The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine marks the return of Doctor Who to Television screens worldwide

Inside this issue

• Previews of the new episodes broadcast this month. Russell T Davies talks Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord and we take a quick peek behind the scenes of Boom with writer Steven Moffat and exec producer Joel Collins.

• Meet the Beatles: John, Paul, George and Ringo (alias Chris Mason, George Caple, Philip Davies and James Hoyles) and their producer George Martin (Ed White)…

• …and to celebrate the Beatles appearance on opening night of the new season, we also look back at the relationship between the band and Doctor Who over the years…

• Jinkx Monsoon discusses her role as the malevolent Maestro.

• Can we get any answers from Anita Dobson about her character, the mysterious Mrs Flood? Worth a try!

We also speak to the equally intriguing Susan Twist about her roles in last year’s episodes and her involvement in the forthcoming season…

• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies considers the scheduling of the new episodes and welcomes new readers!

• Script to screen: discover the intricacies involved in bringing ‘Jimbo’ – the robot from Wild Blue Yonder – into being.

• A tribute to the work of the late Sid Sutton who, among many other career highlights, designed the Doctor Who titles in the 1980s.

• We test the memory of Matthew Waterhouse, who played companion Adric.

• Time-Space Visualiser – how second Doctor Patrick Troughton made a partial comeback in the late seventies…

• Loose Ends – tying up some dangling threads from the 1960s

• The Fact of Fiction – a scene-by-scene look back at an earlier opening night: 2007’s Smith and Jones.

• The concluding part of Mancopolis – our comic strip featuring the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.

PLUS!

• An exclusive comic strip supplement featuring TIMESLIP – the memorable multi-Doctor comic strip by former DWM editor Paul Neary. This also includes an essay on the story by Gary Gillatt and a chat with Dez Skinn who came up with the original idea for the strip.

• Two art cards to celebrate the new season!

AND ALL THE USUAL REGULAR FEATURES INCLUDING THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND COMPETITIONS!

BBC Books has announced that three new Doctor Who novels will be published this year, featuring Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor. Each book is an original, stand-alone adventure and will be published simultaneously in hardback and audiobook. The books are:
 

Georgia Cook is an illustrator and writer from London. She has written for several sets in the Big Finish Doctor Who Audio range, including The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles, Gallifrey: War Room, and the Interludes. She has also contributed short stories to publications such as Baffling Magazine and Flame Tree Press, and is a frequent contributor to various horror anthology podcasts as a writer and voice over artist.

The audiobook edition of Doctor Who: Ruby Red will be narrated by Millie Gibson, who plays companion Ruby Sunday in the TV series

Una McCormack is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She has written many Doctor Who articles, scripts and novels, including The King's Dragon, The Way Through the Woods, Royal Blood, Molten Heart and Time Lord Victorious: All Flesh is Grass, all from BBC Books.

Abi Falase is a Black British writer and director, reimagining fundamental societal concepts in inventive new worlds. Creating what they like to call “feel-good social realism”, wrapping big discussions about everything from race and gender to capitalism in little pockets of humour – because if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.

Ruby Red by Georgia Cook (BBC Books, £14.99) is out in hardback and audiobook on 13th June

Caged by Una McCormack (BBC Books, £14.99) is out in hardback and audiobook on 27th June

Eden Rebellion by Abi Falase (BBC Books, £14.99) is out in hardback and audiobook on 24th November

Issue 602 of Doctor Who Magazine is out today

Inside this issue!

• In the run-up to the new series, Millie Gibson talks to DWM about playing companion Ruby Sunday – her most in-depth interview yet!

• We examine a long-lost interview that First Doctor William Hartnell gave to the Scottish press – including some forthright opinions!

• Davina McCall shares her love of Doctor Who and reflects on her role in last year’s Christmas Special. 

• Script to screen: find out what processes went into bringing creepy puppet Stooky Bill and his family to life in The Giggle.

• To tie-in with the release of Season 15 on Blu-ray, we present an interview with model-maker Bill Pearson.

• We visit the set of Henry House – a new series starring many familiar faces....

• A report from from LA super convention Gallifrey One!

• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies on celebrating milestones out of sequence!

• Time-Space Visualiser – this month: the Trods! 

• Who & Me – DWM contributor Beth Axford on how she became hooked on Doctor Who.

• Loose Ends – exploring the mysteries of the Sixth Doctor!

• The Fact of Fiction – a deep dive into the plot of Twelfth Doctor story The Woman Who Lived.

• The adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday continue in the comic strip!

PLUS!

• Gallifrey Guardian – packed with all the latest news about the upcoming series!

• Reviewed – the new Season 15 Blu-ray Collection and all the latest audio releases.

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

• Win Blu-rays and the latest audio releases!

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 602 is on sale Thursday 28 March from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). 

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

Doctor Who is set to make a return to screens worldwide on Saturday 11th May 2024.

Viewers inside the UK will be able to access two episodes from midnight on the BBC iPlayer, the first time episodes have made their premier on the 'on demand' service.  The episodes will be shown on BBC One later that day just before the annual Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final.

