Doctor Who @60: A Musical Celebration will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday 15th October 2023, plus will be available on BBC Sounds — and this recording will include the debut of the new Doctor Who theme tune, an arrangement by Murray Gold based on Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire’s original theme!

Those who were lucky enough to attend the Doctor Who @60: A Musical Celebration concert on Thursday 28th September at the Hoddinott Hall (Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff) got to experience not only the latest theme tune arrangement but also the Fifteenth Doctor’s tune, and Ruby Sunday’s. Murray Gold further confirmed that new companion, Ruby, played by Millie Gibson, will play her own tune on the piano during an episode of Doctor Who Series 14.

Ncuti Gatwa’s theme is simply called “Fifteenth”, while Ruby’s is “The Life of Sunday.”

The concert was recorded for broadcast on Radio 2, and will also be on BBC iPlayer at a later date.

Presenter, Jo Whiley said:

“As listeners to my Radio 2 show know I’m a huge Doctor Who fan, so presenting this concert is a dream come true. How better to mark the incredible 60th anniversary of the show than with this wonderful celebration of the music that has featured across the decades.”

Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, went on:

“BBC Radio 2 just had to mark this momentous anniversary of one of our most-loved BBC TV series. We’re thrilled to bring the amazing BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Singers to the station to play the memorable music of Doctor Who which we know our listeners will love.”

All three 21st Century Doctor Who showrunners — Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, and Chris Chibnall — were also at Doctor Who @60: A Musical Celebration.

Further scores played include “This Is Gallifrey”, “The Impossible Girl”, “I Am A Good Man”, and, of course, “I Am The Doctor”.

The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday 15th October 2023 from 8pm to 10pm.

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine puts Bonnie Lanford centre stage as she’s set to return to Doctor Who as Sixth and Seventh Doctor companion, Mel Bush!

This is her first major interview since her return was announced; Melanie Bush is set to come back, opposite Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, for the Series 14 finale. Plus, DWM includes We Need to Talk About Mel Bush, arguing that Mel is the most underrated companion of all time.

All that plus:

• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies shares his reactions as he watches the finished version of The Star Beast, the first of this year’s Doctor Who Specials.
• Dread Right Hand ­­­– what makes a great sinister assistant in Doctor Who, and how do they get their dirty work done? DWM investigates…
• Web Slingers, Surfers and Time Lords – acclaimed comic-book writer Dan Slott on his debut Doctor Who graphic novel, Once Upon a Time Lord.
• The Butterfly Effect – DWM talks to Emily Cook and finds out how a virtual event during lockdown snowballed into something that would change the course of Doctor Who history.
• Game designer Gavin Verhey and art director Matt Cavotta reveal how they combined fantasy trading card game Magic: The Gathering with Doctor Who.
• Production Diary – script editor Scott Handcock files his latest report, direct from Doctor Who’s HQ.
• Welcome to Aladdin’s Cave – brand asset manager Jonathan Davies on how it feels to have 60 years’ worth of Doctor Who props, costumes and assets at his fingertips.
• Liberation of the Daleks Part 12 – the adventures of the Fourteenth Doctor continue in the epic comic-strip adventure written by Alan Barnes and illustrated by Lee Sullivan.
• 60 Objects, 60 Years – the latest instalment of the series that tells the story of one object from every year of Doctor Who’s history.
• The Fact of Fiction unlocks the secrets of the Sixth Doctor’s final episodes, The Trial of a Time Lord Parts Thirteen and Fourteen.
• Gallifrey Guardian – all the latest official news.
• Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

Doctor Who Magazine #595 is on sale now, priced £7.99.

We might already be halfway through the arc, but the Eleventh Doctor (played here by Jacob Dudman) and Valarie Lockwood (Safiyya Ingar) will be back in November for a surprise bonus full-cast Chronicles episode, Broken Hearts.

And despite there being a statue of Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, on the lavishing cover artwork, he doesn’t make a guest appearance in the story.

Here’s the synopsis:

He took her apart, and she told him she was fine. She lied.

He saved their world, and told them they’d be safe. He was wrong.

Writer Lisa McMullin explains:

“I think this is one of the best series Big Finish has produced – it’s like discovering a superb missing television series of the Eleventh Doctor. Producer Alfie Shaw has created and developed something really special in the relationship between the Eleventh Doctor and Valarie Lockwood. She is one of my all-time favourite companions in ANY media. Jacob and Safiyya have such great chemistry.

“I listened to Geronimo! and All of Time and Space and was INSANELY envious of everyone who worked on them – the writing, the performances and the production are exquisite. Brilliant, BRILLIANT stories. I was gutted that Alfie had allocated writers for the entire series and DEVASTATED to discover Jacob wasn’t doing any more. BUT – I was floored by how sad I was at the end of James Goss’s superb story, Curiosity Shop. Sad and FURIOUS at the Doctor. No way Valarie would let him do what he did to her and get away with it! I needed closure! Valarie needed closure.

“So Alfie, Safiyya and Jacob kindly agreed to let me give them closure. It doesn’t interfere with the overall series’ arc, but it’s there if – like me – you were left furious at the Doctor at the end of All of Time and Space… and need a bit of help getting over it…”

I couldn’t agree more with Lisa. As a fan of her contributions for Big Finish, such as the fantastic Ninth Doctor audio Girl, Deconstructed (from Respond to All Calls) and Out of Time 3: Wink, I’m very pleased that she’s been given the opportunity to write for the Eleventh Doctor and Valarie. And yes, Curiosity Shop is also my favourite episode in the arc, thus far.

