Russell T Davies explains the origins of Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor Who episode featuring The Beatles. Read more at Empire.
“I knew instantly you can never play Beatles songs on screen because the copyright is too expensive. So I’m thinking, ‘How would you do a Beatles episode without Beatles music?’ And that becomes the entire plot,” Davies explains. “That’s where the idea came from – copyright law!”
Yeah, Lennon never said they were bigger than Doctor Who, after all 🙂 A brand like this show could probably negotiate something. On the other hand, I'm glad the money goes toward what we see in the screen rather than licencing part of Come together...