Issue 604 of Doctor Who Magazine is published today

Inside this issue

• Previews of the new episodes broadcast this month. Russell T Davies talks about 73 Yards and Dot and Bubble, we reveal a tantalising glimpse at the recording of Rogue, and whet your appetite for season finale The Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death.

• Jonathan Groff talks about his role in Rogue and his first impressions of watching An Unearthly Child…

• A day in the life of Wolf Studios… join DWM on the set of Space Babies…

• Script to Screen on realising the Baby Station crew.

• Behind the scenes on The Devil’s Chord – including contributions from actors who played the Beatles, Jinkx Monsoon, Russell T Davies, Murray Gold… plus Shirley Ballas and Johannes!

• We catch up with recurring guest star Susan Twist.

• Steven Moffat discusses some of the philosophical ideas at the heart of Boom…

• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies reports from New York as he publicises the return of Doctor Who in the US.

• “Are You My Mummy?” Nineteen years on, Time-Space Visualiser looks back at the series’ first meme…

• Loose Ends – this month we expand upon the Twelfth Doctor’s Regency adventures.

• The Fact of Fiction – a scene-by-scene look back at First Doctor story The Rescue.

• The first part of a brand-new comic strip featuring the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.

PLUS!

• Gallifrey Guardian – meet the new companion, played by Varada Sethu!

• Reviewed: the animated Celestial Toymaker on DVD and Blu-ray, and all the latest audio releases.

• Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

• Win Blu-rays and the latest audio releases!

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 604 is on sale Thursday 23 May  from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.

Titan Comics is launching The Fifteenth Doctor in comic form as part of Free Comic Book Day on 4th May 2024

Written  by master of sci-fi and fantasy, Dan Watters (Loki, Home Sick Pilots, The Sandman Universe), this special issue kicks-off an all-new DOCTOR WHO comic series starring the FIFTEENTH DOCTOR (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion in time and space, RUBY SUNDAY (Millie Gibson). 
 

The launch of the new series in 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the first DOCTOR WHO comics under Titan Comics. The publisher first started travelling with the Doctor in 2014 and hasn’t stopped since.

Now, in its 10th year, Titan Comics will be part of an exciting new era of Doctor Who with the Fifteenth Doctor. 

On the Free Comic Day edition of DOCTOR WHO: THE FIFTEENTH DOCTOR, series editor, Jake Devine says,

Free Comic Book Day takes place every year on the first Saturday of May. With over two thousand stores and several comic book publishers participating, the event gives readers a chance to grab a free comic and meet fellow comic readers.

Readers can find their local participating store HERE. 

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine marks the return of Doctor Who to Television screens worldwide

Inside this issue

• Previews of the new episodes broadcast this month. Russell T Davies talks Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord and we take a quick peek behind the scenes of Boom with writer Steven Moffat and exec producer Joel Collins.

• Meet the Beatles: John, Paul, George and Ringo (alias Chris Mason, George Caple, Philip Davies and James Hoyles) and their producer George Martin (Ed White)…

• …and to celebrate the Beatles appearance on opening night of the new season, we also look back at the relationship between the band and Doctor Who over the years…

• Jinkx Monsoon discusses her role as the malevolent Maestro.

• Can we get any answers from Anita Dobson about her character, the mysterious Mrs Flood? Worth a try!

We also speak to the equally intriguing Susan Twist about her roles in last year’s episodes and her involvement in the forthcoming season…

• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies considers the scheduling of the new episodes and welcomes new readers!

• Script to screen: discover the intricacies involved in bringing ‘Jimbo’ – the robot from Wild Blue Yonder – into being.

• A tribute to the work of the late Sid Sutton who, among many other career highlights, designed the Doctor Who titles in the 1980s.

• We test the memory of Matthew Waterhouse, who played companion Adric.

• Time-Space Visualiser – how second Doctor Patrick Troughton made a partial comeback in the late seventies…

• Loose Ends – tying up some dangling threads from the 1960s

• The Fact of Fiction – a scene-by-scene look back at an earlier opening night: 2007’s Smith and Jones.

