Twitter gets some bad press, but it’s a great way of passing the time until dinner, which, let’s face it, is what we do in the afternoons. #FollowFriday is where we take a few minutes to point you in the general direction of Doctor Who-related folk who reside on Twitter, presumably in much the same way as the Great Intelligence lurks in Wi-Fi signals.
You’ll know Gareth Roberts for writing The Shakespeare Code, The Unicorn and the Wasp, The Lodger, Closing Time, and co-writing Planet of the Dead and The Caretaker. But Roberts started his career in the early 1990s, contributing to both the Virgin New Adventures and Missing Adventures ranges. His novels include Zamper, The Plotters, and Tragedy Day, while his other books for the two series – The Well-Mannered War, The English Way of Death, The Highest Science, and The Romance of Crime – have been adapted into audio adventures by Big Finish.
Writing the Ninth Doctor novel, Only Human and the majority of that incarnation’s comic strips for Doctor Who Magazine meant Roberts made the transition to television, and as well as scripting Doctor Who, he also worked extensively on The Sarah Jane Adventures, including the final story, The Man Who Never Was.
Gareth’s a prolific tweeter (tweeter? Really?), so he’s amassed over 39,000 tweets on his profile. These of course include a number about Doctor Who.
I learnt English grammar from Terrance Dicks. Seriously, put some Target books on primary school curriculum and standards would soar.
— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) May 3, 2016
'I think I've found my new Doctor.' pic.twitter.com/YBkT9OdJhe
— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) May 2, 2016
I think new fave bit of Dr Who is when Dr bursts into a room in Fury From The Deep to warn everyone that seaweed is alive. Well, yes dear.
— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) April 29, 2016
Love that the monster's weak point in Fury From The Deep is that it just finds Victoria really, really annoying.
— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) April 30, 2016
Which super-efficient Troughton-era lady should run Britain?
— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) May 5, 2016
— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) April 28, 2016
As you can see, his tongue can typically be located in his cheek.
Wales Today. https://t.co/GBkiN5s3N9
— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) May 1, 2016
To be fair the government could hardly make a worse job of scheduling than the BBC has managed by itself.
— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) May 1, 2016
… Which also accounts for his retweets.
https://twitter.com/spankybackpack/status/726463973051211777
— Mark (@franklinshepard) April 28, 2016
Having written for soaps between 1997 and 2003, one of his frequent targets for jibes is EastEnders.
Love it when people in soaps say things about their relationships like 'this feels so dangerous but I want it'. As you do. #EastEnders
— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) April 29, 2016
One of the Mitchells is always in hospital. They should have a dedicated ward. #EastEnders
— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) May 4, 2016
Follow Gareth Roberts @OldRoberts953 – but be prepared, also, for a bevvy of political tweets!
