A newly re-edited version of the classic Doctor Who story ‘The Sea Devils’, will be available on BBC iPlayer and broadcast on BBC Four on Sunday 7th December

The 1972 Third Doctor story is being shown ahead of the foes' return in The War Between the Land and the Sea at 8:30 pm on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.

This new 90-minute special condenses the original six-part adventure into a feature-length experience, with updated sound design by Mark Ayres, and an enhanced score featured in The War Between the Land and the Sea created by Lorne Balfe, which has been woven together with Malcolm Clarke’s groundbreaking 1972 music.

The Sea Devils stars Jon Pertwee who played the Doctor between 1970 and 1974, alongside Katy Manning as companion Jo Grant, and features the Master, played by Roger Delgado.

Written by Malcolm Hulke and directed by Michael E. Briant, the story introduced audiences to the formidable aquatic species the Sea Devils.

Russell T Davies, Showrunner, Writer and Executive Producer says:

The special version of The Sea Devils will air on BBC iPlayer from 6 am and BBC Four at 7 pm on Sunday 7th December, and will be followed by a double bill of The War Between the Land and the Sea at 8:30pm on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.

The Sea Devils is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for BBC Four and BBC iPlayer. Executive producers are Russell T Davies, Joel Collins, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter.

The BBC has announced that the Doctor Who Spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, is set to launch with a double bill on Sunday 7th December from 8:30pm simultaneously on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.

The five-part series follows Barclay (Russell Tovey), a low-level UNIT staff member whose ordinary life becomes a world of terror when an ancient species rises from the sea. Barclay becomes humanity’s ambassador when the mysterious Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) emerges from the Tank at a summit on the Thames. UNIT, led by Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), fights for control as humanity faces destruction.

Alongside Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Jemma Redgrave, the series features a star-studded cast including Ruth Madeley as Shirley Bingham, Alexander Devrient as Colonel Christofer Ibrahim, and Colin McFarlane as General Austin Pierce. Other previously announced cast members include Adrian Lukis, Patrick Baladi, Francesca Corney, Mei Mac, Vincent Franklin, Waleed Hammad, Iestyn Arwel, Hannah Donaldson, Manpreet Bachu, and Ann Akinjirin.

Russell T Davies, Showrunner, Writer and Executive Producer says:

The series is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television. Outside of the UK it will air exclusively on Disney+ in 2026.

The series was created by Doctor Who Showrunner and Executive Producer Russell T Davies, who has written the series with Executive Producer Pete McTighe. In addition, Executive Producers for Bad Wolf are Joel Collins, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter.

The series is directed by Dylan Holmes Williams, with Lorne Balfe serving as the show’s composer.

BBC Studios is celebrating Doctor Who Day 2025 with an interactive TARDIS Treasure Hunt.

The global celebration of the series takes place on Sunday, 23rd November, the 62nd anniversary of the broadcast of the first episode in 1963.

This year’s festivities centre around an exciting digital activation: VWORP AROUND THE WORLD, an interactive TARDIS treasure hunt inviting fans to help locate the Doctor’s missing time machine.

The virtual scavenger hunt unfolds across five missions, each guiding fans to a secret location via clues that when solved will reveal a location using what3words. Participants will log into the UNIT HQ section of the official Doctor Who website and enter the discovered TARDIS locations to unlock exclusive digital prizes, including deleted scenes, unseen scripts, and behind-the-scenes content.

The fifth and final mission, launching on 20th November, will culminate in a dramatic real-world reveal of the TARDIS landing.

The first three missions are now live on the Doctor Who website  (Mission 1, Mission 2, Mission 3).

In addition to the treasure hunt, fans can look forward to a host of activities to celebrate Doctor Who Day including:

• A 24-hour YouTube livestream showcasing every era of Doctor Who, hosted by content creator Christel Dee.

• The release of Season 2 scripts and deleted scenes on the Doctor Who website.

• A special episode of The Whoniverse Show

• And more surprises

Fans can follow the hunt and join the celebration via the Doctor Who website, social media channels, and the Doctor Who newsletter. The hashtag #DoctorWhoDay will be used across platforms to unite fans around the world.

The next DWM Special Edition begins a new series called Doctor Who: Legends, with a look at the life of Dalek creator Terry Nation.

Editor Marcus Hearn explains

The all-new content includes previously unpublished interviews, deep dives into all of Nation’s Doctor Who stories, and extracts from scripts that never made it to the screen. The issue is lavishly illustrated with rare and unseen images, including pictures from the Nation family’s collection. 

