by Coming to the 60th anniversary of its first episode in 2023, Doctor who is still going strong because of his unique way of regenerating, even the lead actor.
After the 2021 series Flowthe next full series of Doctor who It’s a bit far off, but that’s all changed in the upcoming TV specials from the long-running sci-fi show.
The next, still untitled Doctor who The 2022 special will be Jodie Whittaker’s final adventure as the Thirteenth Doctor. Whittaker co-stars Mandip Gill and John Bishop are also leaving, along with writer and executive producer Chris Chibnall. We also have a new Doctor arriving in the form of sex education star Ncuti Gatwa.
After that, we’ll have at least one 60th anniversary special in 2023, the first new episode from showrunner Russell T. Davies, which has given us a slew of exciting casting announcements since filming began last month.
See More information: Doctor Who Stars Welcome Ncuti Gatwa to Show
Additionally, the show will be co-produced by the BBC and Bad Wolf (the Welsh production company named after a recurring phrase from the first Doctor who rebirth series – ‘I create myself’!) and which recently gave us a discovery of witches and Your dark materials.
As is traditional for Doctor whoPlot details are being kept safe in the TARDIS, but here’s everything you need to know so far about Jodie Whittaker’s final special, 60th anniversary episodes, and the impending Ncuti Gatwa era…
when are the Doctor who TV specials?
The most recently Doctor who specials, eve of the Daleks and The Legend of the Sea Demons, were scheduled on New Year’s Day and Easter Sunday. Currently known as ‘the centenary special’, the third and final feature-length special will form part of a season of BBC 100th anniversary programmes, scheduled to premiere in October.
We don’t have a date yet, but we expect the Thirteenth Doctor’s final adventure to debut on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on a Sunday night in October.
As for the 60th anniversary special(s) currently in filming, RTD said its first episodes will be released in November of next year. The Royal Anniversary falls on Thursday, November 23, 2023, which fell on a Saturday when the 2013 Gold Anniversary Special the doctor’s day was originally broadcast on TV and in cinemas around the world.
Davies and Bad Wolf are also working on ‘series beyond’ so we can expect Ncuti Gatwa’s first series in late 2023 or early 2024.
who is in Doctor who specials?
Whittaker, Gill and Bishop are at the top of the Centenary Special, with guest roles for new series regulars Sacha Dhawan as the Master, Jemma Redgrave as UNIT head Kate Stewart, Patrick O’Kane as Ashad the Lone Cyberman and Jacob Anderson as space pilot Vinder.
See More information: Chibnall almost closed during the pandemic
Old testment Who fans were also delighted to learn in the special’s trailer that ’80s sidekicks Ace (Sophie Aldred) and Tegan (Janet Fielding) would be back to help the Doctor fight her former Time Lord sparring partner and a host of monsters that return.
As is traditional for these final episodes, we’re also hoping that Gatwa will debut in the next episode when Whittaker’s Doctor regenerates at the end, but that’s yet to be confirmed.
Looking back at the 60th Anniversary story, series regulars David Tennant and Catherine Tate will reprise their roles as the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble for the first time since Davies’ last episode in 2010.
Tennant also returned for the 50th Anniversary Special with Matt Smith and John Hurt. Doctor who was making these multigenerational teams in 1972, long before Spider-Man: No Way Home made it cool.
Alongside Tennant, Tate and a few other regulars who were spotted by fans on set, Whoniverse newcomers Yasmin Finney (hearts parade) and Neil Patrick Harris (How I met your mother) also joined the cast.
Finney will play a character named Rose (any relation to Billie Piper’s character?) while Harris is playing a villain that RTD heralded as “the greatest enemy the Doctor has ever faced.”
what happens in Doctor who specials?
Possible SPOILERS follow.
Regeneration episodes are always weird because we usually know the big spoiler that’s going on – we know that this Doctor is going to die and who the next Doctor will be. Still, the details are kept tightly guarded until the episode is released.
What we do know about the Centennial Special is that producer Matt Strevens is promising “a massive feature-length epic… with plenty of surprises for fans of all ages.” As mentioned, the trailer reveals that the Master and Ashad are back along with the Daleks and Cybermen armies.
Where the Chibnall era was characterized by its secrecy, it’s a little harder to keep details about the 60th anniversary story under wraps with filming in open locations in Camden, Cardiff and Bristol. Where the Centenary Special has some returning monsters, it seems that RTD went to some more obscure characters for the Tenth Doctor and Donna to fight.
One of the unannounced but widely publicized sightings was a Beep the Meep-like alien, a cute, cuddly conqueror who has only previously appeared in Doctor who comic books in the 1970s. Alongside Beep, we also spot the insectoid Wrath Warriors, who fight the Meep Armada. It’s a deep cut (Meep?) for a birthday.
More intriguingly, Neil Patrick Harris filmed his first scenes in public recently, revealing the chaos of a riot on a London street in a top hat and tails. With the production also sporting a store like Mister Emporium’s Toy Shop, fans are speculating that he’s playing a new version of the Celestial Toymaker.
Originally played by Michael Gough, this mighty immortal last appeared in 1966, threatening William Hartnell’s First Doctor and threatening a rematch that never happened… until now?
Time will tell, it always happens, but before that we have a regeneration and after that we have a new era with Gatwa at the controls of the TARDIS.
It’s an exciting time to be a Doctor who fan…
Watch: David Tennant Films Doctor Who in Bristol
