The BBC announced today that season six of Doctor Who, which delivered record ratings for BBC AMERICA earlier this year, will open with a spectacular two-parter set in the U.S. and penned by ‘Who supremo’ Steven Moffat.

Production on episodes one and two of the new season starts in Cardiff this month and Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will then travel to America in mid November to shoot pivotal scenes. They will also be joined by Alex Kingston who reprises her role as River Song.

Showrunner and lead writer, Steven Moffat, said: “The Doctor has visited every weird and wonderful planet you can imagine, so he was bound get round to America eventually! And of course every Doctor Who fan will be jumping up and down and saying he’s been in America before. But not for real, not on location – and not with a story like this one! Oh, you wait!”

Piers Wenger, Head of Drama BBC Wales and Executive Producer, added: “Steven’s scripts generally inspire us to go that extra mile – this time we’re going that extra four thousand. Thanks to our friends at BBC America and to the continuing ambition of our lead writer and production team, the first two episodes of Matt Smith’s second season as the Doctor are going global and look set to become Doctor Who’s most action-packed and ambitious season opener yet.”

2010 has been a breakthrough year for the Doctor Who franchise across all platforms since BBC America became the official home of the series. The series reached the number one spot on the “Top TV Seasons” chart on iTunes and now Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Season hits stores on Blu-ray and DVD on November 9.

This grew from the success of the Doctor Who Proms show we did in 2008. There was a real demand from the people to experience the music and monsters up close, which developed into this show. We wanted to add something to the TV experience and surprise people. We're delighted with the way it has turned out.

The Doctor Who Companion
The Eleventh Doctor
Volume One

Your complete guide to the award-winning BBC One series!
Written and researched by Andrew Pixley.

2010 was a landmark year for Doctor Who. Matt Smith and Karen Gillan appeared on television as the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond for the first time, in a series of incredible adventures. From the Doctor's crash landing in sleepy Leadworth, through to his arrival at Amy's wedding in a rebooted universe, the last of the Time Lords faced many monsters during the course of his travels, including Weeping Angels, Silurians, Autons, Cybermen, Smilers, Venetian Vampires, Prisoner Zero... and, of course, the Daleks!

Now, Doctor Who Magazine takes you behind the scenes of the Eleventh Doctor's first six episodes with an in-depth episode guide - including original storylines, deleted scenes, media appearances, ratings information and thousands of facts about the day-to-day life of the making of Doctor Who - all illustrated with gorgeous, never-before-seen photographs. This collectors' edition examines The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below, Victory of the Daleks, The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, and The Vampires of Venice, as well as the specially-made 3D cinema trailer.

This is your essential guide to worlds of Doctor Who.
Get ready to discover a wealth of information - but watch out for the cracks ...

It felt right to pass the baton on and for it to continue to thrive. I think that was all exactly as I would wish it to be. There’s a downside to playing the role, but in my experience it’s grossly outweighed by the upside because I loved doing it so much that I wouldn’t have missed that opportunity for anything. It was just wonderful and it created many, many more opportunities than it closed down. I think my life is in a very different place and my career is in a very different place to what it was before I did Doctor Who and that is 90 per cent positive.

I’m very nervous to say anything, because anything I say is turned into some soundbite and used by the Daily Mail as proof that I’m a… Genuinely, I think it’s been brilliant. I’ve loved every second of it. It’s a thrill for me to be watching it as a viewer again. I knew Matt was going to be fantastic and he is. He’s a great choice and he’s knocked it out of the park.