What’s more, you don’t necessarily have to listen to Broken Hearts in order to understand the overarching narrative. It’s more or less standalone, but also “an accidental two-parter”, according to Max Kashevsky (who has written All’s Fair in the forthcoming boxset Everywhere and Anywhere, due to be released in December). And since the story will be out in November, it perfectly coincides with the 10th anniversary of The Day of the Doctor. Could it be they’ll release it on the 23rd? We’ll have to see about that…

Directed by Helen Goldwyn, The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: Breaking Hearts is now available to pre-order on digital download only. In the meantime, you can also catch up with the previous two volumes (plus checking out my reviews), and read these brilliant Twitter threads by Lisa McMullin and Alfie Shaw on the story’s background.

It’s with great sadness that we report the passing of acting legend, Michael Gambon, who has died at the age of 82.

Of course, Gambon’s credits are extensive, but Doctor Who fans will know him for playing Kazran Sardick in A Christmas Carol (2010).

He left school without any qualifications as he hated it there, but he fell in love with acting and created a CV full of fictional credits; he sent this to theatre impresario, Micheál Mac Liammóir, who ran the Gate Theatre in Dublin, and it landed Michael his first role playing “Second Gentleman” in Othello. He soon impressed Laurence Olivier, and was taken on in a number of roles for the National Theatre Company, initially at the Old Vic. Not long after, he joined the Birmingham Repertory Company, and played th title roles in his beloved Othello, as well as Macbeth and Coriolanus.

Olivier further gave Gambon his first film role, also Othello, with Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi. This led to an immense number of acting roles for Gambon, on TV, film, and in the theatre, including Tales of the Unexpected, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Gosford Park, Lucan, Churchill’s Secret, The King’s Speech, A View from the Bridge, Toys, Maigret, Layer Cake, Skylight, Dad’s Army, Joe’s Palace, Cranford, and one of his best-known roles, the lead in The Singing Detective. And younger fans will likely recognise him as the voice of Uncle Pastuzo in the Paddington films.

Many, however, will known Gambon for playing Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, in the Harry Potter movies.

He received three Olivier Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four BAFTA Awards, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.

In 2010, he played Kazran in A Christmas Carol, opposite Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor. It was a wonderful role, and played beautifully by Michael. It’s certainly my favourite Christmas episode, against some tough competition, and Gambon’s performance, harsh yet sensitive, fearful and tearful, quiet and utterly commanding, is a key component in why A Christmas Carol is so special. It’s sad, then, that he said in 2015:

“I wasn’t very good. No, I wasn’t very good! I tried hard, but I couldn’t quite get it.”

Nonetheless, he said this in his typical self-deprecating, joking manner, and he said that it was “great fun”, especially noting that he loved acting with Matt Smith.

There’s a lot of excellent acting in the episode, including when Kazran goes to hit his younger self, only to realise that he risks turning into his father, then instead starts crying. Perhaps my favourite bit, though, comes earlier on, the first time Kazran is on the back foot — this incredible presence, master of his domain (in fact, the whole town), talks quietly to the Doctor, who says, “There’s a portrait on the wall behind me. Looks like you, but it’s too old, so it’s your father. All the chairs are angled away from it. Daddy’s been dead for twenty years, but you still can’t get comfortable where he can see you. There’s a Christmas tree in the painting, but none in this house, on Christmas Eve. You’re scared of him, and you’re scared of being like him, and good for you, you’re not like him, not really. Do you know why?”

Then, Gambon delivers this faltering, almost scared reply. A single word, laden with all the fears of his years: “Why?”

“Because you didn’t hit the boy,” the Doctor replies. “Merry Christmas, Mister Sardick.”

The Doctor Who world has lost one of its best guest actors, and the entire entertainment industry one of its brightest stars.

And it’s testament to the power of storytelling, of Doctor Who, of Gambon, that I’m sure I’ll think of A Christmas Carol, and of Michael, every time we’re halfway out of the dark.

Our thoughts go to his family and friends.

A new Doctor Who spin-off series, Doctor Who Unleashed, will go behind the scenes of the main programme, in something akin to Doctor Who Confidential which was axed in 2011.

Doctor Who Unleashed will air on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer, straight after every new episode of Doctor Who.

It’s a new 30 minute factual entertainment series produced by Bright Branch for BBC Studios, hosted by Steffan Powell (BBC Gaming Correspondent and former Radio 1 Newsbeat Presenter). The show boasts exclusive interviews with the stars in front of the camera, as well as those behind it.

Russell T Davies, Doctor Who showrunner, says:

“Over the years, I meet so many people who were inspired to find careers in TV, because of the behind-the-scenes material the BBC would show. And now it’s back, in the grand old tradition of Doctor Who Confidential, but in a brand new form, Unleashed! So a whole new generation – and faithful fans of old – can see what the stars and the crew get up to behind the cameras.”

Steffan Powell says:

“When you’re told Russell T Davies is asking for you to present a show, you say, ‘when does he want me?’ Doesn’t matter, I’ll be there…There’s a really fun and fascinating group of people bringing Doctor Who to life – I can’t wait for the audience to meet them. I’m so chuffed to have been trusted to help tell, in all its glory, the story of what goes into making the magic happen.”

Jo Pearce, Bright Branch Creative Director and Doctor Who: Unleashed Executive Producer, says:

“This series gives audiences access to all areas, led brilliantly by Steffan Powell, viewers are invited to see what really goes into the making of Doctor Who. It’s been such a privilege to create this show and we’re so grateful to the cast and crew who welcomed us in and allowed us to tell the story behind the drama.”

Fiona Campbell, Youth Audience (BBC iPlayer and BBC Three) says:

“Doctor Who is a show that needs no introduction, so it goes without saying that BBC Three and iPlayer are thrilled to introduce this incredible new series that invites viewers into the world of Doctor Who, showing them just what really goes on.”

I’m one of those people Russell talks about — someone who was inspired by Confidential, and while I don’t work in TV, it still remains a goal. I was gutted when Confidential was cancelled by Zai Bennett, so this is fantastic news.