Highlights include:

• Terry Nation reflects on Doctor Who, Survivors and Blake’s 7 in a previously unpublished interview conducted in 1991.

• An exclusive interview with Rebecca and Joel Nation, in which they remember growing up with their famous father.

• Doctor Who writer and former showrunner Steven Moffat pays tribute to Terry Nation and revisits an overlooked Dalek story.

• Lost scenes from some of Terry Nation’s greatest scripts are brought to life with fresh analysis and new artwork.

• Kevin Jon Davies describes childhood meetings with Terry Nation in the 1970s.

• The story of Nation’s entire career from the 1950s to the 80s, including details of his contributions to Out of the Unknown, The Saint, The Avengers and other classics.

• Every Terry Nation film, television and radio credit, compiled for the first time.

• A previously unpublished interview with Nation’s friend and former agent, Beryl Vertue.

• The script-to-screen development of every Terry Nation Doctor Who story, including details from newly discovered notes and drafts.

    AND MORE!

Doctor Who: Legends – Terry Nation is available at panini.co.uk and good news retailers, price £9.99. It will also be available digitally from pocketmags.com price £8.99.

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine is published today.

In the issue

• CAROLE ANN FORD, the first person cast in Doctor Who – as the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan – speaks to DWM about First Doctor WILLIAM HARTNELL, how she would have like to have played Susan and returning to Doctor Who in 2025!

• We examine how the character of Susan Foreman came into being…

• …and delve into the paperwork to discover the other actors considered for the role.

• We take a look at a new book celebrating the artwork used in DWM’s own Time Team column – encompassing every story from An Unearthly Child to the TV Movie.

• Back to 1980! PETER DAVISON is cast as the Fifth Doctor, and the demise of the last standing Mark 2 Police Box… 

• Gary Gillatt explains what dogs can teach us about our relationship with the Doctor…

• It’s the last throw of the dice for humanity. We travel to the end of the universe in search of Utopia…

• As we celebrate 62 years of Doctor Who we look back at the 20th Anniversary Special The Five Doctors…

• The concluding part of our latest comic strip featuring the Fifteenth Doctor…

Regular features

• GALLIFREY GUARDIAN: Doctor Who returns to TV for Christmas 2026! Plus, we talk to Film Is Fabulous! about the hunt for missing episodes and bring you details of forthcoming audio releases.

• Reviews – featuring the latest audios and books.

• Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

• Prizes to be won – including Blake’s 7 Season 2 on Blu-ray! 

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 623 is on sale Thursday 6 November 2025  from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.

The BBC has announced that the latest Doctor Who Spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, is due to launch in the UK on BBC iPlayer and BBC One this December.

The five-part series will showcase how the world reacts when a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing itself to humanity and triggering an international crisis.

Featuring a star-studded cast including Russell Tovey as Barclay, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Ruth Madeley as Shirley Ann Bingham, Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim, and Colin McFarlane as General Austin Pierce.

Other previously announced cast members include Adrian Lukis, Patrick Baladi, Francesca Corney, Mei Mac, Vincent Franklin, Waleed Hammad, Iestyn Arwel, Hannah Donaldson, Manpreet Bachu, and Ann Akinjirin.

Russell T Davies, Showrunner, Writer and Executive Producer says:

The series is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television and will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK in December, and exclusively on Disney+ outside of the UK (where available) in 2026.

The series was created by Doctor Who Showrunner and Executive Producer Russell T Davies, who has written the series with Executive Producer Pete McTighe. In addition, Executive Producers for Bad Wolf are Joel Collins, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter.

The series is directed by Dylan Holmes Williams, with Lorne Balfe serving as the show’s composer.

The BBC has confirmed that Doctor Who will return to screens worldwide at Christmas 2026.

The series will continue with a special episode written by the current showrunner, Russell T Davies and produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC.

The BBC has also confirmed that Disney+ has decided to end its partnership with the corporation and will not be involved in any future series of Doctor Who. The BBC has said they remain fully committed to the show and will announce plans for the next series in due course.

Lindsay Salt, BBC Director of Drama

The War Between the Land and the Sea, a spinoff from Doctor Who, is heading to BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year, as well as a brand-new animation series for CBeebies, which is in development.

The actor and writer Nabil Shaban has died at the age of 72.

Nabil Shaban will be best remembered by Doctor Who fans for his delicious portrayal of Sil, the odious and unctuous character created by Philip Martin for the 1984 story Vengeance on Varos. So successful was the character that he returned in the following season in Mindwarp.

