Season 2 (Doctor Who 2023)

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Season 2 — 2024-25
Doctor:	Fifteenth Doctor
Companions:	Ruby
Key crew
Executive producer(s):	Russell T Davies
Series details
Start date:	25 December 2024
Premiere network:	BBC One
Typical episode length:	50'
More info
Main DWM coverage in issues:	585, 592, 594, 596, 597, 598, 599, 600, 601
← Previous	1
Next →	3

You may wish to consult Series 15 for other, similarly-named pages.

Season 2 will be a series of Doctor Who produced by BBC in collaboration with Sony's Bad Wolf and Disney Branded Television for streaming on Disney+.

Overview

Early announcements

In May 2017, it was announced that due to the terms of a deal between BBC Worldwide and SMG Pictures in China, the company has first right of refusal on the purchase for the Chinese market of past and future series and spin-offs of the programme.

Promotion

2022

During a conference run by the BBC Academy on 5 October 2022 called Climate Creatives, showrunner Russell T Davies spoke to BBC Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore about how they would tackle the issue of climate change on the show in what he labelled his "season 2" at the helm of the show, also talking about how to present the issues on-screen.

On 8 December, Davies announced in Doctor Who Magazine issue 585 that he was already writing the special for this series.

2023

On 22 June 2023, Davies announced in Doctor Who Magazine issue 592 that the first four scripts of this series were already being written at the same time, saying "And there isn't time to pause, as we leap on to the 2025 season. Right now, four scripts are being written simultaneously…" as well as teasing with the words "garden", "firmament" and "diploma".

On 13 July, Ncuti Gatwa was interviewed by Rolling Stone UK, and besides discussing what the show meant to him, said "I’m planning on getting back to [the theatre] next year, after I finish season two of Doctor Who", confirming that Gatwa would return for at least this series in addition to Series 14.

On 17 August, in Doctor Who Magazine issue 594, it was revealed that this series would have at least one guest writer and Scott Handcock noted in his Production Diary that "Scripts are still coming in, crew are getting booked, and meetings are filling the diaries", with formal prep for the series set to begin soon.

On 12 October, in Doctor Who Magazine issue 596, it was revealed that this series would consist of 9 episodes, the same amount as the previous season. Two new directors were also unveiled.

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"Filming Starts Today".

On 23 October, the Doctor Who socials released a short video in the Doctor Who Prop Store of the TARDIS being unveiled from under a curtain and dematerialising, huge letters appearing on screen saying "Filming Starts Today".

On 6 November, following the Press Screening of the first of the 2023 specials, The Star Beast, Davies revealed exclusively during a Q&A that Nicola Coughlan would be appearing in the 2024 special.

On 9 November Doctor Who Magazine issue 597 was released, which contained the Production Diary from Scott Handcock, noting the latest news. In his column in the issue, Davies teased a script containing the words "radiation", "moth", and "skiffle".

On 13 November, it was officially revealed on the Doctor Who website that Nicola Coughlan would be appearing alongside Gatwa in the series' special.

On 22 November, Davies revealed in an interview with Big Issue that he had just handed in a script that would go on air in May 2025, saying "If I sound a bit hyper, it’s because I just this morning delivered a Doctor Who script that will be on air in May 2025."

2024

On 4 January, in issue 599 of Doctor Who Magazine, it was revealed in Scott Handcock's Production Diary that an actor who had previously appeared in an anniversary special would be appearing in an episode of the season.

On 1 February Doctor Who Magazine issue 600 was released, in which Russell T Davies gave an update on the series in his Letter from the Showrunner column, saying that the Christmas Special should be locked on editing by this point and VFX had begun, with episodes 1 and 4 being filmed entirely, with an opening scene filmed at a later point, and episode 2 would feature a guest actor who played another character in the past, as well as episode 7 which "sits waiting" to be filmed and episode 8 to be written soon.

On 29 February Doctor Who Magazine issue 601 was released, in which two new directors were revealed, Amanda Brotchie and Makalla McPherson.

On 12 April it was announced in a press release that Varada Sethu would be joining Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson in the season.

On 16 April, Entertainment Weekly presented Ncuti Gatwa as their cover story and revealed two new costumes for the Doctor in this season. In a promotional interview with Russell T Davies, he revealed that Millie Gibson was still very much part of the new season. EW also revealed they got to watch an episode being filmed, involving "space stations, holograms, and the Doctor using his brain to thwart an interstellar foe".