Unleashed is expected to begin this November with the three new Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials.

Would former showrunner, Steven Moffat, return to Doctor Who? In the past, he’s scoffed at the very suggestion, but the Sherlock co-creator swerved the question when asked about coming back on Newsnight, jokingly responding “Am I a politician? Do I have to answer your questions?”

When pressed by presenter, Kirsty Wark, Moffat said:

“It’s really very recent that I quit Doctor Who… Look, I love, I absolutely adore Doctor Who; it’s the most wonderful show. But it’s in very safe hands with Russell [T Davies, new/old showrunner].”

Moffat was showrunner on Doctor Who from Series 5 in 2010 to Twice Upon a Time in 2017, so after such a long spell, we’re sure it still feels very fresh for him. Nonetheless, he contributed to the series quite a few times under Davis’ previous stewardship, delivering such phenomenal scripts as The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, and Silence in the Library/ Forest of the Dead.

So he admits to trying to find out what’s coming up for Doctor Who from Davies:

“I always stay in touch with Russell and ask him what he’s up to and so on, of course I do.

“That doesn’t mean I’m dashing off to Cardiff on the train tomorrow – unless I am…”

Moffat is one of my favourite writers, so to have him writing for the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) would be a dream. Nonetheless, you can see his point, and Doctor Who is a show that needs to look forwards, not back.

Would you like to see Steven come back? Which other writers would you like to write for the show again?

Many DWC readers will remember affectionately Tim Quinn and Dicky Howlett’s Doctor Who? strip, which ran for fifteen years in Doctor Who Magazine.

The strip poked affectionate fun at the series on screen and behind the scenes. Quite astonishingly, it ran from issue 64 to 225, with some special strips published for the 350th and 500^th issues. Years after the strip finished its run, Tim Quinn and Dicky Howlett have returned to the strip in Who’s 60, a new book which features brand new strips focusing on the Doctors who have graced the show since the original strip was cancelled, plus their own pick of the best of the original comic strips.

Who’s 60 is published by Viking Press Comics, which also publishes Quinn and Howlett’s The Fantastic 400: The World’s Largest Super Hero Team, in which Tim and Dicky take advantage of their long association with Marvel comics to lampoon Marvel’s superheroes and villains.

Who’s 60 is part of the events celebrating 60 years of Doctor Who.

• Who’s 60 is available now, published by Viking Press Comics | ISBN: 978-1912587865 |

• The Fantastic 400: The Worlds Largest Super Hero Team is also available now, published by Viking Press Comics | ISBN: 978-1912587889

The Ood are back in a trilogy of audio Torchwood stories featuring characters first seen in the 2006 Doctor Who TV story, The Impossible Planet/ The Satan Pit.

Odyssey, Oodunnit, and Oracle will wrap up this year’s run of Torchwood tales from Big Finish.

Odyssey, by Patrick O’Connor, sees the return of Ida Scott (Claire Rushbrook). Ida Scott has spent her life running from her father. But now she’s come looking for him. The Spire is an ancient relic left behind by The Resilient – a mysterious race who warped both gravity and time. Odysseus Scott lies dying in a bed in The Spire. He believes it will cure him. But are The Resilient really dead?

November’s release is James Goss’s Oodunnit, a murder mystery starring Shaun Parkes as Zachary Cross Flane. Who would murder an Ood? In the 43rd Century, all the Earth Empire’s waste goes to the recycling world of Paraglas IV. But has something else been sent there? Something worth killing for? The Torchwood Archive sends Zachary Cross Flane to investigate, and he uncovers a terrible secret. The Empire has a use for everyone, even after death.

And finally, Ronny Jhutti returns as Danny Bartock in Oracle, by Ash Darby, due for release in
December. In the 43rd Century, the height of the Earth Empire. A ship from 1000 years in the future has
crashed on a lava world and is calling for help. How dangerous is the knowledge it offers? The Torchwood Archive sends Danny Bartock. Because only an ethicist can save humanity from the future.

Producer James Goss said:

“For this Ood trilogy script editor Tim Foley suggested we follow the game of Rock Paper Scissors, so each part of the trilogy looks at a different aspect of humanity’s future.

“We start on a world where the seas are rock; in Oodunnit, we visit the Empire’s recycling planet; and, finally, in Oracle we find out if truth is the sharpest knife of all. Who will be the winner?

“The trilogy sees the return of Ida Scott (Claire Rushbrook), Zachary Cross Flane (Shaun Parkes), and Danny Bartok (Ronny Jhutti) from The Impossible Planet. Plus, Silas Carson as the Ood. It was an absolute delight to get all of them back in – we’ve managed to investigate the Ood differently across the trilogy, plus we also get to hear how the survivors of The Impossible Planet are dealing with the events of that story.”

Each of the three audio adventures is available to pre-order as a CD and download (for £10.99 each) or as a download only (£8.99). A six-release Torchwood bundle, including the above three titles, plus Launch Date, Sigil, and Dog Hop, is available for £60 (CD and download) or £50 (download only).

It’s finally been confirmed, after months of speculation, that Neil Patrick Harris will play the Celestial Toymaker in the 60th anniversary specials, notably The Giggle, also starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor.

So just who is the Toymaker and why does he have such a hatred of the Doctor? This guide will give you a good idea before he makes his return onscreen since 1966.

Who is the Toymaker?

The Toymaker is a celestial being, who managed to create his own universe after, in some accounts, surviving the death of the old universe along with a handful of other beings. Since then, he could be described as a Rumpelstiltskin-like figure, commanding immense powers and rigging games and deals in his favour. For example, he might “forget” to mention certain rules and/or bend them to see that he always wins. His powers, however, are limited to rules he sets out for any given game, though when a player loses, he controls what happens to his victim (akin to the Grandmaster in the Marvel comics universe). Some games are rigged to kill, like the deadly game he makes Steven and Dodo play against Cyril in his debut story, The Celestial Toymaker (1966), and sometimes he might turn you into a toy.

