Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall to leave Doctor WhoBookmark and Share

Thursday, 29 July 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Jodie Whittaker (Credit: BBC)

Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall will be leaving Doctor Who following a trio of specials ending in an epic blockbuster to air in autumn 2022 as part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations.

The current showrunner and Thirteenth Doctor have been in charge of the TARDIS since filming for the Thirteenth Doctor began in 2017 but both have confirmed they will be leaving the series at the end of 2022

A six-part Event Serial has been announced for this autumn, and two Specials were already planned for 2022. To help mark the 100th Anniversary of the BBC, BBC One has now asked for an additional final feature-length adventure for the Thirteenth Doctor before the Doctor regenerates once more.

After taking the helm of the show, Chris Chibnall made the groundbreaking decision to cast Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor. He also brought in Tosin Cole (Ryan), Mandip Gill (Yaz) and Bradley Walsh (Graham), and cast the acclaimed Sacha Dhawan as the latest incarnation of The Master, plus Jo Martin as the mysterious Fugitive Doctor, adding new characters, layers and twists to the mythology of the show.

Chris Chibnall said

Jodie and I made a “three series and out” pact with each other at the start of this once-in-a-lifetime blast. So now our shift is done, and we’re handing back the TARDIS keys.

Jodie’s magnificent, iconic Doctor has exceeded all our high expectations. She’s been the gold standard leading actor, shouldering the responsibility of being the first female Doctor with style, strength, warmth, generosity and humour. She captured the public imagination and continues to inspire adoration around the world, as well as from everyone on the production. I can’t imagine working with a more inspiring Doctor – so I’m not going to!

For me, leading this exceptional team has been unrivalled creative fun, and one of the great joys of my career. I’m so proud of the people we’ve worked with and the stories we’ve told. To finish our time on the show with an additional Special, after the pandemic changed and challenged our production plans, is a lovely bonus. It’s great that the climax of the Thirteenth Doctor’s story will be at the heart(s) of the BBC’s centenary celebrations.

I wish our successors - whoever the BBC and BBC Studios choose - as much fun as we’ve had. They’re in for a treat!

Jodie Whittaker added

In 2017 I opened my glorious gift box of size 13 shoes. I could not have guessed the brilliant adventures, worlds and wonders I was to see in them. My heart is so full of love for this show, for the team who make it, for the fans who watch it and for what it has brought to my life. And I cannot thank Chris enough for entrusting me with his incredible stories. We knew that we wanted to ride this wave side by side, and pass on the baton together. So here we are, weeks away from wrapping on the best job I have ever had. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express what this role has given me. I will carry the Doctor and the lessons I’ve learnt forever.

“I know change can be scary and none of us know what’s out there. That’s why we keep looking. Travel Hopefully. The Universe will surprise you. Constantly.”

Current Director of BBC Drama Piers Wenger added

Over the last four years Chris and Jodie have made Doctor Who history and their time on the show is indelibly marked on our memories. From Rosa Parks to Ascension of the Cybermen, Chris and Jodie have given Doctor Who some of its most life-affirming and tear-jerking moments to date and we are beyond excited to see what they have in store for us in the new series this Autumn. Jodie's final adventure to mark the BBC's Centenary in 2022 is set to be a Doctor Who Special to remember. I’d like to thank them both for their incredible work on the show

With over a year of adventures to come, the Thirteenth Doctor still has plenty in store for fans.

 

 





FILTER: - Thirteenth Doctor - Production

Jacob Anderson Joins Series 13 Of Doctor WhoBookmark and Share

Sunday, 25 July 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Jacob Anderson (Credit: BBC)

The BBC has announced that Game of Thrones star Jacob Anderson is set to make his debut on Doctor Who later this year, playing Vinder.

As a recurring character throughout the series, Jacob’s new role will see him join forces with the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop) as the Doctor faces her biggest ever adventure battling evil across time and space.

Known to millions as Grey Worm in Game of Thrones, Anderson is a star of stage and screen and has appeared in many television series including Episodes, Broadchurch and Skins as well as roles in King Lear at the Young Vic and War Horse at the National Theatre.

Anderson is also a successful music artist who goes under the name Raleigh Ritchie.