On 17 April, in the cover story for SFX magazine, Davies stated that "the Ruby Sunday story literally spans those two years", referring to this season and the previous one.

Gatwa told Attitude magazine that the season was over halfway filmed in an interview published in the May/June 2024 issue.

At the season one premiere event on 25 April, Gatwa and Gibson told Metro that Sethu brought an "amazing energy" to the series, teasing that they had an "incredible dynamic" with her.

The same day, in an interview with Radio Times, Gibson said she "knows how [the season] ends", but that she could "only guess" at her future on the show afterwards, adding that she "might be here with a walking stick in a few decades".

Also on that day, Doctor Who Magazine issue 603 was released, in which Davies teased in his column three words from the season's climax: "tinderbox", "Croydon", and "threshold".

On 6 May, Davies told Men's Journal that the season would have a more diverse group of writers than the previous one.

On 7 May, Davies told Metro that filming for the season had been completed in April.

On 14 May, Steven Moffat revealed in an interview with TV Choice Magazine that he had written the Christmas Special, Joy to the World.

After Varada Sethu unexpectedly appeared as Mundy Flynn in Season 1 episode 3, Boom, on 18 May, Moffat teased in interviews that Davies had a plan for Sethu in Season 2, which he compared to the story arc of Clara Oswald. Davies clarified on social media that Sethu would not be reprising the role of Mundy Flynn, and teased that "timey-wimey" elements would come into play. Sethu added that fans would have to "wait and see" regarding the reasons for her return.

On 22 June, an exclusive sneak peak of this season was revealed in Doctor Who: Unleashed, in the episode attached to part two of the Season 1 finale, Empire of Death ^[+]Loading...["Empire of Death (TV story)"].

The same day, Anita Dobson revealed in an interview with Radio Times that season 2 would have more answers about her character, the mysterious Mrs Flood.

Also on that day, in a Behind the Scenes documentary episode attached to Empire of Death, Davies revealed a little bit about the forthcoming Christmas Special, describing it as the "maddest ever" with "a great story of who the Doctor is when he's alone".

On 10 June, the BAFTA event "A Life in Pictures: Russell T Davies" was held, in which Davies teased that episode 6 was a "riot" and involved an unspecified film "crossed with that thing".

On 10 July, SFX 381 was released, in which Davies said that the Mrs Flood mystery "hasn’t been explained, and it might never be".

On 26 July, at a panel at San Diego Comic Con, a preview for the Christmas Special was released, and the name of Sethu's character was announced to be Belinda Chandra. Millie Gibson revealed that Jonah Hauer-King had been cast as a character who would be "joining Ruby's journey". It was also revealed at the panel that the season would have an episode packed full of songs and that fourth wall breaks would be a regular element going forward. Gibson also stated that the season would explore Ruby's life "after the Doctor".

On 2 August, Davies told SFX magazine that "great answers" to the mystery of Mrs Flood were coming in the next season.

On 15 August, in Doctor Who Magazine issue 607, Davies revealed that Phil Collinson had visited New York City in mid-July to record ADR with a guest star. He also revealed that they had received permission to film a particular shot of London for special effects work, and that there had been an "important" shoot with drones in a city "thousands of miles" away.

On 17 September, it was revealed via Deadline that Archie Panjabi was set to play a villain in the forthcoming season.

On 10 October, Doctor Who Magazine issue 609 was released, in which Davies gave a breakdown in his column of where the season's eight episodes were in production at the time.

On 12 November, Steven Moffat spoke to BBC South East news, in which he offered a little teaser about the upcoming Christmas special. He also talked about how Russell T Davies had sent him an email asking Moffat to write it as he needed to get on with the season.