• The concluding part of Mancopolis – our comic strip featuring the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.

PLUS!

• An exclusive comic strip supplement featuring TIMESLIP – the memorable multi-Doctor comic strip by former DWM editor Paul Neary. This also includes an essay on the story by Gary Gillatt and a chat with Dez Skinn who came up with the original idea for the strip.

• Two art cards to celebrate the new season!

AND ALL THE USUAL REGULAR FEATURES INCLUDING THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND COMPETITIONS!

BBC Books has announced that three new Doctor Who novels will be published this year, featuring Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor. Each book is an original, stand-alone adventure and will be published simultaneously in hardback and audiobook. The books are:
 

Georgia Cook is an illustrator and writer from London. She has written for several sets in the Big Finish Doctor Who Audio range, including The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles, Gallifrey: War Room, and the Interludes. She has also contributed short stories to publications such as Baffling Magazine and Flame Tree Press, and is a frequent contributor to various horror anthology podcasts as a writer and voice over artist.

The audiobook edition of Doctor Who: Ruby Red will be narrated by Millie Gibson, who plays companion Ruby Sunday in the TV series

Una McCormack is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She has written many Doctor Who articles, scripts and novels, including The King's Dragon, The Way Through the Woods, Royal Blood, Molten Heart and Time Lord Victorious: All Flesh is Grass, all from BBC Books.

Abi Falase is a Black British writer and director, reimagining fundamental societal concepts in inventive new worlds. Creating what they like to call “feel-good social realism”, wrapping big discussions about everything from race and gender to capitalism in little pockets of humour – because if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.

Ruby Red by Georgia Cook (BBC Books, £14.99) is out in hardback and audiobook on 13th June

Caged by Una McCormack (BBC Books, £14.99) is out in hardback and audiobook on 27th June

Eden Rebellion by Abi Falase (BBC Books, £14.99) is out in hardback and audiobook on 24th November

Issue 602 of Doctor Who Magazine is out today

Inside this issue!

• In the run-up to the new series, Millie Gibson talks to DWM about playing companion Ruby Sunday – her most in-depth interview yet!

• We examine a long-lost interview that First Doctor William Hartnell gave to the Scottish press – including some forthright opinions!

• Davina McCall shares her love of Doctor Who and reflects on her role in last year’s Christmas Special. 

• Script to screen: find out what processes went into bringing creepy puppet Stooky Bill and his family to life in The Giggle.

• To tie-in with the release of Season 15 on Blu-ray, we present an interview with model-maker Bill Pearson.

• We visit the set of Henry House – a new series starring many familiar faces....

• A report from from LA super convention Gallifrey One!

• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies on celebrating milestones out of sequence!

• Time-Space Visualiser – this month: the Trods! 

• Who & Me – DWM contributor Beth Axford on how she became hooked on Doctor Who.

• Loose Ends – exploring the mysteries of the Sixth Doctor!

• The Fact of Fiction – a deep dive into the plot of Twelfth Doctor story The Woman Who Lived.

• The adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday continue in the comic strip!

PLUS!

• Gallifrey Guardian – packed with all the latest news about the upcoming series!

• Reviewed – the new Season 15 Blu-ray Collection and all the latest audio releases.

• Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

• Win Blu-rays and the latest audio releases!

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 602 is on sale Thursday 28 March from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.

Doctor Who is set to make a return to screens worldwide on Saturday 11th May 2024.

Viewers inside the UK will be able to access two episodes from midnight on the BBC iPlayer, the first time episodes have made their premier on the 'on demand' service.  The episodes will be shown on BBC One later that day just before the annual Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final.

For those outside of the UK the episodes will be available on Disney+ from midnight UK time, 2300 GMT.

The new season of Doctor Who will see Ncuti Gatwa return as the Fifteenth Doctor, alongside Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, it comes after they made their highly acclaimed debut on Christmas Day in The Church on Ruby Road. 

Within the upcoming series, audiences will see the Doctor and Ruby travel through time and space on adventures to unknown lands, to the Regency era in England, to outer space worlds and the sixties.