Speaking about joining Doctor Who, Jacob Anderson said

The Doctor has been a part of my life forever, from watching and rewatching the serials on VHS as a kid and being terrified, to unexpectedly finding my eyes watering when the Tenth Doctor said “I don’t want to go”, I always wanted to live in the Whoniverse. Not only has a lifelong dream of mine now been fulfilled but to be playing a character as fun, adventurous and dynamic as Vinder is the cherry on top. This is very cool.”

Jacob’s role was announced at today’s Doctor Who San Diego Comic-Con panel where Chris Chibnall, Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill and John Bishop teased what is in store for the Doctor.

Doctor Who will return later this year.

 

Series 13 (Credit: BBC)





FILTER: - Series 13 - Jacob Anderson

Doctor Who: The Edge of RealityBookmark and Share

Thursday, 22 July 2021 - Reported by Marcus
The Edge of Reality (Credit: BBC)

Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker and Tenth Doctor David Tennant will face a new nemesis in a quest to save reality in a new videogame to be released this Autumn.

Digital entertainment studio, Maze Theory, in partnership with BBC Studios, have today announced that the brand-new videogame Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality will launch on Wednesday 30th September 2021.

Compatible with current and next-gen consoles as well as PC, Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality reimagines and expands on Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, with a completely new and compelling adventure.

With new worlds to explore and all-new modes of gameplay, players will be guided by the ThirteenthDoctor (voiced by Jodie Whittaker), and for the first time will also encounter the Tenth Doctor (voiced by David Tennant) in a new story written by Gavin Collinson (Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins).

Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality will include easter eggs, new foes, and iconic monsters such as the Cybermen, the Daleks and the Weeping Angels. Players will also find themselves immersed in the ‘Chaosverse’: a corrupted alternate universe where worlds and timelines collide to create new adventures, encounters, and threats…

Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality Highlights

  • In this thrilling first-person adventure, a ‘reality virus’ is wreaking havoc across the universe, causing time glitches that distort the past, present and future.
  • Players will face an entirely new antagonist – The CyberReaper, an ominous foe with a terrifying purpose. More to be revealed….
  • The new story opens up multiple new environments for the player to explore, from a Cybership to the Chaosverse.
  • New and expanded levels include new gameplay modes, such as puzzles, shooting, collecting and stealth.

Ian Hambleton, CEO of Maze Theory said:

With our partners at BBC Studios, we are giving DoctorWho fans and gamers an incredible new experience through space and time. The appearance of both the Thirteenth and Tenth Doctors is set to be an epic event. The‘Chaosverse’ is a mind-blowing new concept, which brings a whole new dimension to the Doctor Who Experience.

This much-anticipated console/PC launch follows the incredible success of the mobile game Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins and re-affirms our commitment to take players on the most unexpected and immersive narrative journeys.
Kevin Jorge, Senior Producer – Games & Interactive for BBC Studios said
We’re really excited to bring Doctor Who back to console and to give players the chance to be the centre of a new Doctor Who adventure. We’re always striving to bring the Doctor Who universe to life in unique and interesting ways, tell new stories and give fans the chance to be part of their own adventure and I believe we’ve done that with The Edge of Reality. We really hope that fans and those new to Doctor Who alike will enjoy helping the Doctor in this epic adventure.
Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality will launch on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S,Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch and PC on 30th September 2021.
 
For more information, visit: doctorwhotheedgeofreality.com
 




FILTER: - Games - Thirteenth Doctor - Tenth Doctor

Fan's Charity Appeal Wins Support from Tom BakerBookmark and Share

Thursday, 22 July 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Louis  (Credit: Living Paintings)

A Doctor Who superfan, who has raised over £16,000 for charity, has had the chance to meet one of his heroes, Tom Baker.

Louis Moorhouse has been blind since he was 18 months old. A few weeks ago he launched a fundraising campaign on Crowd Funder in an attempt to raise £15,000 to make it possible for a charity, Living Paintings, to make a set of Touch to See books which will bring him and other blind and partially sighted people closer to the world of Doctor Who.

Having reached his first fundraising target Louis is now looking to raise £25,000 to support the charity that has helped him since he was two years old.

