Letter from the Showrunner

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Letter from the Showrunner was a monthly feature in Doctor Who Magazine written by Russell T Davies from late 2022 to early 2024, hyping and revealing production information on the ongoing production of Bad Wolf Studios' Doctor Who. It was a successor to Production Notes, a similar column Davies wrote during his previous Who tenure, and continued several traditions from its predecessor.

The title paid homage to A Letter from the Doctor, with each article accompanied by an illustration of Davies imitating the illustration of the Fourth Doctor which accompanied the Doctor's letters for a time.

Starting with DWM 602, following the magazine's change of editorship from Marcus Hearn to Jason Quinn, the feature was succeeded by the more simply formatted Russell T Davies.

Entries

Issue	Topics	Teases	3 Words
584	How Doctor Who: Lockdown! led to David Tennant and Catherine Tate returning.	The first scene of episode 7 of the new series has the setting "INT. COFFEE BAR, USA – DAY, 1947".	Special One: "westerly", "pelican", "dreams"
585	The return of Davies' Twelve Days of Christmas list.	The tenth scene of episode 2 of the new series is "INT. CANTEEN. DAY." An unannounced project with an eight-word title is hinted at. And a line of dialogue from Special One: "Oh, Nerys and her big fat mouth!" Davies also mentions he is writing 2024's Christmas Special at Christmastime.	Special Two: "wild", "Southampton", "vegetable", "Flux", "bean", "starlight"
586	The second part of the story of Tennant and Tate's return.	Cryptic talk of things that haven't yet been publicly revealed.	None
587	The creation of the 2022 Christmas Day trailer.	The identity of the guest star walking into the toyshop with his back to the camera, who is described as "lovely".	None
588	The Sarah Jane Adventures becoming available on iPlayer.	None	None
589	Julie Gardner needing help finding silver glitter body spray for the BAFTAs. Davies retells an encounter between himself and a drag queen first mentioned in DWM 349's Production Notes.	Writing episode eight, Davies was stuck on scenes 20-22 while deciding whether a "vital object" should remain in the Ops Room or "get moved to the Chamber".	None
590	How the production team decides when to release information in advance, and the casting of Jinkx Monsoon.	The title of an episode of the upcoming series was spoken aloud in a third-season episode of Star Trek: Picard.	None
591	The creation of the teasers announcing the titles of the 2023 specials, and how titles are chosen.	Clarification that the title of Episode One of the next series was the one spoken aloud on Picard. Another episode has had three titles so far without a decision, and one title contained "sixpence" until a plot involving the coin was cut. Bad Wolf's Script and Legal departments were investigating whether or not the show could use a certain title for Episode Six of the 2025 season.	None
592	The progress of production on the upcoming episodes, and a message from a fan about how the show impacted their life.	The Star Beast almost finished, Episode Eight hasn't started filming yet. Four scripts from the 2025 season are being written simultaneously.	Episode Eight: "kingdom", "gold", "Tigella" 2025 episode: "garden", "firmament", "diploma"
593	The production of Episode Eight's Scene 27B, including a giant statue head.	The scene in question includes a famous guest star kept secret from the public.	None
594	The last day of filming for the 2024 season.	Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson's last filmed scene for that season is set aboard the TARDIS. Yasmin Finney also wrapped a few days before.	None
595	Watching The Star Beast from a fan's perspective.	The Star Beast had recently been completed.	None
596	Dates to look out for regarding the 60th anniversary, and the archive coming to iPlayer.	Teases about the contents of the specials, and November 1, 17, and 23. A six-day shoot in September of material to be released soon. The 2025 season is about to shoot, with five of nine scripts done.	None
597	"Seismic Shifts" across the history of the show.	Rehearsals with a guest star for the 13th episode. Sets for a hotel, a hospital, and a "Chamber" under construction.	2025 episode: "radiation", "moth", "skiffle"
598	The 2023 Twelve Days of Christmas.	Scene 11 of Episode 1 of Gatwa's first season begins "INT. CONTROL ROOM", with stage directions "THE DOCTOR and RUBY walk in to find a cool, sleek, metal CONTROL ROOM, full of CONSOLES." Episode six, written by Kate Herron and Briony Redman, contains a character named Emily saying "I am ruined!" Another mention of the project with the eight-word title from the previous year's list, as it had been delayed, but now has two scripts written and a third on the way. One of the revealed six words is in the episode's title. Season 2 has four writers besides Davies. And a title reveal for The Devil's Chord.	Episode 8: "terror", "dust", "pizza", "Einstein", "death", "opera"
599	"Very well", and the launch of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors.	None	None
600	The production progress of episodes coming up in 2024 and 2025.	Season 1 is moving closer to being complete in time for May. The 2024 Christmas special is shot and ready for FX. For season 2, episodes 1 and 4 have been mostly shot, episode 3 is about to shoot, others are in the queue, and episode 8 is about to be written.	None
601	The production of Tales of the TARDIS, and meeting cast members from the classic series.	The sets up in Wolf Studios, including Ruby and Carla's flat and the UNIT Ops Room, both of which are about to "spring back into life"; the "remnants" of the 2024 Christmas special; a set "so real" it could be rented out as its actual self; and a "labyrinthine" set.	None