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Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary television programme that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Doctor Who episodes. It began in 2005 and is still running.
It screens on BBC Three following the transmission of Doctor Who on BBC One. Each episode of the first two series is approximately 30 minutes long; episodes of series 3 and 4 are approximately 45 minutes long, the equivalent length to the episode being featured. It is also Podcast in a shortened 5 minute format on the BBC Doctor Who Website.
Different narrators have been used for the series, including Who alumni Simon Pegg, Anthony Stewart Head, Mark Gatiss and Noel Clarke.
It is also subsequently released as part of each series' DVD boxed set in a 'Cut Down' version, with most licenced music removed, as well as clips and interviews from the "classic" 1963-89 series and TV movie. These versions run approximately 10-15 minutes and are often used for the repeat broadcasts on BBC3. Cutdown editions generally are not included on the single-disc "vanilla" releases issued in the UK and (in the case of Series 1) North America, with the exception of the DVD releases of Voyage of the Damned and The Next Doctor which both included their respective Confidentials.
One special episode of Confidential, "Music and Monsters", looked at the making of the November 2006 "Doctor Who: A Celebration" charity concert. It was the first, and for several years only, Confidential episode to be released in its entirety on DVD.
An installment of Confidential was produced to coincide with the 2008 Christmas special, The Next Doctor, followed by a second non-episode-based installment of Confidential on 3 January 2009, during which Matt Smith was announced as the Eleventh Doctor.
The Confidential installment produced for the 2009 Easter special, Planet of the Dead is significant as it was included at full-length on both the UK and North American DVD releases, including footage from several classic series episodes including the licensing-challenged 1996 TV movie and several snippets of licensed music -- elements that in the past have been removed from the "Cutdown" versions. It was also the first Confidential to be made available in the Blu-Ray format. The North American DVD release of The Next Doctor, which followed a few months later, was missing its Confidential, making that episode, along with the standalone Eleventh Doctor special, the only episodes of Confidential to not yet be released in some form in Region 1.
The non-canonical mini-episode Tonight's the Night, which aired in May 2009, was accompanied by a Confidential-style behind-the-scenes segment, though it's not known if the regular Confidential team were involved in its creation.
As of September 2009 has not been confirmed whether production of Doctor Who Confidential will continue into the Matt Smith era. It is assumed (though not confirmed as yet), however, that there will be further Confidential installments produced for the final David Tennant specials.
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