Production: Jenna-Louise Coleman begins filming

Thursday, 24 May 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Photo: Gareth Bundy
"We were really lucky to catch her. As we arrived, literally, she was leaving."

Jenna-Louise Coleman began her tenure as the new co-star of Doctor Who this week, with the actress spotted yesterday at the end of filming her first scenes on location at Plas Llanmihangel Manor House, South Glamorgan.

The read-through for her first episode to be recorded took place on Monday, with the BBC's official Doctor Who Twitter feed stating: "History has been made! A new era begins! Jenna-Louise Coleman has just completed her first Doctor Who read-through. One word. Brilliant!"

Details of her character are being kept under wraps, at least for present. Speaking to Digital Spy, Steven Moffat said when we could expect to learn more:

Christmas! But don't expect to learn everything! We've got a good story and there are some proper legitimate surprises in it. I'm excited by it. I think we're going to do some fun stuff.

We can't really contain everything, because people will crawl all over us with cameras and sneak views of scripts and call-sheets. Something will get out. But we've been fairly sly, so let's wait and see.

Moffat also explained the later launch of the new series this year:

I don't know, on this occasion, that the thinking particularly came from me, actually. I've always been open to anything that shakes [the series] up. I think that decision actually came from the BBC. But I've been well up for anything that we can do to shake up the transmission pattern, the way we deliver it to the audience and how long we make the audience wait, simply because that makes Doctor Who an event piece.

The more Doctor Who becomes a perennial, the faster it starts to die. You've got to shake it up, you've got to keep people on edge and wondering when it will come back. Sherlock is the prime example, as far as that goes. Sherlock almost exists on starving its audience. By the time it came back this year, Sherlock was like a rock star re-entering the building!

So keeping Doctor Who as an event, and never making people feel, 'Oh, it's lovely, reliable old Doctor Who - it'll be on about this time, at that time of year'. Once you start to do that, just slowly, it becomes like any much-loved ornament in your house - ultimately invisible. And I don't want that to ever be the case.

Newslink: Digital Spy: Steven Moffat on 'Doctor Who', 'Sherlock' and his BAFTA Special Award (19 May 2012)

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Production - Filming Reports - Jenna-Louise Coleman - Series 7/33

Amy and Rory take their leave

Thursday, 17 May 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Last week saw the final scenes recorded on location for the characters Amy and Rory, aka Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill - the latter who comes 'full circle' as the location at St. Cadoc's Hospital in Caerleon was where he filmed his first day on location back in 2009!

Their last scenes to be filmed come from the penultimate episode for the Ponds, the fourth of the next series. Their departure on screen will be in the following episode, the fifth, which was recorded last month. After the final shots were completed Karen Gillan tweeted "And that's a wrap! Bye bye from the ponds. We love you."

The final scenes were observed by several of the production team past and present, including lead writer Steven Moffat and former executive producers Piers Wenger and Beth Willis, with a party taking place afterwards to celebrate.

Another 'closure' took place on Friday, with the final day's production at Upper Boat. The studios, located in Pontypridd just outside Cardiff, have been home to Doctor Who since the third series and have also been the base for Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. The complex was the first BBC studio centre totally dedicated to drama, and was set up in the wake of the success of Doctor Who following the series' revival in 2005. Production will now continue in full at the new purpose-built studios at Roath Lock in Cardiff Bay.

Photos: BBC Doctor Who / Facebook, 11th May 2012

With Karen and Arthur's final scenes recorded, the "handover" to new girl Jenna-Louise Coleman will begin filming shortly, though as with previous introductions her first story to be recorded may not be her first story on screen!

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Arthur Darvill - Karen Gillan - Production - Series 7/33

Production: Angels in Manhattan!

Friday, 13 April 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

This week saw the cast and crew 'go west' as they travelled to New York to continue filming scenes for episode five in the new series of Doctor Who; during the course of the week, the Doctor, Amy and Rory were seen to visit a number of recognisable landmarks, such as Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Tudor City Plaza and Times Square.