This season will also see the return of Michelle Greenidge as Carla Sunday, Angela Wynter as Cherry Sunday and Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood as well as featuring an array of special guest stars including Jinkx Monsoon, Aneurin Barnard, Yasmin Finney, Jonathan Groff, Bonnie Langford, Jemma Redgrave, Lenny Rush and Indira Varma with more to be announced soon. 

Russell T Davies, Showrunner said: 

Doctor Who: The Church On Ruby Road.had an official 7-day rating of 7.49 million viewers. 

The episode was the third most-watched programme on British television for the week ending 31st December 2023.

The only programmes to beat Doctor Who was the New Year's Eve Fireworks and the Christmas Day edition of the drama Call the Midwife. 

ITV's highest-rated programme was the drama Vera with 5.71 million watching. The BBC had all 10 places in the weekly Top Ten. 

Doctor Who was watched by 41.4% of the total viewing public. It had an Audience appreciation figure of 82. 

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 599 is out today.

In this issue:

• An exclusive double interview with Ncuti Gatwa and David Tennant – talking about bi-generation.

• An access-all-areas look at the making of the Anniversary Specials finale The Giggle.

• Production designer Phil Sims takes us on a guided tour of the new TARDIS.

• Sonic disruptors! The making of the Fifteenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver.

• A profile of new companion Ruby Sunday.

• Join Blue Peter competition winner Verity on a tour of Doctor Who’s Wolf Studios.

• We talk to the people who worked on post-production on the latest episodes.

• Script editor Scott Handcock relives the anniversary month in his Production Diary.

• Crowd Sourcing – the concluding part of our feature on the life of extras on 60s Doctor Who.

• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies explains how the Gallifrey of the Fugutive Doctor was foreshadowed in 70s episode The Hand of Fear – now available on iPlayer.

• Sophie Aldred – aka 80s companion Ace – remembers her time on the show.

• The Fact of Fiction – we scrutinise Eleventh Doctor mid-series finale A Good Man Goes To War.

• A brand-new comic strip featuring the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday!

PLUS!

• Gallifrey Guardian – all the latest official news.

• A new-look reviews section – covering radio, books, soundtracks, and audio dramas.

• Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

• Win a copy of the Anniversary Specials Blu-ray, the new Target adaptations and the latest audio releases.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 599 is on sale Thursday 4 January from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99

After some six years Doctor Who has returned to Christmas Day, which of course makes it a candidate for being the most watched show on the day!

Though it is unlikely to make the top slot tomorrow - the King's Speech is almost certainly going to have that honour owing to its simultaneous showing across the major broadcasters - the bookies seem to generally agree that The Church On Ruby Road might well be the second-most watched programme of the day at 6-1! This is followed up by Call The Midwife at 8-1, and both Eastenders and Strictly Come Dancing at 9-1. ITV1 shows include Coronation Street at 16-1 and Emmerdale at 25-1.

Of course with six years between Christmas Specials, it's been six years since our ratings competition for Christmas Day, and this year you can win a copy of The Church On Ruby Road on Blu-ray or DVD. To enter, simply email us at comp-ratings@doctorwhonews.net with your name and the consolidated one week figure you expect the episode to achieve, as reported by BARB early next year.

Please specify the number in millions to 3 decimal places, for example 6.848m as achieved by The Giggle at the start of the month. For guidance, the highest rated non-King's speech programme last year was 7.814m achieved by Call The Midwife, who also took the 'silver crown' in 2021 with 7.831m.

The competition is open to UK residents, the closing date is Tuesday 26 December at 8:00am.

Doctor Who continues on Christmas Day with the first full story for the Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa.

The Church on Ruby Road can be seen on BBC One in the United Kingdom at 5.55pm.

It will be released on Disney+ and the BBC iPlayer at the same time.

The Church on Ruby Road also features Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood and Davina McCall as herself.

It is written by Russell T Davies and directed by Mark Tonderai for Bad Wolf Productions and BBC Studios.