Who will win the Hugo?

From the archive, first published Tuesday 3rd Apr 2007.

A FORMER Southend writer has been nominated for a top sci-fi award, for the script he wrote for an episode of TV favourite Dr Who.

Toby Whithouse, 36, wrote the episode, School Reunion, part of the popular second series starring the current Doctor, David Tennant.

The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works of the previous year.

The awards are voted upon by members of the annual Worldcon - the World Science Fiction Convention.

Mr Whithouse's episode saw the Doctor catching up with his former travelling companion, Sarah Jane Smith, and robot dog K9.

Mr Whithouse, who now lives in Brighton with wife, Helen and their two children, grew up in Southend acted at the Focus Theatre Workshop.

Of the writing process which led to his nomination, he said: "I started writing it before the first series went out. David Tennant had just been on TV, in Casanova, and I'd watched that and thought he was fantastic.

"I thought I'd write the episode as if he was playing that character - without all the sex! It seemed to do the trick."

Ironically, despite the episode's title, Mr Whithouse was a school and college dropout, but later won a place at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama.