Benjamin Cook (journalist) - The Writer's Tale

The Writer's Tale

In 2008, BBC Books published Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale, based on an in-depth email correspondence between Cook and Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies, spanning February 2007 to March 2008, during production of the show's fourth series. Extracts were published in The Times on 16 and 17 September 2008, and the book itself met with positive reviews. Esther Walker of The Independent predicted that "the fans will adore it. Davies has engaged with the book totally and there is full disclosure from him about everything." The Daily Telegraph's Robert Colvile called the book "Remarkably open", adding: "Despite the self-deprecating bonhomie, there's a ruthless confidence to Davies." In a five-star review for Heat magazine, Boyd Hilton called it "a funny, revealing insight into the workings of the genius who puts the show together." In another five-star review, SFX Magazine said, "You can douse all the other books about new Who in lighter fuel and spark up your Zippo – this is all you need. It’s the only one that opens a door into the brain of the series’ showrunner." Darren Scott of The Pink Paper – which also awarded the book five stars – agreed: "If you’re an uber fan of the show... or an aspiring (or even established) writer, this book will very, very quickly fall into the 'can’t put down' category." Scott Matthewman of The Stage said, "I can’t recommend The Writer’s Tale highly enough… It’s a genuine insight into the entire television production process." "The Writer’s Tale is an enormous book, but consumed compulsively it doesn’t last very long at all," said Thom Hutchinson of Death Ray magazine. "We learn, brilliantly, the difference between bellowing media personage Big Russell and the apprehensive, chain-smoking obsessive who exists alone and silent in the early hours." The Scotsman's team of arts writers said: "The Writer's Tale offers a fascinating insight into the writing of one of TV's biggest hits." Veronica Horwell of The Guardian called it "the Doctor Who Annual for adults", suggesting that 500-odd pages "is not nearly enough, should have been 1001 pages, because Davies doesn't need to be writing fiction, shaping stuff retrieved from the flux of his Great Maybe, to be a storyteller. He's the Scheherazade of Cardiff Bay." Horwell described Davies as "a total romantic about writing. It's his love, his drug, his force for change: over the year even invisible, unopinionated Cook emerges as a proper companion who challenges Davies over the last image in the series. And wins. Brilliant."

In the blogosphere, Sci-Fi Online's Daniel Salter claimed that The Writer's Tale "could be one of the most important Doctor Who books you're ever likely to read, even if it's not always about Doctor Who." "Page after page of banter that's just as exciting and suspenseful as the show itself," enthused Sebastian J. Brook of Doctor Who Online. "Cook's fearless and intelligent approach to asking questions pave the way for some fantastic responses as he manages to temper Davies' fun, energetic and sometimes insecure narrative with good, solid and sometimes cheeky responses." Off The Telly's Graham Kibble-White concluded: "Candid, lucid and an all-too painful evocation of the challenges inherit in writing and running perhaps the most important show on the BBC".

In November 2008, it was announced that Richard and Judy, the couple credited with revolutionising the reading habits of Britons, had selected The Writer’s Tale for their Christmas Presents book strand – in the Serious Non-Fiction category – as part of the prestigious Richard & Judy Book Club. The couple described the book as "an absolute snapshot into the mind of a creative writer... It's a free flow of thought – a stream of consciousness. It's a great book."

On 2 December 2008, inspired by The Writer's Tale, Charlie Brooker devoted an extended edition of his BBC Four TV show Screenwipe entirely to interviews with prestigious writers, including Russell T Davies.

In June 2009, The Writer's Tale was shortlisted in the "Best Non-Fiction" category at the 2009 British Fantasy Awards, but ultimately lost out to Stephen Jones' Basil Copper: A Life in Books.

Published in January 2010, the paperback edition, The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter, updates Davies and Cook's correspondence to September 2009, to cover Davies' final year as Head Writer and Executive Producer of Doctor Who, taking in David Tennant's final few episodes as the Doctor. Critical reception was generally positive. SFX magazine's Ian Berriman described the book as "satisfyingly voyeuristic" and said, "It’s well worth buying, even if you’ve already got the original edition." The Guardian's Vera Rule called it "Far more than a ritual ‘making of'" and the "Best masterclass in telly I’ve ever attended," adding: "Made me cry." Heat magazine included the book on its "Hot List" of "The Top Ten Things We At Heat Are Completely Obsessed With This Week." However, Private Eye criticised the tome for being "breathlessly self-congratulatory" – "a bring-your-own-extolment party in which readers are invited to bask in the outrageous genius of this bear-like TV demagogue."

Asked, in a February 2010 interview, whether there were any plans to conduct a similar correspondence with Davies' successor as showunner, Steven Moffat, Cook replied:

Not at the moment. Well, not by me. Maybe Steven's e-mailing someone else! But look, e-mailing me isn't a prerequisite for taking the job of showrunner. I'm not handed down from head writer to head writer, like a soup recipe. Or a genetic disorder. The Writer's Tale sort of came about by accident, really, and it was quite an organic process, at a time when Russell already had three series under his belt...