The Good, The Bad, and The Doctor! Matt Smith and Karen Gillan film Western-style Doctor Who episode on Spanish film set



Matt Smith and Karen Gillan are used to getting stuck in any number of sticky situations as their on-screen aliases, The Doctor and Amy Pond in the BBC's Doctor Who.

And this time, their adventures are taking the actors rather further afield than usual.



The pair will be tackling threats to the planet in a rather special setting in a forthcoming episode, which sees them trading blows with half-robot half-human enemies in a Victorian-era western town.

Riding high: Matt Smith looked perfectly at ease on horseback filming Doctor Who in Spanish town of Almeria

Amy and Matt have been spotted filming in the southern Spanish town of Almeria on its famous desert lots.

Matt appeared to have taken to his new surroundings with ease, and was seen casually texting while on horseback during a break.

Cooling off: Karen Gillan enjoyed a break off-camera, shielding her eyes from the bright sun behind sunglasses

Branching out: The Doctor will tackle robot cowboys in the forthcoming Western-style episode

Amy was pictured relaxing off camera, shielding her eyes from the sun behind a pair of black sunglasses.

The Almeria location has been used as a set for over 100 films, including The Magnificent Seven and A Fistful Of Dollars, due to its Western-style streets and houses.

Pragmatic choice: Show bosses chose to film in the Spanish town as it was more cost-effective than building a new set from scratch in the UK Authentic: The crew gather for scenes outside the mock saloon The desert landscape of Tabernas also provided the backdrop for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Show bosses chose to film in the Spanish town as it was more cost-effective than building a new set from scratch in the UK. Incredible backdrop: The desert landscape of Tabernas was also used for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Brooding: Matt has several pensive moments to himself in between takes

The non glamorous side of showbiz! Karen is surrounded by male crew members, but seems to be in need of a stylist An insider told The Sun: 'Matt and Karen are really excited about the episode.'

'Filming on the same set as a lot of western films, together with the Spanish weather, will give it an epic feel.'

Almeria is also sunnier than Cardiff, where Doctor Who is usually shot.

No big deal: Matt texted a friend on his phone while still riding his horse

Upstairs Downstairs star Adrian Scarborough will guest star in the episode.

The last Doctor Who to do battle with cowboys was William Hartnell in 1966.



The earlier incarnation was caught up in a shootout at the OK Corral.

