Season 1 (Doctor Who 2023)
This page absolutely does contain spoilers either about the behind-the-scenes or narrative elements of stories which have not yet been published or broadcast. Please see our spoiler policy for our rules governing articles about such subjects.
Before editing this page, please read T:RUMOUR and T:OOU SRC. Fan sites, videos and blogs are not valid sources for this article. Also cast and crew announcements need to be handled in a particular way.
Please also remember to directly quote people, or to exactly characterise their statements. Do not say that someone said something when they really didn't. Work from original quotes — not a paraphrasing of them. When it comes to anything Russell T Davies, Jane Tranter, Julie Gardner, another exec, or any major star of the show says, give their exact quote only. Remember, a part of the production team's job is to tell the truth, but only very narrowly. So this page should contain only what they exactly say.
- You may wish to consult
Series 14for other, similarly-named pages.
Series 14 was a series of Doctor Who produced by BBC in collaboration with Sony's Bad Wolf and Disney Branded Television for streaming on Disney+.
The season re-introduced the Christmas Special which was broadcast on 25 December 2023 and the full season will premiere at midnight 11 May 2024, which is 10 May in some parts of the world. As a first, this season would open with two episodes broadcast back-to-back.[2]
Due to showrunner Russell T Davies announcing in Doctor Who Magazine #585 that the series would consist of only eight episodes plus a special, this series would have an identical number of episodes to the previous Series 13, which also consisted of a reduced episode count.[1]
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 had right of first refusal on the purchase for the Chinese market of past and future series of the programme, as well as spin-offs.[3][4]
In October 2019, it was revealed that due to the show heading to HBO Max, the network had struck a deal for additional series of the programme.[5]
On 29 July 2021, following the announcement of Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall's departure, the BBC noted, "We will announce plans for the new generation of Doctor Who in due course – watch this space!"[6]
It was noted in a big reveal by the BBC on 24 September 2021 that Russell T Davies would make his return in the 60th anniversary in 2023 and remain as head writer in "series beyond".[7][8] Like the preceding series 13[9], the series was announced as happening before the previous series had even begun broadcast.
Promotion
A short overview of the promotion should be given.
- Main article: /Promotion
to be added
Broadcast
A special blue carpet premiere for the new era was held near the London Eye on 12 December 2023 with a special screening of the Christmas Special, The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"], held at the BFI Southbank cinema.
At the blue carpet was put up a pult with a button on it, which the actors Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson pressed, displaying a light show of blue, gold and purple on the ferris wheel itself.
Attendees included, but was not limited to: Gatwa and Gibson themselves, Michelle Greenidge, Angela Wynter, Anita Dobson, Radio One presenter Yinka Bokinni, showrunner Russell T Davies, producers Phil Collinson and Joel Collins.[10][11]
On 15 March, it was announced that the series would be premiering on 11 May with its first two episodes. Episodes would be released at midnight UK time on iPlayer and Disney+, and broadcast at primetime on BBC One.[12]
Cast
Recurring
- Kate Lethbridge-Stewart - Jemma Redgrave[13]
- Melanie Bush - Bonnie Langford[14]
- Rose Noble - Yasmin Finney[15]
- Carla Sunday - Michelle Greenidge [16]
- Cherry Sunday - Angela Wynter [17]
- Mrs Flood - Anita Dobson [18]
Guest
- Baby Ruby Sunday - TBA
- Ruby Sunday's mother - TBA
- Vicar - TBA
- Ruby Sunday's friend - TBA
- Davina McCall - Herself
- Denzel - Bobby Bradley
- Trudy - Mary Malone
- Woman with Pram - Belinda Owusu
- Policeman - Barney Wilkinson
- Abdul - Hemi Yeroham
- Lulubelle - TBA
- Ruth Lyons - Gemma Arrowsmith
- Goblin 1 - Rachelle Beinart
- Goblin 2 - Jess Judge
- Goblin 3 - Dilu Miah
- Goblin 4 - Giuseppe Lentini
- Goblin 5 - Andrew Francis
- Goblin 6 - Lukas DiSparrow
- Voice of Janis Goblin - Christina Rotondo
- George Harrison - Philip Davies[19]
- John Lennon - Chris Mason[19]
- Paul McCartney - George Caple[19]
- Ringo Starr - James Hoyles[19]
- Roger ap Gwilliam - Aneurin Barnard[20][13]
- "Finetime Head" - Lois Drage[21]
- Will - Jack Forsyth-Noble[22]
- Valerie - Millie Kent[23]
- Marti Bridges - Sophie Ablett[24]
- TBA - Bhav Joshi[25]
- TBA - Eilidh Loan[25]
- TBA - Pete MacHale[25]
- TBA - Miles Yekinni[25]
- TBA - Jinkx Monsoon[26]
