Doctor Who's 'Vincent and the Doctor' writer explains "key reason" he wrote the episode
Note: The following article contains discussion of themes including suicide that some readers may find upsetting.
Doctor Who's 'Vincent and The Doctor' writer Richard Curtis has opened up about the heartbreaking "key reason" he wrote the episode.
On Monday (March 30), Curtis joined his wife and script editor Emma Freud and former Doctor Who stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan to live tweet a rerun of the episode.
Using Freud's account, Curtis explained that he wrote the highly emotional episode as a tribute to his sister Belinda (aka Bindy), who tragically took her own life.
"So – here's the thing – the key reason I wrote this episode – was out of love for my sister Bindy," he wrote. "She was a gorgeous and brilliant person, 2 years older than me. She loved Vincent Van Gogh and life. She couldn't have been more full of generosity and joy.
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"But half way through her life she was hit by depression and intermittently it hurt her for the rest of her life. And a few years before this show, like Vincent, she took her own life," he continued.
Curtis explained that, with the episode, he was trying to "show Bin how glorious she had been in our lives – and how nothing could change that".
He also spoke of the importance of highlighting the struggle of mental health issues, and how the "capacity for joy" is sometimes "intertwined with the immense difficult of the illness".
He added: "So taking her own life wasn't a failure by her, or a rejection of all of us. It was, as they say on Love Island, what it was."
In another tweet, posted via a Doctor Who watch-a-long account, Curtis stressed that the coronavirus lockdown will have a significant impact on those who struggle with mental health issues.
He urged fans to stay in contact with people who may be struggling, and for those who need help to reach out to emergency text lines.
In the UK, those in need can text SHOUT 85258, while in the US they can contact Crisis Text Line by texting SHARE to 741741.
A MESSAGE FROM RICHARD CURTIS #TheUltimateGinger @GiveUsAShout @CrisisTextLine pic.twitter.com/VBrC5YSehK
— Matt Smith & Bill Nighy #TheUltimateGinger (@LockdownWho) March 30, 2020
Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US.
We would encourage anyone who identifies with the topics raised in this article to reach out. Organisations who can offer support include Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org) or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to visit mentalhealth.gov or the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
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