Doctor Who writer reveals how Jon Pertwee helped shape his Bookish detective ...Middle East

Mark Gatiss has both created and stars in new U&Alibi series Bookish, a detective drama about the owner of an antiquarian bookshop in 1946.

Gatiss, known for both his writing and acting on shows including Doctor Who, plays the central character, Gabriel Book, who also helps the police to solve crimes.

Meanwhile, he is married to his childhood best friend Trottie, but is secretly a gay man living at a time when homosexuality was illegal.

Gatiss recently spoke with exclusively with Radio Times for our new interview series The Radio Times Writers' Room, the full video of which will be available from 16th July, when Bookish is released.

While in conversation, Gatiss revealed that he had "always" wanted to play a detective, but when it came to actually reading the lines for the first time, he struggled with how to approach the character.

He said: "The fascinating thing is, when I came to actually do it, I said the words for the first time at some of the auditions for the other actors.

"And I kept saying to Carolina [Giammetta], the director, ‘I don't know how to do this yet. How is it going to sound?’ And, of course, the biggest help was Doctor Who, because I've also grown up with that conversation being had by Doctors.

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"Jon Pertwee famously said, ‘I just played it as myself.’ He'd never done it before. He'd always put on funny voices. And one of the reasons his Doctor is so great is it's so straight, and yet he's such a funny man. But it was a really intriguing thing for me."

"Thank God I had a bit of time," Gatiss added. "And then eventually you sort of think, ‘Oh, I think that's working, that's not, let's try that.’

"So it's a combination, really. It's on the page, and I know what it sounds like in my head, and then you actually have to think about how it's translating."

Bookish, which also stars Polly Walker, Elliot Levey, Connor Finch, Blake Harrison and Buket Kömür, has already been renewed for a second season, which will soon be entering production.

In his conversation for The Radio Times Writers' Room, Gatiss also spoke about his work on The League of Gentlemen, Doctor Who, Sherlock and more.

Bookish will air on U&Alibi from Wednesday 16th July 2025.

Mark Gatiss's interview for The Radio Times Writers' Room will also be available for 16th June, on RadioTimes.com and YouTube.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

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