There are times when the Toymaker will join in with the games, like playing opposite the First Doctor in his Trilogic Game. But the games are always rigged in the Toymaker’s favour. The First Doctor only won by tricking the celestial being, but the Toymaker is immortal and invulnerable so when the Doctor destroyed the Toyroom, the Toymaker wasn’t destroyed along with it — he survived in various forms to take up his deadly games with the Doctor throughout their multiple incarnations.

However, given his powers and immortality, the Toymaker was scared of the outside universe. Whether this was because of his defeat at the hands of the First Doctor or because, as a creature of an old universe, the new is uncertain; either way, when the Twelfth Doctor met him in a comic book adventure, Relative Dimensions, he allowed the Toymaker to create a new toyshop inside the TARDIS before ejecting it back out into space when his old Toyroom broke down.

Encounters with the the Doctor

The Doctor first met the Celestial Toymaker, travelling with his companions Steven and Dodo in the story, The Celestial Toymaker. When the Doctor mysteriously vanishes before their eyes, Steven, Dodo, and the Doctor have no choice but to leave the TARDIS. The Doctor learns that the reason why they have been brought here is because the Toymaker is bored and wants a mind as brilliant as his to play against. While the Doctor has to play the Trilogic Game, Steven and Dodo are forced into playing a number of deadly games before they are able to get back to the real TARDIS.

The Toymaker hints that this isn’t the first time he and the Doctor have met but he left the Toymaker’s domain before he could play a game and that is why, this time, the Doctor has been brought here. The Doctor manages to make enough correct moves to make himself visible and eventually joins his companions by the real TARDIS. Once inside, he uses the Toymaker’s own voice against him, commanding the winning move on the Trilogic Game, realising that to make the final move in the Toyroom would have seen that world vanish and them along with it. In winning against his foe, the Doctor, Steven, and Dodo are set free while the Toymaker’s dimension is destroyed.

The comic, Relative Dimensions, saw him facing off against the Twelfth Doctor and Clara. The Toymaker is seemingly afraid of the outside universe but finds his own one breaking down. The Doctor does however help him make a new one, allowing him to enter the TARDIS and turn one of the rooms into his Toyroom, the Doctor then jettisoned that room from the TARDIS — allowing the Toymaker to continue his games under the impression that he wouldn’t continue to take people from other worlds. Of course, this promise wouldn’t last.

The Doctor also met the Toymaker in Divided Loyalties, when the Celestial being’s body began to break down. Once upon a time, he had taken over the body of a Time Lord called Rallon. The Toymaker then decided to turn Tegan, Nyssa, and Adric against the Doctor, leaving the Time Lord alone so that he could take over his body. All the games came to nothing though, with Rallon fighting against the entity that had taken him over many centuries ago and forcing his body to undergo many regenerations. The shock from this forced the Toymaker out of his body and Rallon died. This had once again destroyed his Toyroom and, with his servant Stefan in tow, the Toymaker fled to Earth and hid in a place called Blackpool…

This is where the Sixth Doctor and Peri encountered him (The Nightmare Fair); now calling himself the Mandarin and in a new host, the Mandarin was controlling a thrill ride, Space Mountain, as well as a number of deadly video games. The Doctor and Peri managed to trap the Mandarin in an impenetrable force field which was being powered by the Mandarin’s own mental energy, meaning that the universe believed that he was finally trapped forever.

But how many times has a villain been believed defeated only to come back when you least expect it? The final encounters with the Doctor come out of order, but while he was still calling himself the Mandarin, he would play chess opposite Fenric (from the Seventh Doctor tale, The Curse of Fenric). But when Fenric very nearly outplayed him, the Mandarin realised that a stalemate against this powerful entity was the only victory he was going to have. But this wouldn’t be his last encounter with Fenric…

Now back to calling himself the Toymaker, his next encounter with the Doctor was in a comic strip called Endgame which saw the Eighth Doctor meeting Izzy. The Toymaker had taken over the village of Stockbridge, using an evil duplicate of the Doctor to try and defeat his enemies. However, the Doctor manages to convince his evil duplicate that he would only ever be a pawn of the Toymaker, a creature never to have a life of their own. While the evil Doctor distracts the Toymaker, the real one uses part of a machine called the Imagineum to create a duplicate of the Toymaker, who drags the real one into the shadow dimensions. With the Toymaker gone and the Imagineum destroyed, Stockbridge, the Doctor, and Izzy are returned to Earth.

This wasn’t the last time the Eighth Doctor would encounter the Toymaker, though, as later the TARDIS was dragged into the Toyroom once again (Solitaire). This time, the Doctor was put into the body of a ventriloquist’s doll, while Charley was forced to take part in the Toymaker’s riddle. However, they tricked the Toymaker and his Toyroom was shrunk to nothing, destroying his current host body. Charley never faced the Toymaker again, though the Doctor would come up against him one final time…

The Doctor’s last encounter with the Toymaker was when the Doctor was in his seventh incarnation. In The Magic Mousetrap, the Doctor and his companions Ace and Hex find themselves in a Sanatorium in the Swiss Alps. With the Doctor’s help, a group of survivors manage to defeat the Toymaker by imprisoning him inside a doll that they they all eat parts of, splitting up the Toymaker and stretching him between too many humans to once again take one host. The Toymaker had regained his powers with the unintentional help of Fenric, who in his rising again had stirred the Toymaker from his dimension. Of course, the Toymaker had been in control all this time, trying to find out what it feels like to finally lose. But a chess-master managed to trap the Toymaker in a perpetual stalemate in his own dimension; the Doctor, Ace, Hex, and a woman named Queenie Glasscock managed to escape after everyone else was turned into wooden dolls.