- TBA - Jonathan Groff[27]
- The Duchess - Indira Varma[28]
- Lady Emerson - Jennifer Castillo[29]
- Carson - Majid Mehdizadeh-Valoujerdy[30][15]
- Morris - Lenny Rush[31]
- Splice - Caoilinn Springall[32]
- "Policeman"[33] - Billy Brayshaw[15]
- TBA - Ellie Grace Cashin[34]
- Nurse - Vee Vimolmal[35]
- Opera Singer - Aubrey Parsons[36]
- Dancer - Jack William Parry[37]
- TBA - Genesis Lynea[38][39][40]
- TBA - Gwïon Morris Jones[38][39][40]
- TBA - Milly Zero[41]
- TBA - June Hudson[42]
- TBA - Siân Phillips[19]
- TBA - Callie Cooke[19]
- Winston Chidozie - Tachia Newall[19]
- Jocelyn - Golda Rosheuvel[43]
(PLEASE DO NOT CREATE ANY NON-OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED PAGES YET)
Crew
Producers
Russell T Davies made his "explosive return" to Doctor Who in the 60th anniversary and "series beyond".[7]
Phil Collinson, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter also returned from the 60th specials as executive producers and were joined by Joel Collins.[44]
Returning from the 60th specials were also Vicki Delow, Chris May and Ellen Marsh.[44]
Phil Sims continued as the production designer and Scott Handcock as the script editor.[44]
Directors
Dylan Holmes Williams directed the first filming block[44] along with director of photography Sam Care,[45] which consisted of episodes 4 and 5.[46]
Mark Tonderai directed the second filming block[47][45] along with DOP Miroslaw Baszak,[48] which consisted of the festive special.[46] Gareth Tandy was first assistant director.[48]
Julie Anne Robinson directed the third filming block[48] along with DOP Tobias Datum,[49] consisting of episodes 3[50] and 1.[51]
Ben Chessell directed the fourth filming block[49] along with DOP Jamie Cairney,[51] which consisted of episodes 2[52] and 6.[51]
Jamie Donoughue directed the fifth filming block along with DOP Chas Bain, which consisted of episodes 7[53] and 8.[52]
Writers
Russell T Davies wrote the Christmas Special and episodes 4 and 7.[54][55]
Kate Herron and Briony Redman co-wrote episode 6.[56][57]
Steven Moffat wrote episode 3.[58]
Pre-production
On 12 August, The Hollywood Reporter stated that the series would begin filming in November.[59]
On 10 November it was revealed in Doctor Who Magazine #584 that pre-production on the series began on 26 September.[44]
Filming
Filming officially began on the series on 5 December 2022 in Wolf Studios in Cardiff, Wales[60] and continued on 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and ending on 12 December.[61]
Public filming then began and continued on 13, 14, 15 and 16 December at the White Cross Inn in Groeswen, Wales.[62][63]
Filming then went on to Cardiff Bay Barrage in Penarth, Wales, which went on until 17 December.[64]
On 3 January 2023, filming took place on Cardiff Queen Street and inside Capitol Shopping Centre in Cardiff, Wales.[20]
Filming moved on to Swansea University Bay Campus in Swansea, Wales on 4 January[65] where it continued on 5, 6 and 7 January.[66]
On 9 and 10 January filming took place at Newport Market, High Street and Victoria Place in Newport, Wales.[67]
Around mid-January, Millie Gibson's first scenes were filmed.[68]
Filming took to Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on 16 January.[46]
Filming went to Castle Arcade and its High Street in Cardiff, Wales on 17 January.[69]
On 18 January filming took place on moving train which left from Cardiff Central Railway Station in Central Square, Cardiff and travelled to Swansea Railway Station and back.[69]
Filming happened at Loudoun Square in Cardiff, Wales, both inside and outside the flats on 19 January.[70]
On 20 January filming travelled to Park Place, Bruton Place, Meridian Place and Frederick Place in Clifton, Bristol, England.[71][72][73][74][75][76]
On 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 January filming took place on the Coast Path at Giltar Point in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales.[77][78][79][80][81][82]
On 1 February filming took place at Wolf Studios, Cardiff, Wales.[83]
On 7 February filming went back to Frederick Place in Bristol[84] and continued on 8 February and subsequently went to Kings Weston House, Bristol.[85]
On 9 February filming took place in the morning at the Golden Cross pub and later on moved to the Pryzm Nightclub, in Cardiff, Wales.[86]
Filming took place on 14, 15 and 16 February at the graveyard of the Church of St. Mary in Nash, Newport, Wales.[87]
On 21 February,[88] filming went back to Wolf Studios in Cardiff, Wales where it continued on 28 February,[89] 1,[90] 6,[91][92] 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 March.[93][94][95][96]
On 20 and 21 April filming took place in Mellon Street in Newport, Wales.[97]
On 25 April filming went to Market Street in Newport, Wales.[98]
On 26 April filming took place at Frederick Place and Clifton College in Clifton, Bristol.[99]