The BBC have published some images of the cast and crew during the shoot:

Versions of the wallpapers are available to download in 16:9 and 4:3 format from the BBC Doctor Who website.

Talking about choosing the location for the episode to BBC America, Steven Moffat said:

It's just that it's a different backdrop for the story. Something about Weeping Angels in New York seems to make sense to me. It's not to appeal to an American audience, particularly - they don't come to Doctor Who to see themselves, they come to Doctor Who to see us.

We're not going to go there and film in the backstreets like we'd find in Cardiff, that would be a mistake!

A number of other photos of cast and crew on location were published on Twitter by Arthur Darvill (@rattyburvil), playing a "peg game" with his photographs! The week saw Karen Gillan finally join the social networking tool (@KarenGillan2) too, publishing her first photograph on location!

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Production - Filming Reports - Series 7/33

Production Roundup

Sunday, 8 April 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Production:

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine has reported that the fourth episode of the series will be produced on its own as Block Three, to be directed by Douglas Mackinnon, who previously filmed The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky; the episode will also be the second script written by Chris Chibnall for this series.

This will then be followed by Block Four, due to commence production in May, and of course introduces us to a new traveller in the TARDIS in the form Jenna-Louise Coleman in the 2012 Christmas Special. This will also be the first story to be totally produced at the new BBC Roath Lock studios in Cardiff Bay.

Steven Moffat described the audition process for the new arrival: "I sat down and wrote a scene, from a pretend story, that I thought covered everything a Doctor Who co-star might have to do. And that one scene ended up being three scenes, and two of them I liked so much, they snuck themselves into real eposodes, and one I liked even better because during it we all realised Jenna was our one and only choice. We all sat and watched this - me, Caro Skinner, Marcus Wilson and Andy Pryor - and I'm sure you could hear our heart rates soaring. Because there it was, right in front of us, the new team and the new show." This scene is included in DWM Issue 446.

Casting director Andy Pryor described the process of short-listing for roles to DWM: "My original list was probably a couple of hundred names, which I whittled down to around fifty. Then I began auditioning in earnest - in the intake stages, I'll audition maybe twenty people at a time for a role like this - and showing the best of them to Steven, Caro and Marcus. For smaller roles and guest parts we usually audition somewhere between three and five people, but for such an enormous part it's a bigger deal. Between us we shortlisted further and recalled a small selection to read with Matt. We met some brilliant actresses for the part, but when Jenna auditioned with Matt, we all knew instantly that she was the one."

After photos with classic Daleks revealed by the BBC and Moffat last week, one owned by former head writer Russell T Davies has also been pressed into action! The arrival of 'her' at the studios were marked by brand manager Edward Russell: "Oh look. It's me and Caroline Skinner posing with Russell's Dalek on her way to the studio!« Daleks are female, right? It make so much sense. For one they have skirts....«". The executive producer herself said: "Russell's Dalek has arrived on set - I'm talking her through her part!«" Russell's partner Andrew saw it off: "Our Dalek on its way to TV stardom in Cardiff«", to which Steven Moffat replied: "We'll all look after it. Except for the Doctor, who'll probably blow it up. Sorry, he does that.«"

Photo: Edward Russell/Twitter

Photo: Caroline Skinner/Twitter

Photo: Andrew C Smith/Twitter

Filming from the current block indicates that Director of Photography for episodes one and five is Neville Kidd - previous credits include Lip Service, How To Grow A Planet and Case Histories, and he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Photography (Factual) in 2009 for his work on A History of Scotland

Media:

Matt Smith on how things are progressing with filming: "It's really great. I think we've got some really exciting episodes. We did the read-throughs for episodes one and five and they are extremely extraordinary. Really, really pleased with them, so if we get them right, the Ponds' final hour could be incredible. We will be making some Doctor Who in New York which is incredibly exciting." [Independent, 5 Apr 2012]