The Legacy of Toymaker

Despite having only appeared in one televised story so far, the Toymaker seems to have been a popular villain since 1966. Many writers have used him in various stories and each time, the Doctor only just gets away by the skin of their teeth. The Toymaker even had a brief mention in the Thirteenth Doctor adventure, Can You Hear Me?, when she had to face off against some of the Eternals.

The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle are set to air around the show’s 60th anniversary, in November 2023, with the Toymaker being played by Neil Patrick Harris.

But in the meantime, now is the perfect opportunity to catch up with all the Celestial Toymaker’s previous encounters with the Doctor…

The BBC has confirmed that Neil Patrick Harris will be playing the Celestial Toymaker, a character last seen on TV in 1966, in the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials.

The news comes after the brand new trailer, which features Harris as the mysterious villain, dancing around on the streets of Bristol (this DWC writer walks that route quote often actually; maybe I’ll dance a little next time), alongside David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate returning as Tenth Doctor companion, Donna Noble.

The BBC noted:

The brand new trailer features Neil Patrick-Harris waltzing onto the scene, as it is now revealed that he will play the Toymaker, an all-powerful enemy last seen in 1966 – but what is it that brings the Doctor face-to-face with this enemy from his past?

And if you’re wondering who this First Doctor foe is, stay tuned to th DWEC, as we have a handy explainer coming just past midnight (GMT) tonight…

Russell T Davies, showrunner, said:

“This is just the start, as the fever starts to burn. We’re heading for a November full of Doctor Who surprises, for fans and new viewers alike. Stay alert!”

Harris is expected to play the Toymaker in The Giggle, the final of the 60th anniversary trilogy, and it appears that the manipulative baddie has turned the human race against the Doctor, Donna, and UNIT (led by Kate Stewart, played by Jemma Redgrave).

Doctor Who will premiere on BBC1 in the UK and Ireland; Disney+ will be the home for new seasons outside the UK.

Yes, with two months to go, we have a brand new trailer for the three Doctor Who specials that celebrate 60 years of everyone’s favourite sci-fi show!

David Tennant is back, this time as the Fourteenth Doctor, alongside Catherine Tate returning as Series 4 companion, Donna Noble, plus Jacqueline King as Donna’s mum, Sylvie. Oh, what are you waiting for? Check out the trailer now…

Oh yes, and Nctui Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor!

The trailer aired earlier tonight, just before the second episode of Strictly Come Dancing, one of the BBC’s flagship programmes.

The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle are written by showrunner, Russell T Davies, and will co-star Yasmin Finney as Donna’s daughter, Rose; Miriam Margolyes as the voice of comic strip menace, Beep the Meep; and Neil Patrick Harris. Plus, as the above trailer reveals, UNIT is back en force, headed by Jemma Redgrave’s Kate Stewart.

Doctor Who began on 23rd November 1963 with An Unearthly Child, so we celebrate 60 years of adventures across all of time and space in just two months’ time.

Candy Jar is set to release the next two books in the Lucy Wilson range simultaneously: Apocalypse Tomorrow and The Web of Terror.

Lucy Wilson is the granddaughter of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, and stars in a number of books that are perfect for young and old readers alike.

Apocalypse Tomorrow, co-written by debutant Steven Walton and range editor Shaun Russell, serves as the epic conclusion to The Mystery of Lucy Wilson arc, which has seen Lucy separated from her best friend Hobo by the small matter of several decades and one apocalypse.

The Young Adult novel finds our heroes transported to their most alien setting yet: 1990s Cool Britannia.

Here’s the blurb for The Mystery of Lucy Wilson: Apocalypse Tomorrow:

Lucy Wilson’s adventures in time have taken her to some strange places. Dangerous places, faraway places… But none so strange and alien as where she finds herself now… The 1990s.

Pokémon battle in the schoolyards. Tamagotchi roam the streets. And a giant spider from a ruined future looks to spark an apocalypse that, technically, has already happened.

Timelines converge and realities shattered as Lucy’s exile in time reaches its epic climax. And in the end, it all comes down to one question: who’s better, 2Unlimited or Adamski?

Serving as a coda to this storyline, The Web of Terror, co-authored by Paul W Robinson and Shaun Russell, starts off on more familiar ground: Lucy’s home in sleepy Ogmore-by-Sea. But humanity’s last line of defence doesn’t get many off days: soon she’s confronted by a foe from her past. Or more precisely, several of her pasts…

So here’s the blurb for The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Web of Terror:

Lucy Wilson thought that her run-in with killer spiders was over after her time in Australia! But soon strange happenings on Ogmore-by-Sea beach set her skin crawling once again…

Still, whether trapped in a spaceship, abducted by a familiar face, or hunted by space pandas, Lucy’s just glad to have her best friend Hobo back by her side.

But the past has a way of catching up with you. Can Lucy escape the enemy that she thought she’d left behind long ago?

With the arc juggling multiple timelines and locations, tying a bow on this storyline soon spilled over the bounds of a single book, which prompted the decision to release these novels simultaneously.

Shaun explains:

“On one level, Apocalypse Tomorrow and The Web of Terror are two very different stories. What unites them, however, is that they see the characters of Lucy and Hobo rediscovering themselves – both as individuals and as a team. At this point, they’ve been separated for several books, and their reunion is not straightforward. We didn’t want to provide the readers with the setup while withholding the payoff; by the conclusion of these stories, we’re ready to kick of a distinct new phase in Lucy and Hobo’s adventures. But as we needed both novels to get there, we decided, why not release them together?”