On 8 May filming took place at The Parade in Cardiff, Wales.[100]
On 10, 11 and 12 May filming went to Tredegar House in Newport, Wales.[101][102]
On 15 May filming took place in Margam Park, Wales where it continued on 16, 17, 18, 19[103] and early morning 20 May.[104]
On 23, 24 and 25 May filming took place at Leigh Court in Bristol.[105][106][107][108]
On 30 and 31 May and 1, 2 June filming went back to The Parade in Cardiff, Wales.[109]
On 5, 6, 7 and 8 June filming went to the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, Wales.[110]
Filming then took place on 9 June inside a building at One Central Square in Cardiff, Wales.[111]
Filming went to Fitzalan Road in Cardiff, Wales on 16 June.[112]
On 19 and 20 June, filming took place in Cardiff City Hall in Cardiff, Wales.[113][114]
On 25 and 26 June filming took place on Park Street in Cardiff, Wales.[115][116]
On 10 July filming took place near the Academy Espresso Bar in Barry, Wales.[117]
Lastly, filming went back to Wolf Studios, Wales on 14 July, wrapping up with a party at National Museum Cardiff on 15 July.[118]
Late pick-ups for the Christmas Special were filmed late in the evening on 18 September and continued into early morning 19 September around the intersection between St Marys Street and Wharton Street in Cardiff.[119]
More pickups were again filmed around the intersection between St Marys Street and Wharton Street in Cardiff late in the evening on 3 October until early morning on 4 October.[33]
Television stories
Christmas Special
| Episode Number |
Title | Writer | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"] | Russell T Davies | Mark Tonderai | Return of Christmas Specials. Television debut of Ruby Sunday, Carla Sunday and Cherry Sunday. |
Regular series
| Episode Number |
Title | Writer | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Space Babies [+]Loading...["Space Babies (TV story)"][120] | Russell T Davies[58] | Julie Anne Robinson[51] | |
| 2 | The Devil's Chord [+]Loading...["The Devil's Chord (TV story)"][121][122] | Ben Chessell[52] | ||
| 3 | Boom [+]Loading...["Boom (TV story)"][123] | Steven Moffat[58] | Julie Anne Robinson[50] | |
| 4 | 73 Yards [+]Loading...["73 Yards (TV story)"][124] | Russell T Davies[54][124] | Dylan Holmes Williams[46] | |
| 5 | Dot and Bubble [+]Loading...["Dot and Bubble (TV story)"][125] | |||
| 6 | Rogue [+]Loading...["Rogue (TV story)"][126] | Kate Herron and Briony Redman[57] | Ben Chessell[51] | |
| 7 & 8 | The Legend of Ruby Sunday [+]Loading...["The Legend of Ruby Sunday (TV story)"][127] / Empire of Death [+]Loading...["Empire of Death (TV story)"][128] | Russell T Davies[55] | Jamie Donoughue[53][52] |
Episode notes
To be added
BBC vs Disney+ versions
There are slight differences between the version broadcast on BBC One and the one shown on Disney+:
- The Whoniverse ident was shown at the beginning of the episode on the BBC version. However, on the Disney+ version, the BBC ident was shown.
- The Disney ident was shown at the end of the episode on the Disney+ version.
- The Executive Producers' credits were shown after the title sequence in the BBC version, however, they were shown in the end credits in the Disney+ version.
- In the end board for the BBC version, the Bad Wolf logo was shown on the left and the BBC Studios Productions logo on the right. In the Disney+ version, they were switched.
- For The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"], following the TARDIS reveal scene, in the BBC version the Cast credits appears, followed by the mid-credits scene and then the rest of the end credits roll. In the Disney+ version a new ident is shown after the TARDIS reveal scene which is then followed by the mid-credits scene and then the full end credits roll.
Aliens and enemies
Rumours
- Billie Piper expressed a willingness to return as Rose Tyler at some point "if the circumstances and the story were right”.[130]
- 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, centering around what they get up to when the Doctor is not around.[131]
- Spin-offs happening was further supported by Katy Manning, who also hinted at "people returning".[132]
- 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.[133]
- Jonathan Groff could be a recast Captain Jack Harkness.[134]
Stories set during this season
Novels
to be added
Short stories
- First Day of the Doctor (Set sometime around The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])
Comics
- Mancopolis [+]Loading...["Mancopolis (comic story)"] (set sometime after The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])
Webcasts
to be added
Reference books
- Whotopia: The Ultimate Guide to the Universe (set sometime around The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])
Adaptations and merchandising
to be added