Louis says of his motivation to carry on with the campaign:

Living Paintings has had such a hugely positive impact on my life, from the first time I received a book and found out what Thomas the Tank Engine looks like (until then I had no idea what a train with a face could possibly mean), to helping me learn to read and express myself. I wouldn’t be who I am today without this wonderful charity and I hope people continue to support me on this journey so I can help other children facing the struggles I overcame with their help.”

Louis and Living Paintings have been overwhelmed by the support shown by the Doctor Who community and this week he had the chance to meet one of his favourite Doctors on Zoom.

As well as support from Baker, Louis has received messages of support from Sir Derek Jacobi, Sylvester McCoy and David Bradley as well as the current showrunner Chris Chibnall who said

Louis, this is a wonderful project. I think The Doctor would be cheering you on, all the way. All respect, admiration and support to you

 

You follow Louis campaign on Twitter and Facebook





FILTER: - Tom Baker - Charities

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 567Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 21 July 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 567 (Credit: Panini)

The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine gets us ready for summer. 

Going on holiday might not be so easy this year, but we can remember some of the highlights of summers past 

  • A celebration of the BBC’s Doctor Who exhibitions in the 1970s, from the Science Museum in London to Middlesbrough Town Hall, plus Blackpool and Longleat. 16 pages packed full of previously unseen photos, and memories from fans who were there.

  • A guide to Doctor Who filming locations.

  • Apocrypha takes a trip to Blackpool with The Nightmare Fair, the Doctor’s rematch with the Celestial Toymaker.

  • The Fact of Fiction visits a sinister amusement park in the 2013 episode Nightmare in Silver.

  • An exclusive first-look at the forthcoming Blu-ray Special Edition of The Web of Fear.

  • Tributes to Jackie Lane (who played the First Doctor’s companion Dodo in 1966) and Damaris Hayman (who played Olive Hawthorne in 1971’s The Dæmons).

  • A review of The Collection: Season 24 Blu-ray box set.

  • Results of the 2021 DWM Poll.

  • Sufficient Data explores Doctor Who’s big ideas.

  • Previews, reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser and more.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 567 is on sale from panini.co.uk and WH Smith from Thursday 22 July priced £5.99 (UK). Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £4.99.

 




FILTER: - DWM - Third Doctor

The Evil of the Daleks - New ReleaseBookmark and Share

Thursday, 1 July 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Evil of the Daleks (Credit: BBC Studios)

BBC Studios have announced that the second Doctor story, The Evil of the Daleks is to be released as an animated special edition on 27th September 2021.

Today's announcement comes on the 54th anniversary of the broadcast of the last episode of the original version which brought an end to the 4th season of Doctor Who. 

The Evil of the Daleks is the mostly-missing ninth and final serial of the fourth season of Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20th May to 1st July 1967. 

The Evil of the  Daleks (Credit: BBC Studios)Following the success of the existing animations, The Evil of the Daleks fills another gap in the missing Doctor Who content lost in the purge of the BBC archive soon after the programme’s original transmission. However, audio-only recordings of all seven episodes have survived and have been used here to create a brand new fully animated presentation of this lost classic, featuring the original surviving second episode.

The Doctor (Patrick Troughton) stars alongside his travel companion Jamie (Frazer Hines). The story unfolds as the Doctor and Jamie set out to find the missing time machine, bringing them face to face with a very old enemy - the Daleks, who have a new masterplan to conquer the universe. The Daleks force the Doctor to help them on their quest to ‘humanise’ themselves into deadlier living weapons.

This particular story is notable for introducing the Doctor’s new companion Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling), first seen in the surviving second episode, and also for presenting the Dalek Emperor.

The three-disc release gives fans the opportunity to enjoy The Evil of the Daleks, available in either colour or black and white. The release will include:

  • Remastered Surviving Original Episode 2
  • ​Telesnap Reconstructions – 6 episodes
  • Audio Commentaries 
  • Audiobook, with a recorded commentary by Tom Baker
  • Making Of
  • Photo Gallery

Anne Marie Walsh, Director of the 2021 production said

It's been a privilege to work on this fantastic story with such a brilliant team - thanks to the fans for supporting our work, I hope you all enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it!” 

 

The new animated release will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and a Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook from 27th September 2021. Pre-orders are available now from Amazon
 
 




FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Second Doctor - Season 4