surprisingly. I'd like a surprisingly tolerant world.
Georgia Tennant
I thought you were going to say a surprisingly tolerant wife. I can give you one of those things. Thanks for. I'm not telling you. Thanks for coming on my podcast, David.
David Tennant
Oh, thanks. You've been so nice to me. I found it a bit overwhelming.
Georgia Tennant
Basically, I let the bar be really, really low to begin with and it's sort of like a marriage.
David Tennant
I'm not really prepping for this. I'm just sort of. And you've gone off and spoken to all our mates.
Georgia Tennant
Don't underestimate me. That's the.
David Tennant
I have never underestimated you as well, you know. Thank goodness.
Georgia Tennant
Thanks for coming on the podcast, David.
David Tennant
Thanks, baby. David Tennant does a podcast with is a Sony Music Entertainment original and no Mystery production produced by Matt Smith. The assistant producer was Rani Prescott. The sound engineer was Josh Gibbs. The executive producers are Alex Lawless, Sarah Camlett and Georgia Tenn.
Podcast Summary: "David Tennant Does a Podcast With… – Episode: Georgia Tennant"
Released on April 8, 2025
In this heartfelt episode of "David Tennant Does a Podcast With…," hosted by Sony Music Entertainment and No Mystery, Georgia Tennant takes the reins to delve deep into the life of her husband, acclaimed actor David Tennant. The conversation spans David's early life, his journey into acting, the dynamics of fame, and their personal relationship, offering listeners an intimate glimpse into the man behind the iconic roles.
David Tennant opens up about his childhood in Bathgate, Scotland, providing context to his foundational years. Born on April 18, 1971, at Bangower Hospital (03:14), David recounts his father's role as a minister in the Church of Scotland, highlighting the close-knit community ties of Bathgate during the late '60s and early '70s.
David Tennant (04:32): "He was a very pastoral and hands-on minister, deeply involved in community activities."
Georgia reflects on the influence of David's parents, describing his father, Sandy MacDonald, as a "born performer" who epitomized "safety and sunshine" (08:36). David acknowledges the pivotal role his parents played, noting how his father's showmanship and his mother's steadfast nature provided a balanced upbringing.
Georgia Tennant (08:36): "Safety and sunshine. What unusual combination of words."
David shares anecdotes from his early forays into acting, starting with his primary school days where he was cast in a school play, portraying a goblin in "Gypsum's Journey" (10:24). This early experience ignited his passion for drama, leading him to pursue formal training at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Georgia Tennant (10:24): "You were the tallest, slimmest, most golden person..."
David humorously recalls the support his father provided in launching his acting career, admitting it was a blend of nepotism and luck that landed him his first roles. His initial break came with a part in "Dramarama," a children's drama series, thanks to a photograph his father sent to a producer (23:19).
Transitioning to London for his acting career marked a significant turning point for David. He recounts his early days at the Young Vic Theater Company and his subsequent role at the National Theatre alongside Richard Wilson in "What the Butler Saw" (35:08). These experiences solidified his reputation and paved the way for his association with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
David Tennant (36:29): "Whenever I said it [acting], people would go, 'Yeah, but you need another job to back yourself up.'"
Joining the RSC offered David numerous opportunities to hone his craft, particularly in Shakespearean roles, where his ability to make complex texts relatable earned him acclaim.
The conversation shifts to David's tenure as the Tenth Doctor in the beloved series "Doctor Who." Georgia explores the challenges David faced with sudden fame, especially in an era dominated by social media. David candidly discusses his struggles with public perception and the intrusive nature of fame.
David Tennant (43:21): "It's hard to establish your own rules when suddenly everyone has an opinion about you."
To cope, David emphasizes the importance of personal boundaries and the support he received from close friends and family. He credits his relationship with Georgia as a stabilizing force that helped him maintain his sense of self amidst the pressures of stardom.
Georgia and David delve into their 16-year relationship, highlighting how mutual support and understanding have been crucial in navigating life's ups and downs. David reflects on his growth as a father, appreciating the balance Georgia brings to their partnership.
David Tennant (53:57): "I've always very heavily relied on [Georgia], which has made it easier for me."
They discuss the evolution of their parenting styles, contrasting David's upbringing with more expressed affections to their own more tactile and open approach with their children. This shift underscores the personal growth they've both experienced.
A significant portion of the episode addresses David's intentional distance from social media, contrasting it with Georgia's active presence. David explains how avoiding platforms like Twitter has shielded him from the often negative and invasive aspects of modern fame.
David Tennant (61:07): "I'm in a slightly blessed position because I'm not on that social media swamp."
Georgia admires this aspect of David's approach, emphasizing the peace it brings to their lives and the reduced pressure to constantly engage with public scrutiny.
As the podcast draws to a close, Georgia challenges David to consider his continuous personal evolution. David acknowledges the ongoing journey of self-improvement, emphasizing the importance of staying true to one's values and adapting to a changing world.
David Tennant (67:07): "We all just have to keep challenging ourselves to be the best versions of ourselves we can be."
In a touching final exchange, David expresses his wish for a "surprisingly tolerant world," encapsulating his hopes for societal progress and personal well-being.
David Tennant (00:12): "Georgia, look, I'm relocating. Not physically. Digitally. Thanks to NordVPN..."
Georgia Tennant (03:16): "I think I've got a couple of little threads I'd like to pull."
David Tennant (10:05): "I wasn't really into causing trouble."
Georgia Tennant (43:21): "Do you feel like in that moment... how do you protect yourself apart from just the therapy, the people around you?"
David Tennant (61:07): "I'm in a slightly blessed position because I'm not on that social media swamp."
Georgia Tennant (67:20): "What makes you. What allows you to be vulnerable as a person?"
This episode serves as a profound exploration of David Tennant's life beyond his acclaimed roles. Through candid conversations, listeners gain insight into his upbringing, personal challenges, and the strength he draws from his relationship with Georgia. The episode underscores the importance of personal boundaries, mutual support, and continuous self-reflection in maintaining one's identity amidst fame.
Produced by Matt Smith, with assistant producer Rani Prescott, sound engineer Josh Gibbs, and executive producers Alex Lawless, Sarah Camlett, and Georgia Tennant.