Shaban would later recreate the character in audio form for Big Finish.

Nicola Bryant, who played Peri alongside Shaban, said

Nabil Shaban was born in Amman, Jordan

As a child, he was diagnosed with brittle bone disease, osteogenesis imperfecta, resulting in him moving to England for medical care, where he grew up in a series of hospitals and residential homes.

After graduating from the University of Surrey, Shaban founded the Graeae Theatre Company, an organisation composed of disabled artists and theatre makers. He performed major roles in many Graeae productions, including: Hamlet, Godspell, The Emperor,  and Fleshfly.

Shaban’s film work includes parts in City of Joy, Wittgenstein and Born on Fire, whilst on television he has had numerous roles in Channel 4 and BBC productions

Nabil Shaban died on the 18th October 2025. He is survived by his wife Marcela Krystkova and their child.

Sil and the Governor Negotiate

The actor Tony Caunter has died at the age of 88.

Tony Caunter was a well-known British actor who appeared in numerous roles on British television throughout a career spanning over sixty years.

He appeared in ten episodes of Doctor Who. His debut in the series came in 1965 when he played Thatcher in two episodes of the First Doctor story The Crusade. He had a much more substantial role in 1971 in the Third Doctor story Colony in Space, where he played Morgan, the second-in-command on the IMC expedition.

In 1983, his third appearance was as Jackson in the fifth Doctor story, Enlightenment. 

Away from Doctor Who, Caunter was best known for playing the car dealer Roy Evans in the soap opera EastEnders, a role he portrayed for nine years. He often played policemen, including DCI Jim Logan in the first three series of Juliet Bravo. In the 1990's he was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable Arthur Quine in The Chief.

In 1978, he appeared in the Blake's 7 episode Deliverance. Other memroble roles include Titanic's chief officer Henry Wilde in S.O.S. Titanic and Jack Shepherd in the Yorkshire Television sitcom Queenie's Castle.

He also appeared in Crown Court, Z-Cars, The Avengers, Casualty, London's Burning, Home to Roost, The Saint, Special Branch, The Champions, Dixon of Dock Green, Catweazle, The Main Chance, The Professionals, The Sweeney, Minder, Pennies From Heaven, Westbeach, Howards' Way, Lovejoy, May to December, Boon, Heartbeat and The Scarlet Pimpernel

Tony Caunter married Frances Wallace in 1962, and the couple had four children.

He died in Eastbourne on 13 October 2025 a week after his wife's death

The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine, issue 622,  includes a 32-page mini-mag and a double-sided BBC Audiobooks wallchart

In the magazine

• Composer MURRAY GOLD, writer JUNO DAWSON and designer DAN MAY on the Interstellar Song Contest hit Dugga Doo and the alien race behind it…

• ROBERT SHEARMAN discusses his new novels – Jubilee and The Chimes of Midnight – based on audio dramas he wrote for the Sixth and Eighth Doctors in the early 2000s.

• A tribute to Season 18 script editor and the writer of Logopolis, Castrovalva and Frontios, CHRISTOPHER H BIDMEAD who died in August.

• Previously unpublished extracts from an interview with Christopher H Bidmead conducted in 2017.

• SOPHIE ALDRED talks about returning to the early days of companion Ace in a new audio drama box set.

• KATY MANNING and CAROLE ANN FORD discuss short stories they have written for a new anthology that explores what happened to their characters, Jo and Susan, in the aftermath of TV episodes…

• A celebration of BBC Audiobooks’ Doctor Who releases – including their recently completed run of talking books based on the Target novelisations.

• The Black Archive Quiz – how sharp is your Doctor Who knowledge?

• The monster hospital – the Museum of Classic Sci-Fi’s NEIL COLE explains how he’s brought some of the series’ memorable creatures back to life!

• A deep dive into the world of the Eleventh Doctor episode Let’s Kill Hitler.

• Back to 1988! What did the critics make of Seventh Doctor story Remembrance of the Daleks?

• Will computers be to blame for our downfall? Gary Gillatt investigates…

• A new comic strip adventure for the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda…

Regular features

• GALLIFREY GUARDIAN: our news round-up including details of Russell T Davies’ BAFTA win and the ‘Speakies’ nomination for First Doctor audiobook Agent of the Daleks.

• Reviews – featuring the latest audios, books, records and action figures.

• Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

• Prizes to be won – including Season 13 on Blu-ray! 

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 622 is on sale Thursday 9 October 2025  from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £10.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £9.99.