Will a woman be taking over the role of the Doctor for the 50th Anniversary? According to the Express, she will, with their show insider saying: "The 50th anniversary series will end with a very big twist - the Doctor becoming a woman will give the show a new lease of life.". The newspaper cites Sherlock actress Lara Pulver as being one of the front-runners. [Express, 2 Apr 2012]

Filming Reports:

After a number of weeks hidden away in studio or abroad, the production team has finally been out and about on the public streets of Cardiff once more, with filming taking place across Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for both episodes one and five. The "Silver Cloak" were on hand to watch the exterior filming, and the following summaries of the shoots contain potential plot revelations - though the details have also been widely reported on Twitter, do not read further unless you don't mind knowing such details!

Wednesday saw the exterior of Cardiff University's School of Physics and Astronomy pressed into service, and like with Day of the Moon in last year's series the area was dressed to look like a New York street, including a parking sign and a 'stunt' tree. Weeping angels were in attendance (including those seen at the Doctor Who Convention in March), with scenes being shot of two Angels on pedestals by the building entrance with Rory, then the Doctor and Amy seen to enter cautiously. Another actor, named "Rob" also filmed scenes outside the building, which was named "Winter Quay" for the story.

Brian Damage commented: "it probably doesn't sound like the most exciting scene (and there were no spoilers), but somehow those Angel statues are really quite disturbing. Even though they are the same statues which were on display in the BBC studios and at the convention, seeing them out in the real World is really unsettling!"

Simon Watkins also reported: "Inside the building, some other scenes had clearly been shot too. There were people milling around, and we saw later some other characters/extras emerging in period dress, including a small girl with a pink ribbon in her hair."

Filming continued to around 1:15am.

Further photos from the evening's shoot can be found by Alun Vega on Flickr and Laura Blakemore on Facebook. Some video footage from the evening is also available to view from Simon Watkins and "RabbitLights" (1, 2).

The evening's activities were also reported by WalesOnline.

The production team spent the early afternoon of Thursday filming outside the house nominated as Amy and Rory's in Bute Esplanade, plus the TARDIS sited in the park across the street (as usual!). A clapperboard indicated that one of the scenes was Episode 1 Scene 64, and activity involved Amy and Rory waving the TARDIS goodbye, and also an apparent row between the pair in the street. Filming wrapped around 3:00pm.

Further photos from the afternoon's shoot can be found by Lee Tucker on Flickr, Laura Blakemore on Facebook, and Whovians.net on ImageBam. Video footage from the afternoon is also available to view from "Cjllewey369".

The afternoon shoot was reported by the Daily Mail and The Sun.

A number of locations represented London and New York during Friday afternoon/evening, with filming taking place for both episodes one and five.

First up was the familiar sight of Mount Stuart Square, which has appeared a number of times in the series past, most notably as the streets of London during Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel and Doomsday. The square was once again substituted for those streets, with a prop a bus stop indicating Wimbledon Theatre and a "Number 23" bus to Liverpool Street present at the location. A clapperboard indicated that Episode 1 Scene 5 was in progress, and Ryan Farrell summarised proceedings: "Rory gets on a London bus, with "divorce papers", for him and Amelia Williams. Rory is the one filing for divorce. Let's remember that this could be a dream/nightmare sequence or alternate reality. Here's the interesting bit; the bus driver had, in his hand as Rory got on (not in all takes), a mini Dalek eyestalk! It seemed to be New Paradigm style, with the jagged edges rather than smooth, but it did have a blue glowing light and wires coming out of it."

Second location of the afternoon was based in the interior Custom House in Bute Street, a Victorian building that is being renovated as part of a redevelopment project. This might have been for either episode one or five, with Ryan reporting: "Matt, Karen, Arthur and a mystery black guy in the suit and posh hat were all in there."