It’s an ambitious conclusion, which sees (at least) three different timelines collide. But as co-author Steven Walton says, that’s just one of the exciting aspects of writing for these characters:

“Time travel, intergalactic spaceships, multidimensional beings… It’s all just a day in the life for Lucy Wilson! It’s the nature of storytelling to take a character from one familiar situation, and into a strange new one – and there’s no characters where you have more scope to do so! We went as big as possible with these stories, particularly with the conclusion of Apocalypse. But I think most of all I enjoyed playing with the idea of Lucy being dropped into the 1990s, a place somehow all the stranger for its seeming familiarity.”

Tying up a few loose ends, The Web of Terror also sends Lucy on her very first adventure to an alien planet. Paul says:

“I felt it was about time that Lucy and Hobo travelled beyond the earth’s atmosphere. It was fascinating creating a brand new world, while thrusting Lucy into her very own Hunger Games–style mystery.”

Candy Jar has put together a Spotify list for Apocalypse Tomorrow featuring all your favourites ’90s hits.

You can pre-order Apocalypse Tomorrow and The Web of Terror now from Candy Jar!

It seems very likely that we’ll be treated to a brand new teaser trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials tomorrow — that is, Saturday 23rd September 2023, exactly a month before Doctor Who celebrates 60 years on TV.

The trailer is likely to debut before the first live show of Strictly Come Dancing, seeing as the BBC has started to play a teaser clip that mixes the Doctor Who theme music with that of Strictly. Plus, of course, they’re two of the BBC’s biggest shows, so it makes sense for one to publicise the other!

Okay, so when will it play? It’s most likely to happen at 6:13pm (GMT).

A clip initially shared on Twitter (or X, or whatever Elon’s calling it now) from 16th September has a glitching binary code which translates as:

“Saturday 23rd September, BBC One, 6:13pm.

“Their time has come…”

It’s unusual to get such an exact time, but hey, we’re not complaining!

The trailer will probably feature clips from the three upcoming specials, The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle. These episodes, written by showrunner Russell T Davies, star David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor, alongside Catherine Tate returning as Donna Noble.

And we’re sure to see glimpses of Beep the Meep (voiced by Miriam Margoyles) and an as-yet-unnamed character played by Neil Patrick Harris.

We’ll obviously share the trailer as soon as we can on the Doctor Who Companion too, so keep ’em peeled, Who fans!

Peter Davison, who played the Fifth Doctor, has revealed that he has one thing he’d like to have changed for the Doctor Who 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors: he would’ve liked to see the various incarnations of the Doctor spending more time together!

Speaking at a BFI Southbank event upon the release of The Collection: Season 20 Blu-ray boxset, Davison said:

“I’ve always felt it was a bit of a shame that we weren’t together more of the time. We were kept apart and John [Nathan-Turner, Producer] said to me that was because he thought there would be too many egos on set. He sensed there could be a bit of rivalry that might turn unpleasant – it never did, I have to say! We all got on very well.”

For most of the story, the five Doctors were split up, only really meeting up at the end in the Tomb of Rassilon. (Well, the Fourth Doctor was absent, thanks to a time eddy/Tom Baker not wanting to return). It at least gave Davison the chance to meet Second Doctor actor, Patrick Troughton. Peter recalls:

“He was a great actor, one I’d admired for many years, not just in Doctor Who – so, yeah, that was a great thrill.”

Fellow Doctor Who star, Mark Strickson, who played Turlough, also delighted in meeting Troughton in particular; he exclusively told the Doctor Who Companion:

“[I]t was great for me: I was able to meet My Doctor, which is Pat Troughton, and things like that. We’ve always got ‘our Doctor’ as Doctor Who fans, y’know? [And] he was lovely! He’s an absolutely gorgeous guy.”

You can see a lot of lovely behind-the-scenes material from The Five Doctors and more on The Collection: Season 20 set, which is available now.

To celebrate 100 years of the Radio Times, the TV and radio listings magazine has assembled a team of famous faces to narrow down the top 100 TV shows of all time — and yes, Doctor Who makes the cut.

Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T Davies, has also highlighted a few of his favourite programmes.

Rather surprisingly, but pleasingly, Doctor Who‘s entry is supplied by author, Ann Cleeves, writer of the Vera Stanhope, Shetland, and The Long Call novel series. She writes:

“I remember the first episode with William Hartnell and it became the highlight of my week. On my wedding day, between the lunch and the party in Woolacombe Village Hall in the evening, we all trooped back to my parents’ house to drink my dad’s home-brew and watch it.”

Hancock’s Half Hour, co-written by Dalek co-creator, Davros Terry Nation is also on the list, as is 1978’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on Radio 4 by Douglas Adams. Sarah Phelps also puts Queer as Folk, created by Russell T Davies, in the Top 100.

Davies himself nominates a curious collection: Blue Peter (which is understandable), the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast show, Not on Your Nellie (apparently solely because one of the characters was gay), and Pennies from Heaven.

Michael Grade, always a big hit with Doctor Who fans, nominates 1971’s The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show, which again is a good choice… although why the wider show by the comedy pair isn’t on the list is utterly, utterly, utterly baffling.

My favourite rug-pull moment of the list? Finding out Angela Rippon loves The Simpsons! Go, Angela! She explains:

“The programme-makers tackle head-on all the problems and situations in modern society.

“Racism, misogyny, mental health, families, education – it’s all there, with gentle but perceptive humour. I can’t think of another programme that is able to do it in quite the same way.”

She might’ve just secured my vote in Strictly Come Dancing (which is bizarrely missing off the list, despite being one of the most successful TV shows of recent times, probably more so than its predecessor, Come Dancing which is on the list).

