Doctor Who writer Chris Chibnall created Grand Serpent specifically for Craig Parkinson – but didn’t tell him the most disgusting bit

Craig Parkinson was the only man for the job (Picture: BBC Studios/Ben Blackall/Getty)

Doctor Who’s Chris Chibnall has revealed he created Grand Serpent with Craig Parkinson in mind, however, he left out one minor detail in the hopes of getting the actor on board.

Speaking to Radio Times, the show runner admitted how creating villains and monsters for Doctor Who ‘takes teamwork.’

‘Every monster is the result of an assembly of talents. The starting point can be an image, an idea or an actor,’ he said, before sharing that he only wanted Parkinson to play the Grand Serpent.

‘We’d wanted him in the show for a long time. For a warm, funny and delightful man, Craig can do cold, quiet and threatening in a way that chills the blood,’ he said.

‘I didn’t mention to Craig the disgusting way the Grand Serpent dispatches his enemies. I left that as a surprise for when he read the script,’ Chibnall teased.

So who is the Grand Serpent? Parkinson wasn’t given much to go on initially.

Meet Grand Serpent (Picture: BBC Studios/James Pardon)

‘To be honest, Chris had me with the name,’ the 45-year-old laughed.

‘The character is purely selfish and he doesn’t let anyone stand in his way or take no for an answer. He’s very cunning and he takes his time, literally, he goes through the time zones, to get what he wants.”

Grand Serpent also sports a distinctive look: a peroxide-streaked quiff, a leather jacket emblazoned with serpents, cufflinks to match, and Cuban heels that give Parkinson’s 6ft 4in frame an extra measure of dominance.

The actor said he ‘drew on the slightly camp aspect of a Las Vegas magician but with the deadly viciousness of a Sopranos character.’

Parkinson revealed the character is ‘very slick, well groomed’ and has ‘a slight shimmer of a tan.’

Viewers also know Parkinson from Line of Duty (Picture: BBC)

‘Everything is meticulous with him,’ he told.

Parkinson’s slippery Doctor Who villain – who turned up in part three of the current run and joined forces with the Sontarans in part five – is the latest in a string of wrong ’uns on Parkinson’s CV. But it wasn’t always the case.

Parkinson started off in comedy in his early 20s, doing little bits on shows ‘with very well-renowned comedy people.’

He says comedy is still the thing that is ‘very close to his heart,’ however, he’s since played some villainous roles, including gangster Ronnie Kray’s fictional offspring Jimmy/Johnny in ITV’s Whitechapel changed, which he says was ‘a lot of fun.’

The millions of viewers who watched his menacing turn as Matthew ‘Dot’ Cottan in three series of Line of Duty will surely agree that it looked like he was having fun and he makes a perfect menace.

More: BBC

He admits that his 10-year-old son is ‘the font of all knowledge’ on all things Who, so he’s glad to now be appearing in something they can watch together.

‘He did find the first episode, as I think a lot of people did, very overwhelming. He watched it twice.’

Doctor who continues tonight on BBC One.

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