Hello everyone! 🙂
Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!
I’ve had a very exciting weekend recently, as I attended the ‘London Comic Con Spring’ at the Olympia from Saturday the 28th of February to Sunday the 1st of March 2026! I got to see ‘Doctor Who’ stars over that weekend from both classic and new TV eras of the show!
In the past, I attended two ‘London Comic Con Spring’ events in 2019 and 2022. In 2019, I saw Sarah Sutton, and in 2022, I saw Jodie Whittaker for the first time. This year, I saw Millie Gibson for the fourth time at a comic con along with Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu.
Technically, I previously attended the ‘London Comic Con Winter’ in November 2025, where I saw David Tennant and Jenna Coleman as guests. That event was similar to the ‘London Comic Con Spring’ that I attended very recently in February and March this year.
Plus, it’s Showmasters who are the organisers of these events. But would I say I found ‘London Comic Con Spring 2026’ better than the ‘London Comic Con Winter’ event in 2024 (where I saw Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson for the very first time) as well as in 2025?
Yes! 😀 Initially, Millie Gibson was announced as the first guest for ‘London Comic Con Spring 2026’ and was meant to attend the Saturday. But then, Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu were announced for Sunday, and Millie Gibson changed to attend Sunday instead.
Thus, I ended up going to the ‘London Comic Con Spring’ for both days of that weekend. That itself created a little problem concerning Saturday compared to Sunday, as Sunday was the more important day of that weekend, but we’ll get to that eventually in this report.
Despite that, ‘London Comic Con Spring 2026’ ended up being a very satisfying weekend for me and more than I could have possibly anticipated. Let me share with you what the highlights were for me in attending ‘London Comic Con Spring’ for that exciting weekend.
Day 1 (Saturday 28th February 2026)
So, like I said, because Millie Gibson didn’t do the Saturday and there were more ‘Doctor Who’ stars to see on Sunday, there wasn’t really very much to do on Saturday. Oh, there were photoshoots for the guests on Saturday and there were panel talks to enjoy that day.
But because there weren’t that many ‘Doctor Who’ guests for me to see on Saturday, it meant having to wait around a lot when there were gaps throughout the day, which I didn’t really want to go through. I could have done a Colin Baker and Brain Blessed photoshoot.
I could have also done a Sophia Myles photoshoot and attended her panel talk that afternoon. There was also a ‘Doctor Who’ comics panel talk that day. It would have meant me finishing earlier than usual, which I guess could’ve helped me in preparing for Sunday.
But then, I was in London, and it turned out ‘Back to the Future – The Musical’ was going to be leaving the Adelphi Theatre in London in April this year. Having enjoyed the musical production twice in August and September 2025, I wanted to see it again for a third time.
So, that’s what I did. For the morning, I spent a couple of hours attending the ‘London Comic Con Spring’ and in the afternoon, I went to see ‘Back to the Future – The Musical’ at the Adelphi Theatre for the third time. 🙂 I’m happy I made that decision, as it was worthwhile!
In the morning, I explored the comic con area to get familiar with my surroundings. This time, the comic and merchandise stalls were on the ground floor, and the autograph signings and main photo area was on the top floor. This wasn’t like the 2025 ‘Winter’ event.
Everything was on the ground floor then. I don’t know what goes into the organisation of these events, but when it’s comes to Showmasters, they can be inconsistent. It’s either all on the ground floor or it’s the guests on the top floor and merchandise on the ground floor.
I managed to take photos of cosplayers and display items on Saturday. It wasn’t bountiful compared to previous events, but I’m glad I took the photos. This included someone dressed up as a character from…‘Monty Python’, I believe. I can’t be certain of that. 😀
There was also someone dressed up as Barbie from the 2023 ‘Barbie’ film, which I’ve not seen yet. I told the lady dressed up Barbie that I liked her outfit, and she said, “Thank you”. 😀 Perhaps I should see the 2023 ‘Barbie’ film sometime, since Ncuti Gatwa is in it. 😀
Bumblebee and Megatron from the ‘Transformers’ movies were also there at the event. There was also a ‘Pokémon’ Pikachu car at the ‘London Comic Con Spring’. I’m amazed that’s even a thing. 😀 And of course, a Dalek attended the ‘London Comic Con Spring’! 🙂
I’m pleased I saw Colin Baker at the comic con on Saturday. It was great to see him again and he signed my DVD cover of the theatre version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ that he’d been doing with Martin Parsons from the ‘Happy Who Year’ events for the past couple of years.
We chatted about him doing ‘A Christmas Carol’ on stage as a radio play and me hoping the play will come to Cardiff or somewhere in Wales. 😀 We chatted about the ‘Behind the Sofa’ Blu-ray items he’s been doing for ‘Doctor Who’ and apparently for Series 3 of ‘Blake’s 7’ lately.
I’m glad I managed to get selfies with Colin that day. We had quite a number taken, including two on landscape and two on portrait. The portraits were very funny to do, since I pointed at Colin and he instinctively pointed at me whilst we had the selfies being taken.
I saw Sophia Myles for a signing session that morning. I’m pleased that she remembered me from the ‘MegaCon Live Birmingham’ event in March last year. It was great chatting to Sophia, and she signed a photo for me of her as Reinette from ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’.
I asked her whether she found the episode challenging to do, considering it’s quite complicated with jumping from one time to another. Sophia told me that she only read and remembered her lines to help keep her in character when things became so baffling.
I’m glad I had a couple of selfies with Sophia that day. 🙂 It was a relief, since I wanted to have a photo with Sophia and Colin Baker, and I didn’t think I would get to have photos with them. I’m pleased I didn’t have to worry about getting professional photos with them.
Sadly, I didn’t get to meet Brian Blessed. Nor did I get to see Philip Hinchcliffe nor Andrew Cartmel who were also at the convention. I did get to see Julian Glover, who signed a photo for me of him as Count Scarlioni/Scaroth from the ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘City of Death’.
I also saw Christopher Chung who played Cassio Palin-Paleen in the episode ‘The Well’ from Series 15 of ‘Doctor Who’. I had a nice time chatting to him and about the character he played. Chris signed the back of my DVD box set cover of Series 15 of ‘Doctor Who’. 🙂
Paul Kasey. who played a variety of monsters in ‘Doctor Who’, was also at the convention. I had a nice chat with Paul where we talked about ‘Doctor Who’ and Cybermen. He signed a photo for me of Cybermen in the two-part story ‘Rise of the Cybermen’/’The Age of Steel’.
I did the ‘London Comic Con Spring’ on Saturday from 09:00 to 11:00. Afterwards, I caught the tube train to Leicester Square to get to where the Adelphi Theatre is. I took a photo of William Shakespeare’s statue in Leicester Square and had lunch from Greggs. 😀
I did a bit of walking before going to the Adelphi Theatre. Sadly, ‘Fawlty Towers – The Play’ is no longer at the Apollo Theatre, as ‘I’m Sorry, Prime Minister’ is being performed there instead. I’m very pleased I saw ‘Fawlty Towers – The Play’ twice in London back in 2025.
Eventually, I saw the 14:30 performance of ‘Back to the Future – The Musical’. It was great to see the production for a third time. Most of the cast were the same, except Cory English returned to play Doc Brown after Brian Conley had taken over from him for short while. 🙂
I’d also listened to the ‘Back to the Future – The Musical’ CD several times beforehand, so I knew the songs off by heart compared to when I saw the production the first two times. Thus, it was easy for me to get into the songs when seeing the production the third time.
Day 2 (Sunday 1st March 2026)
Sunday was the big day for me in attending the ‘London Comic Con Spring 2026’. I believe it was the busiest day of that weekend with so many people coming to see the ‘Doctor Who’ stars. Mind you, it wasn’t as busy as compared to say, the 2024 ‘Winter’ comic con.
Which, in itself, is a good thing, considering the backlash the 2024 ‘Winter’ comic con had at the time. At least Ncuti Gatwa was there for the entire day, and he didn’t have to leave for a technical rehearsal for a stage play. I’m very pleased I got to see him that day.
The first ‘Doctor Who’ guest I saw, of course, was Millie Gibson, who I must say I’ve become a huge fan of over the years. I managed to collect my Diamond Pass for Millie the day before. 🙂 This included instant access to see Millie for autographs and a photo shoot.
Millie instantly recognised me and was very pleased to see me. I’m very happy I’ve been able to see Millie at four comic cons over the past couple of years from London to Milton Keynes to Cardiff to London, as she’s very open and friendly when meeting her at events.
We had a nice chat about her attending the ‘Gallifrey’ convention in Los Angeles recently in February, which she recommended me attending. 😀 I also asked her to sign two items for me at the comic con. These were Christmas gifts that my Dad bought for me last year.
They included the Millie Gibson 2026 Calendar, where she signed the May photo with a message of “Happy Birthday” on it, and my 2025 Christmas Photobook, which had already been signed by Sarah Sutton at the ‘Happy Who Year 2026’ convention recently.
Millie was impressed with the two items I’d brought along to the convention. For the 2025 Christmas Photobook, she signed it with a very lovely message on it, saying, “Tim, thank you for being such an incredible fan! It’s always a pleasure to see you!!!” I’m very chuffed!
This goes to show how much of an impression I’ve made on Millie these past couple of years. She could have easily signed the photobook with her usual signature, but she signed it with a heartfelt message to say that she appreciates my support of her, which is so gratifying!
I also gave Millie a box of chocolates for Easter with a card to it. She was very grateful for the chocolates. I told Millie that they were for her to remember me by and she told me she’d never forget me. 🙂 I was looking forward to doing the photo shoots with Millie later on.
After seeing Millie, I went to meet Varada Sethu. It was great to see her and chat to her for the first time. Varada signed my DVD box set cover of Series 15 of ‘Doctor Who’ for me. I asked her what her favourite ‘Doctor Who’ episode was, and she told me it was ‘The Well’.
I later saw Ncuti Gatwa for a signing session. It was great to see him again and I had a more fruitful chat with him compared to the first time in November 2024. He signed my Blu-ray box set cover of Series 14 of ‘Doctor Who’ and my DVD box set cover of Series 15.
I shared with Ncuti how much I enjoyed his two seasons of ‘Doctor Who’ and how sad I was that he left the series, not wanting him to go, which he appreciated. I asked him what his favourite ‘Doctor Who’ episode was. He told me ‘The Well’ and ‘The Story & The Engine’. 😀
I also saw Jemma Redgrave, who plays Kate Lethbridge-Stewart in ‘Doctor Who’. I had a nice chat with Jemma where we talked about ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’. She signed my Series 14 ‘Doctor Who’ box set cover, and I had a selfie with Jemma that day.
David Bradley was also at the comic con. It was great to see David, and she signed the back of one of my Blu-ray covers for ‘The Power of the Doctor’, which he made a guest cameo in. I also chatted to him about his appearance in the ‘Dad’s Army’ VE Day sketch.
I also got to meet Michelle Greenidge, who plays Carla Sunday, Ruby’s mum in ‘Doctor Who’ for the first time. It was lovely to meet and chat to her, and I had my Series 14 ‘Doctor Who’ Blu-ray box set signed by Michelle. Her favourite story is ‘The Church on Ruby Road’.
Sadly, I didn’t get to see ‘Doctor Who’ guests like Alex Kingston, Colin McFarlane, Katy Manning, Eve Newton and Stephen Gallagher at the event. There wasn’t enough time for me, especially I had photo shoots with some of the stars in the afternoon, which I enjoying partaking in.
The first photo shoot was with Millie Gibson by the TARDIS. I asked Millie if we could do ‘The Twist’, which she was happy to do. 😀 I also had a photo with Michelle Greenidge and Millie Gibson, which I’m very pleased about. Then I had a solo photo with dear Millie.
For this solo photo with Millie, I wanted to do an Easter greetings card with her. So, I brought along a card to say, “Happy Easter Everyone!” and an Easter bunny who I’ve named Bugsy. 😀 Millie was so impressed with the bunny that she wanted to hold it in the photo. 😀
After lunch, I had a photo with the three Doctors – David Bradley, Colin Baker and Ncuti Gatwa. It was funny how that photo came about. When it was my turn to have a photo with them, David Bradley and Colin Baker were chatting away as I waited to stepped in. 🙂
Ncuti encouraged me to step in and I amusingly explained, “I was waiting for these two to stop talking!” Colin’s answer was “Stop talking, Tim!” 😀 I think it clearly shows I was laughing in that photo as soon as Colin said that, which must have helped immensely. 😀
I had a solo photo with Ncuti, a duo photo with Ncuti and Millie, and a triple photo with Varada, Ncuti and Millie. Millie called me by name for every photo shoot I had with her, and always said “Thank you” to me. 😀 She hoped to see me ‘next time’ once we finished.
I also had a duo photo with Varada and Ncuti, and then I had to go downstairs to have a solo photo with Varada. Apparently, Vicki Michelle from ‘Allo, ‘Allo’ had taken Varada’s spot for the upstairs photoshoot once the schedule for Sunday had been updated on Saturday.
After an amazing and busy afternoon of photoshoots, the day ended with a panel talk featuring Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu and Millie Gibson. Sadly, I didn’t get to ask them a question, but I greatly enjoyed the talk and them sharing their ‘Doctor Who’ memories. 🙂
‘London Comic Con Spring 2026’ turned out to be a successful weekend for me. It was better than I could have possibly anticipated. I had a great time on Saturday attending the comic con for a couple of hours before I went off to see ‘Back to the Future – The Musical’.
And Sunday was a very successful day in seeing the ‘Doctor Who’ stars I wanted to see, including Millie Gibson, Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu. Compared to the 2024 ‘Winter’ comic con, ‘London Comic Con Spring 2026’ was a happier and easy-going event indeed.
I’m very pleased I’ve been successful in forming a special bond with Millie Gibson at conventions, especially as she recognises me and appreciates my support every time I see her. It’s something I didn’t expect and I’m pleased I’ve made a good impression on her.
The fact that she hopes to see me again at the next convention as well as writing that special message at the back of my 2025 Christmas Photobook is proof of that. And that she knows my name and says “Thank you” to me at the end of a photoshoot is reassuring.
Granted, it’s not the same as Sarah Sutton, who I’ve formed a very strong friendship with at conventions for the past 16 years. But I’m pleased that when I see Millie next time at a convention, I know I’m going to enjoy chatting to her and have nice photo shoots with her.
I hope I’ll get to see Millie Gibson again at another convention soon. When that’ll be, I don’t know, but it’s something to look forward to. I’m looking forward to revisit Millie’s stories in ‘Doctor Who’ and to see her later in the year in Season 2 of ‘The Forsytes’ TV show.
In the meantime, I’m currently looking forward to the ‘Festival of the Time Lords’ convention in Newark at the end of May this year. Sarah Sutton is going to be a guest there as well as Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Paul McGann, Terry Molloy and Dan Starkey. YAY!!!
Thanks for reading!
Bye for now!
Tim 🙂
Bradley's Basement 