It’s a truly mad list. There, I said it. I finally caved in and yelled “what?!” when it features the “PM’s coverage of the Covid crisis” on Radio 4. It’s very much at the whims of whoever they could draft in to comment and ignores a lot of TV staples. It’s a zeitgeisty list which we’ll look back on and say “wow, the 2020s were an odd time”. But you can get ahead of the curve by reading the list now over at the Radio Times and taking some Migraleve for that developing headache.

Karen Gillan has spoken about something you wouldn’t necessarily think she’s ever suffered from: stage fright.

Gillan played Amy Pond opposite the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), regularly between The Eleventh Hour (2010) and The Angels Take Manhattan (2012), before cameoing in Smith’s swansong, 2013’s The Time of the Doctor.

She seems very confident, but that’s a result of her being so nervous, as she explains:

“I had a lot of belief in myself from the beginning because I had such bad stage fright when I was younger. I would get up and quiver and not be able to perform in front of people at all. I would just go to bits and so I had to really believe in myself. It just took extra belief in myself to believe I could overcome the hurdles of being terrified of doing the thing I wanted to do, so that’s my advice if you’re thinking about it — just self belief and perseverance.”

And though she’s been in some massive franchises, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in films grossing over $1 billion, she still counts her failures. She continues:

“Failing isn’t necessarily a bad thing: what matters is how you react to the failure. So if you keep going and don’t let that get in your way, then actually it can be useful because you can learn from that. But you’ve just got to keep going. Persistence, persistence.”

I find this particularly interesting. When I was a kid, aside form being a writer and artist, I wanted to be an actor, but I feared that my legs would turn to jelly in front of a full audience and I’d be useless. So to hear someone with as much talent, charisma, and apparent confidence has actually been fighting stage fright is a big surprise.

Having self-belief and being persistent is probably the key to life…

Ahead of the game’s release in October 2023, more details have been revealed about the decks available to buy for the Doctor Who Universes Beyond card game.

Alongside the other four revealed decks of cards, Blast from the Past, Timey-Wimey, Masters of Evil, and Paradox Power, now we’ve had Villainous Choice announced, a series of cards which force your opponents to make decisions rather than take action against you. The effect your card has against them is something that benefits you.

One example is the Davros card, which will not only make your opponents lose three life points on your next turn, but they also have the choice to either discard a card themselves or allow you to choose one.

Another card is Missy, who make your opponents either take damage or lets you pick another card and allow chaos to ensue as your turn continues.

The game overall concerns collecting a number of artefacts and tokens, defining how long you can survive. There are a number of characters you can play as from all across the 60-year history of the show, including many of the Doctors and companions.

Originally famous for creating a highly successful Lord of the Rings card game, Wizards of the Coast have now collaborated with the BBC to create a Doctor Who card game in a similar vein, part of the Magic: The Gathering brand. It reminds me a lot of the Pokémon craze from the 1990s in how the cards interact with one another, causing damage to other players’ decks and characters.

While it’s not necessarily my cup of tea, the artwork unveiled for the cards has been stunning so far. Promotional art for this deck of cards include Scaroth in the place of the Mona Lisa and Duggan in the background (from City of Death), promising old monsters as well as the new villains — and depending on how popular this is, there will be more card decks to be revealed.

Set for release in October 2023, Doctor Who Universes Beyond is available to pre-order now.

Entering the latter half of Big Finish’s Doctor Who 60th anniversary event, the fifth chapter of Once and Future sees the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) encounter some fan favourites, Missy (Michelle Gomez) and the Paternoster Gang – Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) and Strax (Dan Starkey). Oh yes!

Before I resume, I would like to share a personal anecdote. On 28th July, the day when the story’s synopsis and cover artworks were revealed, I was at a funeral for an old school friend who sadly passed away in June. I didn’t find out about the announcement until I got home quite late, but it really cheered me up at the end of that very emotional day.

The first 15 minutes features a degenerated First Doctor (Stephen Noonan) meeting journalist Jessamy Moore (Hannah Genesius) at Kew Gardens, in the midst of an invaded Victorian London. When he first encounters the Martian tripods, we get to experience him regenerating into his tenth incarnation. It’s a brilliant way to expand upon Noonan’s appearance in the overarching narrative, instead of just multiple cameos.

Meanwhile, the mischievous Missy keeps Vastra and Jenny as her prisoners inside Southwark Cathedral (yes, that’s also where the climax of The Lazarus Experiment takes place), treating them like slaves in a similar manner to the events of Last of the Time Lords. Their interactions and witty dialogue kept making me laugh, as these Steven Moffat era characters cross paths on audio for the first time; not to mention that Jenny is forced to obey her “Mistress”, a deliberate nod to the cliffhanger of Dark Water. And let’s say that Vastra doesn’t have her feral, reptilian instincts like Alaya from the Silurian two-parter by future showrunner Chris Chibnall.

Going back to the Tenth Doctor’s debut, it’s refreshingly nostalgic for him to ponder the fact that he’s become a future incarnation for the first time in his degeneration crisis, hence why the eight-part story arc is titled Once and Future — revisiting old faces, whilst glimpsing new ones that have yet to come in the Doctor’s timeline. What’s more, him highlighting the change of clothes during regeneration appears to act as a call forward to the Fourteenth Doctor’s debut in The Power of the Doctor (more on that later!). And Howard Carter’s triumphant choral variant of the Tenth Doctor’s Big Finish theme… top notch.

I love that the Doctor also touches upon the adaptations of HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds, such as noting “several versions on the telly.” And Jessamy narrating in her journal is a nice little tribute to the unnamed Narrator from the book. I’ve only watched the three-part BBC miniseries (adapted by Peter Harness, best known for writing the Zygon two-parter in Series 9), and the contemporary British-French series with David and Georgia Tennant’s son, Ty. After watching the latter TV adaptation on Disney+, last year, I did actually wonder if Doctor Who would ever do a take on the HG Wells classic. Turns out, I guessed correctly! Well, it certainly wasn’t the first time that Big Finish adapted it. Remember The Martian Invasion of Earth, starring Richard Armitage (who currently voices Rassilon in the Gallifrey audios)? It’s worth the listen.

