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28 October 2009
Will David Tennant Do Burke & Hare
Excl: He's not saying, but... yes.

Will David Tennant Do Burke & Hare

Rumours have been flying around for the past couple of weeks that David Tennant – whose tenure as Dr. Who is, of course, coming to an end – was set to join Simon Pegg in John Landis’ upcoming movie about the infamous grave-robbers, Burke & Hare.

So, naturally, when Tennant bounded onto the red carpet at last night’s London Film Festival screening of his new movie, Glorious 39, we asked him about his potential involvement.

“Where do these things come from?” he said, shouting to be heard over the cacophony of cheers and screams from the residents of Whoville. But the sly smile and the glint in his eye indicated that the rumours are true. So, are they?

“I don’t like to jinx things by talking about them before they’re done, you know what I mean? But,” he said, knowingly, “John Landis is a legend.”

So, take it how you will, but we’re saying that that’s as close as we’re going to come to a confirmation until there actually is a confirmation. So, Who fans, rejoice, for your boy is hitting the big screen.

Burke & Hare were two Ulster-born Scots who provided cadavers for Edinburgh physician, Dr. Robert Knox, via less-than-legal means in 1827 and 1828. Their story has been told on screen before, notably in the 1960 Peter Cushing movie, The Flesh And The Fiends, and in disguised form as Timothy Dalton vehicle, The Doctor And The Devils, in 1985.

Pegg – who is apparently down to play William Burke – and Tennant, who’s marked for William Hare, should make a great team, and if Landis can recapture his best black comedy form, this should make for a little belter of a movie. The only question that remains is: who will play Knox?

 

Chris Hewitt

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Your Comments
Fuck Burke and Hare! What's happening with the rumoured Dr Who movie? C'mon ... Read More

steveg66 About me

11:40, 30 October 2009 | Report This Post
this pairing seems like comedy heaven! i cannot wait to see the film. ... Read More

tejrai About me

20:44, 29 October 2009 | Report This Post
Knox
With Pegg and most likely now Tennant as the Burke and Hare, my guess is either, due to it being made by Ealing, either Rupert Everett or Colin Firth will be Knox! But then it could be Bill Nighy to play Knox, or Andy Serkis, both capable of playing blood drenched characters. ... Read More

swowlj About me

22:53, 28 October 2009 | Report This Post
did anyone else read that as Will David Tennant do Bucky o Hare? ... Read More

Gartt About me

20:58, 28 October 2009 | Report This Post
Grave-robbers?
Would point out that Burke and Hare were never actually grave-robbers/body-snatchers/resurrectionists, just plain old, common-or-garden murderers. Know a fair bit about them living, as I do, in Edinburgh. Really looking forward to the film but would just like to see how Landis et al get comedy mileage out of serial killers (16+ victims). ... Read More

cooler_kin1981 About me

19:01, 28 October 2009 | Report This Post

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