‘Doctor Who’ Showrunner Russell T. Davies Talks Writers Strike At London Protest: “What Happens In America Happens Here”

Russell T. Davies addressed the U.S. writers strike for the first time at the London Screenwriters Everywhere protest this afternoon.

Speaking with Deadline on the ground, the Doctor Who showrunner said he believes the issues around the strike haven’t been created by producers or executive producers but by the ignorance of executives at the higher boardroom level “who I’m not even sure are listening.”

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“That’s the problem. We need to get rid of them,” Davies said.

When asked what he thinks needs to change to end the strike, Davies said terms between writers and the studios “just need to be humane.”

Davies added that he turned up today to show solidarity with the WGA and predicted that the issues writers face in the U.S. will eventually plague the UK industry.

“I know that what happens in America happens here. These problems will be coming this way. It’s literally about solidarity with the people over there,” he said of today’s demonstration. “Some of them are starving and are having to take second jobs to just work on shows. It’s wrong, it’s a fight, and I’m behind it.”

He added: “I wish we could strike, but secondary strike action is illegal in this country, which is a shame because I’d be out there. We’re doing our best. We’re lining up and hashtagging. Does that change anything? I don’t know.”

Here, Davies references UK law which means it is illegal to strike on another union’s behalf. In this case, the WGGB could not strike in support of the WGA.

Deadline was speaking to the celebrated It’s a Sin creator as scribes in more than 20 countries showed their support for U.S. writers in a global day of solidarity and action titled Screenwriters Everywhere. More than 200 people are believed to have turned up at the demonstration in London, including Black Mirror writer and creator Charlie Brooker and Enola Holmes scribe Jack Throne. WGGB President Sandi Toksvig also addressed the full gathering.

All agreed that the UK industry needs a similar shot in the arm and Thorne focused on “new to medium level writers.”

“How we look after them is so important,” he said. “They are the future of the industry. Jesse Armstrong started on The Thick of It and David Simon on Life on the Streets so unless we support those writers with minimum wage levels and guaranteed writers rooms then they will not have a future.”

Alice Nutter and Simon Beaufoy, who co-wrote Disney+’s Full Monty TV reboot, said the situation is “worse” in the UK.

“They have large writers rooms [in the U.S.],” said the pair. “Over here it’s a gig economy and writers make so much less. We can’t strike in same way here but we should be demanding more.”

Actions are taking place across the globe today including at Netflix’s office in Seoul, South Korea, Apple and Amazon in Canada, the European Parliament in Brussels, the Eiffel Tower and Cologne in Germany.

The writers strike is well into its second month and shows no signs of abating. The WGGB has urged all of its members to refuse work on WGA projects since the dispute and other unions from around the world have made similar demands.

You can see the full list of today’s actions below:

Netflix, Buenos Aires, Argentina

European Parliament, Brussels

Apple and Amazon, Canada

National Assembly, Bulgaria

FoxTelecolombia, Colombia

Eiffel Tower, France

Cologne Cathedral, Germany

Tel Aviv Central Library, Israel

Estudios Churubusco, Mexico

EYE Film Museum, Netherlands

Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Poland

Netflix, Seoul, South Korea

Filmoteca de Catalunya and Valenciana, Spain

The Riksdag, Sweden

Leicester Square, London, United Kingdom

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