As the Doctor and Jessamy encounter Strax, we are treated to some comical and nostalgic exchanges between the three, including a mention of the battle of Demons Run — cleverly justified there. Not surprised that the Doctor initially shows disbelief at the only good Sontaran, considering their histories and past conflicts. Later on, when he meets Vastra and Jenny, they appear to recognise one another, with the latter somewhat remembering that he attended their wedding. Now that would be a Tenth Doctor/Paternoster Gang audio worth the listen! And while there are plenty of other continuity references that I wish to touch upon, I would prefer not spoil them here…

The last time the Paternoster Gang appeared onscreen was in the Series 8 opener Deep Breath, which saw the full debut of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. Always a nice touch for familiar faces to overlap with multiple incarnations, after appearing with the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) in A Good Man Goes to War, The Snowmen (with its prequels), The Crimson Horror, and The Name of the Doctor. Think of this audio as The Day of the Doctor, but set in the Victorian era. They really do make such a brilliant team!

And here’s what we’ve all been waiting for: the Tenth Doctor coming face to face with Missy. Tennant and Gomez’s chemistry brilliantly demonstrated their relationship being more antagonistic on this occasion, as opposed to her redeeming qualities in Series 10. Speaking of which, it’s very much like an audio equivalent to the Twelfth Doctor meeting the Harold Saxon Master (John Simm) in the epic Series 10 finale World Enough and Time/ The Doctor Falls. Two of my favourite Doctors meeting two different Masters from their respective eras: that’s what I love about the franchise! If their interactions weren’t satisfying enough, we are also treated to some further progress on the overarching narrative, plus a few twists surrounding Missy’s motives and Planetoid 50 itself.

Jonathan Barnes combines key elements of the RTD and Moffat eras with The War of the Worlds as the central basis. Definitely the right decision to bring in my favourite 21st Century Who incarnation, who I grew up watching during childhood. I wasn’t sure if the Tenth Doctor encountering these Moffat era characters were possible, but I’m very pleased that Big Finish has found a way to bring them together for the 60th.

According to Barnes and producer David Richardson, the story was conceived in 2019 before the COVID pandemic, with a “completely different” incarnation in mind. It’s amazingly serendipitous that Tennant was able to record it remotely during lockdown in 2020, alongside The Tenth Doctor and River Song boxset and the entire Dalek Universe miniseries (another favourite of mine). And considering that this was done way before The Power of the Doctor and the forthcoming 60th anniversary specials were filmed, I say it was perfect timing.

Overall, The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50 is, by far, the best entry in Once and Future. Not only because it’s the first to feature a 21st Century Who incarnation, but it’s also a love letter to fans of the Tenth Doctor, Missy, and the Paternoster Gang — all in 70 minutes. And I’ve no doubt that next month’s Time Lord Immemorial, featuring the Ninth (Christopher Eccleston) and Unbound (the late David Warner) Doctors, will be equally fantastic.

Once and Future: The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50 is now available on CD and digital download. If you want extended extras and music suites for the entire series, you can purchase the Once and Future Special Edition bundle as a download only.

If you were in Blackpool 49 years ago, you would have had been among the first of thousands to visit the city’s Doctor Who exhibition that would go down in history.

It was a great year for Blackpool, and their long-running daily newspaper The Gazette has collected an archive of images from 1974 including several of the seaside resort’s famed Doctor Who exhibition.

Opened in April 1974 while Season 11 featuring the Third Doctor was on air, it remained an active exhibition all the way through to October 1985, by which point Season 22 – the first featuring the Sixth Doctor – had already been broadcast. When the show returned to air almost 20 years later, the exhibition was revived too and ran for several more years through the eras of the Ninth and Tenth Doctors.

A police box formed the external entrance to the exhibition on Blackpool’s Central Promenade, and with people piling in, it formed the illusion that it was bigger on the inside. It in fact connected to the actual entrance, which then led down into the large exhibition space.

While it was not compulsory for the Doctors themselves to attend, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, and Colin Baker all did visit during their tenures and were usually accompanied by their on-screen companions. A couple of them made sure that they were in costume too.

Take a look at The Gazette‘s website for sights such as the psychic spiders from Metebelis Three (Planet of the Spiders) and a chocolate Dalek being admired/attacked by Jon Pertwee and Elizabeth Sladen, all taken during the launch of the exhibition just before it became open to the public. And if you want to see what happened after the opening… take a peek.

The exhibition left an impact on the people who visited it and worked there, and a few years ago, there was even a book written about it.

The BBC has confirmed that Miriam Margolyes will voice Beep the Meep in The Star Beast, the first episode of a trilogy celebrating Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary.

Beep the Meep first appeared in Doctor Who and the Star Beast, a comic strip in Doctor Who Magazine, and will be making its TV debut this November.

The news leaked after Margolyes mentioned it in her new memoir; the BBC then rushed out a press release confirming this casting news. Nonetheless, she’s been rumoured as Beep for months now.

She said:

“I’m relieved I got to work on Doctor Who before I died. With sci-fi, you never know. Thank you for making an old woman very happy.”

It’s nice to at least know she seems to hold Doctor Who in high regard.

If you’re a younger viewer, maybe stick to her Harry Potter appearances; steer clear of her adult-orientated interviews on The Graham Norton Show. (You’re going to google them now, aren’t you?)

David Tennant returns in The Star Beast as the Fourteenth Doctor, alongside Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. The three specials (The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle) are all written by Russell T Davies, and are expected to air in November, perhaps running into December before a Christmas special introducing Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor.