Doctor Who gives the kiss of life

Published on 17/06/2005 01:47

THEIR eyes meet across a crowded space-time continuum ... Doctor Who and his sidekick Rose Tyler will exchange a kiss and embrace passionately in the final episode of the series on Saturday.

However, the Time Lord is keeping it strictly professional - the clinch saves the life of Rose, played by Billie Piper, by sucking her life energy from her body and absorbing it into his own.

A spokesman for the BBC1 show said: "Their lips do touch and there is a kiss, but it is designed to rescue Rose from death."

The erotic frisson is just one of a number of elements that are certain to draw a massive audience for the last appearance of Christopher Eccleston, 41, as the Doctor.

One of the final scenes in the episode has Eccleston confronting the Emperor Dalek, the head of the Doctor's legendary enemies, as the aliens try to annihilate humanity.

Viewers will see the Time Lord regenerated in Saturday's episode as the new Doctor Who, who is to be played in next year's series by David Tennant, the 33-year-old Casanova star.

The first words of the new Doctor are: "Hello. New teeth. Now where were we?"

However, the show's finale remains a closely guarded secret, despite rumours sweeping fan sites on the internet.

A BBC official denied alternative endings of the show had been filmed to avoid leaks.

Another mystery which will finally be resolved on Saturday is the identity of "Bad Wolf", a cryptic reference to an unseen character regularly referred to throughout the current series.

Speculation has revolved around Bad Wolf turning out to be either the chief Dalek, the "time agent" Captain Jack Harkness, the Doctor's traditional foe Davros, or even the Time Lord himself.

Russell T Davies, the show's writer, said: "I don't want to give anything away yet, but there is another revelation to come in Saturday's episode.

"We haven't discovered the true Bad Wolf yet."

Whoever Bad Wolf turns out to be, the finale marks the end of a massively successful return of Doctor Who to the BBC after a 16-year break.

The 13-part series has routinely trounced ITV in the Saturday night ratings, with audiences of more than seven million.

The second series of Dr Who, starring Renfrewshire-born Tennant, will start filming this summer, with transmission set for next spring.

The BBC confirmed yesterday that it had commissioned a third series beyond that.

A spokesman said it was likely Tennant would play the Doctor in the third series.

• Dr Who can be seen this Saturday on BBC1 at 7pm.