Action then moved to Bay Chambers in West Bute Street. Ryan picks up the action: "'Winter Quay' from Wednesday's filming is actually a hotel, and the interiors were filmed here. Rory was in a cellar, and gets zapped by something (presumably an Angel) and appears in New York in the past. Arthur had to jump off a small box and look confused and shaken up. Then he looks up, at the Statue of Liberty. He was told to gaze at it as if there was something not quite right about it. He couldn't think what. Next, they filmed "Rob" (actor's name) getting out of a car. It was very odd. They only filmed his shoulders and head, and there was actually no car at all. He had to mime it by squatting and then standing up. He makes a comment about the Statue of Liberty too, and also looks confused, and walks on."

Brian Damage added: "At a guess I'd say that the street scene was not meant to be in quite the same geographical location: the interior of Winters Quay (glimpsed through the door tonight) was the same set up as the false wall which they used at the Physics lab, on Wednesday night. In other words, the Physics lab is the outside of the main entrance, whilst this building is the interior. From the action, it seems likely that this scene follows on from the filming at the previous location, making both scenes part of Episode 5 - which of course fits with the costume of the unidentified black actor spotted at the previous location."

Filming again wrapped around 1:15am.

Further photos from the day can be found by Lee Tucker on Flickr. Some video footage from the evening is also available to view from Lee and Ryan Farrell (afternoon, evening).

The fourth consecutive day of location filming moved out of Wales to nearby Bristol, utilising the architectural interiors of the University's School of Physics and the Institute for Advanced Studies. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill were present, with scenes from both episode one and five believed to be taking place.

One fan said: "The angels were in the physics block - I think,they were letting anyone go and look lol. They're filming till 3am and it looks like no Matt. It was all inside and being that we got what we went for we left after they went inside."

Tiny Time Lord continued: "It was only Karen at Fort House - we got there at 22:30 and it was just Karen and two girls as Weeping Angels (we got their autographs as well) Arthur wasn't around. We're pretty sure Matts stunt double was there though. a guy in same jeans/boots and bow tie with his hair styled as Matt. Couldn't get near enough to ask him though! The Angels left at just gone midnight and Karen went back in to film some more. We left just before 00:30!"

Filming reports/photos thanks to: Brian Damage, Lee Tucker, Laura Blakemore, Penny Blakemore, Simon Watkins, Alun Vega, Ryan Farrell, Tiny Time Lord

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Production - Matt Smith - Filming Reports - Jenna-Louise Coleman - Series 7/33

Production Roundup

Sunday, 1 April 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Filming Update:

Filming continued on the series yesterday with work progressing in studio with the Dalek opener, generating banter between Steven Moffat and Arthur Darvill on Twitter. SM:"After extensive deliberation, THE DOCTOR HAS SPOKEN. Matt Smith likes the sixties Dalek best.«" - SM:"This just in: Amy Pond concurs. The Last Centurian has yet to speak.«" - AD:"I could tweet several incriminating pictures of my favourites but I feel they may be. . . How do you say? . . . Spoilers?«". Moffat then released a photo illustrating the object of their discussion ...

John Sheppard, part of the FX crew, also commented on proceedings: "Job Saturday, watching Dr Who's Daleks explode at the Dr Who studios Wales. Working with Real SFX.« Call time confirmed 08.00 at the Dr Who studios, for Dalek explosions. Looking forward to this one, big fan of the Daleks.« Dr Who set looking good, plenty of Dalek mayhem, Dalek FX explosion went very well, just.« Working late on Dr Who tonight, it was interesting to see all original Daleks since 1960 in one episode.« The gun area of the Dalek just missed me, whilst it flew past burning!«"

Sheppard also said: "Made it onto Dr Who Confidential, SFX and me talking about the Dalek explosion. Which really did go Boooooom!!«"; he later corrected himself, saying: "just a small correction, Confidential was cancelled, I'm led to believe, but it's the same people who continue to film.«" - this last comment lends credence to a recent article in The Star in which it stated that there would be an online version of the behind-the-scenes show this series.

Media Coverage:

Jenna-Louise Coleman visited the Doctor Who studios last week, and said: "There were scenes built from all around the world. So I’m looking forward to going on all these big adventures. I think Ancient Rome would be great – to play Cleopatra would be good fun. Hopefully it'll happen. There’s no limit to what they do with the stories and where in time we can go. I'm excited to see where we go time travel-wise.". Talking about her future co-star, Matt Smith, she said: He's so full of energy which is infectious. Me joining him will be a new dynamic for the show and we'll be working hard to make that work." [The Star, 1 Apr 2012]

Ben Browder did a Q&A at the Australian OzComicCon Convention, during which he briefly mentioned his role in episode three: "I've just got back from the UK and Spain where I just did an episode of Doctor Who. I got the offer right in the middle of pilot season and my agent goes 'well you know you're going to miss some very big casting' and I went 'it's Doctor Who!' It was a very exciting moment, I got to work with the Doctor, I got to hold his hand. I have seen the inside of the TARDIS. I play a marshall in the 1870s." [full Q&A via YouTube, 31 Mar 2012]

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Arthur Darvill - Jenna-Louise Coleman - Series 7/33

Series Seven Images

Monday, 26 March 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have made ten images depicting moments from the Series Seven Teaser Trailer available as wallpaper, which can be downloaded from the BBC Doctor Who website in either 4:3 (1152x792px) or 16:9 (1920x1080px) formats.

FILTER: - Online - Series 7/33

Series Seven Teaser Trailer released

Monday, 26 March 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Premiered at the official convention this weekend, the BBC have now released a Series Seven teaser trailer, featuring clips from the first couple of stories to be recorded for the Autumn season. Versions have been made available via both the BBC iPlayer and YouTube.

Series Seven Trailer, BBC, via BBC iPlayer

Series Seven Trailer, BBC America, via YouTube

FILTER: - Series 7/33

Production: Convention News

Saturday, 24 March 2012 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who will return to America to shoot the final story featuring Amy and Rory, as they depart the series in an epic battle with the Weeping Angels to be shot in New York.

Executive Producer Caroline Skinner confirmed the news at the Doctor Who Convention taking place in Cardiff this weekend, were fans were given an exclusive premiere of Series Seven, with a showing of the first trailer featuring footage from the upcoming series. The trailer will be availble on the BBC Website from 9am Monday.

Asked how they felt about leaving the series Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill said they felt the time was right and that Amy and Rory's story had run its course. Darvill said: "we've had the most incredible time and it will be really sad when we leave. We had the read through for our final episode last night and it is going to be an amazing piece of Television.". Gillan said she was so pleased with the way she was leaving: "I just hope I can deliver it well."

Matt Smith said he would miss two of his closest friends, and that they had developed an incredible creative relationship. But all good things come to an end: "The thing about Doctor Who is that it is in constant change so we embrace the future and look forward to Jenna."

Asked how they felt about attending the convention, all the stars agreed said it was amazing to meet the fans and to see the reaction: "When making the series you forget how much people love it. We just try to make it the best it can be and its brilliant to see the reactions."

The production team were tight lipped about plans for Series Seven and the show's 50th Anniversary next year. Steven Moffat gave the headlines already known: "Amy and Rory leaving, tragedy, heartbreak and a Western, what more do you want out of Television. Come on Downton take that on!"

The Doctor Who Convention continues on Sunday although all tickets are sold out. A full Convention Report will follow later.