Broadcast

To be added

Cast

• Fifteenth Doctor - Ncuti Gatwa
• Ruby Sunday - Millie Gibson
• Belinda Chandra - Varada Sethu

Recurring

• Kate Lethbridge-Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
• Shirley Anne Bingham - Ruth Madeley
• Colonel Christofer Ibrahim - Alexander Devrient
• Cherry Sunday - Angela Wynter
• Melanie Bush - Bonnie Langford
• Mrs Flood - Anita Dobson

Guest

• Joy - Nicola Coughlan
• Basil - Peter Benedict
• Hilda - Julia Watson
• Sylvia - Niamh Marie Smith
• Edmund Hillary - Peter Baxter
• Tenzing Norgay - Samuel Sherpa-Moore
• Anita - Steph de Walley
• Melnak - Jonathan Aris
• TBA - Joel Fry
• Conrad - Jonah Hauer-King
• TBA - Blake Patrick Anderson
• Logan Cheever - Lewis Cornay
• Elsa - Madison Stock
• TBA - Charlie Condou
• TBA - Archie Panjabi

Production

On 3 May 2023, Bad Wolf had filed for a new subsidiary company run by Julie Gardner, called Whoniverse2 LTD.

Crew

Producers

Alison Sterling and Jessica Gardner are producers on the series.

Directors

Alex Pillai directed Block 1, consisting of the festive special. He also directed Block 5 episode 7.

Peter Hoar directed Block 2, consisting of episodes 1 and 4.

Amanda Brotchie directed Block 3, consisting of episodes 2 and 3.

Ben A. Williams directed episode 6 along with DOP Dale McCready.

Makalla McPherson directs.

Writers

Steven Moffat wrote the festive special.

The other episodes were written by Russell T Davies and four other writers.

Pre-production

To be added

Filming

Filming for the series began on 23 October 2023, announced via a short video on social media.

On 30 October filming took place at Mansion House, Cardiff and the main building of Cardiff University.

On 31 October filming took place at the Dirty Martini and on the street at St Mary Street, Cardiff and at Penarth Conservative Club, Penarth.

On 15 November filming went to Frederick Place, Berkeley Square and Clifton in Bristol.

On 16 November filming took place at The Cocktail Club in St Mary Street and later at the Sir Martin Evans Building between Park Place and Museum Avenue and at Stadium Plaza in Cardiff.

On 20 November filming went to Cliff Hill, Penarth, then One Central Square, Cardiff and in Newton, Porthcawl.

On 22 November filming took place in Swansea and London.

On 24 November filming took place in the former Howells department store on St Mary Street in Cardiff.

On 27, 28 and 29 November filming took place at the Jolly Sailor pub, a churchyard area and a private residence around Beach Road in Newton, Porthcawl.

On 30 November filming went to Newminster Road, Cardiff.

On 1 December filming took to Newport City Council/Newport Civic Centre in Newport, Porthcawl.

On 12 December filming occurred in Romilly's Coffee Shop in Barry.

On 19 January 2024, filming took place inside a house at Fennel Close in Penarth.

On 22 and 23 January filming went to the Pavillion and Esplanade at Penarth Pier in Penarth.

On 24 and 25 January filming took place in and around the OK Diner, in Leominster, Herefordshire.

Filming took place on 8 March in Wolf Studios in Cardiff.

Filming went to Newminster Road, Cardiff on 15, 16 and 17 April, filming on the streets and inside properties.

On 21 and 22 April, filming took place at and around Cardiff Central.

On 4 May, filming took place in Cardiff City, Cardiff.

On 25 May, filming on the season wrapped at Cardiff Bay.

Television stories

Festive special

Episode Number	Title	Writer	Director	Notes
-	Joy to the World	Steven Moffat	Alex Pillai

Regular series

Episode Number	Title	Writer	Director	Notes
1	TBA	TBA	Peter Hoar
2	TBA	TBA	Amanda Brotchie
3	TBA	TBA	Amanda Brotchie
4	TBA	TBA	Peter Hoar
5	TBA	TBA	TBA
6	TBA	TBA	Ben A. Williams
7	TBA	TBA	Alex Pillai
8	TBA	TBA	TBA

Episode notes

To be added

Aliens and enemies

• Silurian(s?)

Rumours

• According to The Mirror, the new era will get spin-offs focusing on villains such as the Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen, Sea Devils and Weeping Angels, centring around what they get up to when the Doctor is not around.
  • Spin-offs happening was further supported by Katy Manning, who also hinted at "people returning".
• Also according to The Sun, Ryan Gosling - co-star to Ncuti Gatwa in the 2023 $1 billion dollar-grossing hit film Barbie - could have been cast in the series.

Adaptations and merchandising

To be added

Stories set during the season

To be added