FILTER: - Conventions - Caroline Skinner - Series 7/33

Jenna-Louise Coleman: First Publicity Photo

Friday, 23 March 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC America have released the first official publicity photograph of the new Doctor Who co-star Jenna-Louise Coleman, here pictured in front of the TARDIS:

FILTER: - Jenna-Louise Coleman - Series 7/33

Jenna-Louise Coleman joins Doctor Who

Wednesday, 21 March 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have announced that the new co-star to appear alongside Matt Smith in Doctor Who is to be Jenna-Louise Coleman, who joins the show in the sixth episode this year, due to be shown at Christmas.

The actress was announced via the BBC's Doctor Who feed on Twitter, which also included some quotes. Jenna-Louise said: "I want to get started already. I'm a huge fan of the show.« Matt Smith did my audition with me. It was fun and I felt like we were in it together.«"; and on her favourite companion, "Between Billie Piper and Karen Gillan". Lead writer Steven Moffat said: "We saw a lot of brilliant actresses. But Jenna was the only person going faster than Matt - he had to keep up!«"

Expanding on this in the press release, he said:

It always seems impossible when you start casting these parts, but when we saw Matt and Jenna together, we knew we had our girl. She's funny and clever and exactly mad enough to step on board the TARDIS.

It's not often the Doctor meets someone who can talk even faster than he does, but it's about to happen. Jenna is going to lead him his merriest dance yet. And that's all you're getting for now. Who she's playing, how the Doctor meets her, and even where he finds her, are all part of one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters. Even by the Doctor's standards, this isn't your usual boy meets girl.

Danny Cohen, the Controller for BBC One, added:

As we approach Doctor Who's 50th anniversary it's great to welcome a new companion to the TARDIS. I feel confident the Doctor will look after her in his own very unique style.

The BBC's One O'Clock News included an item on the casting, with the actress describing when she found out she had won the part:

I was in Marks and Spencers holding an avocado - having the debate of what goes best in a salmon salad - when I got the call from my agent. It was kind of a bewildered excitement, confusion, "really?", oh goodness - all sorts of emotions, and I thought, after I'd hung up, I thought I really can't carry on shopping so I just put the basket down and left Marks and Spencers, and just went for a little walk and try to digest!

A full version of the interview with Entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba can be watched via the BBC News site.

The twenty-five-year-old first came to public attention playing Jasmine Thomas in the long-running soap Emmerdale between 2005 and 2009. She then went on to appear in series five of the BBC's award-winning Waterloo Road as Lindsay Jones, and will be seen on television this coming Sunday in the ITV mini-series Titanic as Annie Desmond. Her debut in film came with the role of Connie in Captain America: The First Avenger, and she has also lent her voice to the English version of the game Xenoblade Chronicles.

NB: The BBC have confirmed that Jenna-Louise Coleman does not have, and does not plan to have, a Twitter account.

Production:

It was also confirmed this morning when Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will depart, with Steven Moffat saying: "Amy and Rory will leave in the fifth episode that goes out, and it will be a final encounter with the Weeping Angels, and not everybody gets out alive - and I mean it this time!"

As well as the lonely assassins, Doctor Who Magazine have also reported that the Daleks, too, will feature during the first half of the series this Autumn.

Speaking to the Radio Times at the Royal Television Society awards last night, Moffat explained the style of story-telling for the next series:

This time we're moving closer to stand-alone stories. At this point, we're not planning any two-parters. So, every week is going to be like a different mad movie.

We went quite 'arc' last time and we're going stand-alone this time around. But that doesn't mean that there aren't those things creeping in. You've got to find a way to make the last episode special, and by God that worked ratings-wise last year. We don't want to abandon that idea.

Watch out for the title of episode two. I think that's a belter. It's one of my favourite titles ever.

After the six episodes broadcast in the Autumn/Christmas this year, the remaining eight will be shown next year, with Moffat adding: "Oh, there'll be more episodes than just those eight, but these are the ones we're making right now." No other details of when and what else will occur during the 50th Anniversary have been revealed as yet.

FILTER: - Production - Jenna-Louise Coleman - Series 7/33

Previous 10 Stories