For those outside of the UK the episodes will be available on Disney+ from midnight UK time, 2300 GMT.

The new season of Doctor Who will see Ncuti Gatwa return as the Fifteenth Doctor, alongside Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, it comes after they made their highly acclaimed debut on Christmas Day in The Church on Ruby Road. 

Within the upcoming series, audiences will see the Doctor and Ruby travel through time and space on adventures to unknown lands, to the Regency era in England, to outer space worlds and the sixties.

This season will also see the return of Michelle Greenidge as Carla Sunday, Angela Wynter as Cherry Sunday and Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood as well as featuring an array of special guest stars including Jinkx Monsoon, Aneurin Barnard, Yasmin Finney, Jonathan Groff, Bonnie Langford, Jemma Redgrave, Lenny Rush and Indira Varma with more to be announced soon. 

Russell T Davies, Showrunner said: 

Doctor Who: The Church On Ruby Road.had an official 7-day rating of 7.49 million viewers. 

The episode was the third most-watched programme on British television for the week ending 31st December 2023.

The only programmes to beat Doctor Who was the New Year's Eve Fireworks and the Christmas Day edition of the drama Call the Midwife. 

ITV's highest-rated programme was the drama Vera with 5.71 million watching. The BBC had all 10 places in the weekly Top Ten. 

Doctor Who was watched by 41.4% of the total viewing public. It had an Audience appreciation figure of 82. 

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 599 is out today.

In this issue:

• An exclusive double interview with Ncuti Gatwa and David Tennant – talking about bi-generation.

• An access-all-areas look at the making of the Anniversary Specials finale The Giggle.

• Production designer Phil Sims takes us on a guided tour of the new TARDIS.

• Sonic disruptors! The making of the Fifteenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver.

• A profile of new companion Ruby Sunday.

• Join Blue Peter competition winner Verity on a tour of Doctor Who’s Wolf Studios.

• We talk to the people who worked on post-production on the latest episodes.

• Script editor Scott Handcock relives the anniversary month in his Production Diary.

• Crowd Sourcing – the concluding part of our feature on the life of extras on 60s Doctor Who.

• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies explains how the Gallifrey of the Fugutive Doctor was foreshadowed in 70s episode The Hand of Fear – now available on iPlayer.

• Sophie Aldred – aka 80s companion Ace – remembers her time on the show.

• The Fact of Fiction – we scrutinise Eleventh Doctor mid-series finale A Good Man Goes To War.

• A brand-new comic strip featuring the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday!

PLUS!

• Gallifrey Guardian – all the latest official news.

• A new-look reviews section – covering radio, books, soundtracks, and audio dramas.

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

• Win a copy of the Anniversary Specials Blu-ray, the new Target adaptations and the latest audio releases.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 599 is on sale Thursday 4 January from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). 

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

After some six years Doctor Who has returned to Christmas Day, which of course makes it a candidate for being the most watched show on the day!

Though it is unlikely to make the top slot tomorrow - the King's Speech is almost certainly going to have that honour owing to its simultaneous showing across the major broadcasters - the bookies seem to generally agree that The Church On Ruby Road might well be the second-most watched programme of the day at 6-1! This is followed up by Call The Midwife at 8-1, and both Eastenders and Strictly Come Dancing at 9-1. ITV1 shows include Coronation Street at 16-1 and Emmerdale at 25-1.

Of course with six years between Christmas Specials, it's been six years since our ratings competition for Christmas Day, and this year you can win a copy of The Church On Ruby Road on Blu-ray or DVD. To enter, simply email us at comp-ratings@doctorwhonews.net with your name and the consolidated one week figure you expect the episode to achieve, as reported by BARB early next year.

Please specify the number in millions to 3 decimal places, for example 6.848m as achieved by The Giggle at the start of the month. For guidance, the highest rated non-King's speech programme last year was 7.814m achieved by Call The Midwife, who also took the 'silver crown' in 2021 with 7.831m.

The competition is open to UK residents, the closing date is Tuesday 26 December at 8:00am.

Doctor Who continues on Christmas Day with the first full story for the Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa.

The Church on Ruby Road can be seen on BBC One in the United Kingdom at 5.55pm.

It will be released on Disney+ and the BBC iPlayer at the same time.

The Church on Ruby Road also features Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood and Davina McCall as herself.

It is written by Russell T Davies and directed by Mark Tonderai for Bad Wolf Productions and BBC Studios.

Ncuti Gatwa has made his first public appearance as The Doctor to switch on the lights at the London Eye on London's South Bank.

The newly regenerated Doctor was joined by his companion Millie Gibson who plays Ruby Sunday in the upcoming series. 

Also attending was showrunner Russell T Davies and stars from the upcoming Christmas story The Church on Ruby Road including  Anita Dobson.

The cast and crew were present for the press launch of the episode. Ncuti Gatwa told the audience

Millie Gibson described the story

While Russell T Davies spoke of his delight the new Doctor was finally being seen

Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road, can be seen on Christmas Day at 5.55 pm UK time on BBC One in the UK and worldwide on Disney+

The Goblin Song, written by Murray Gold and Russell T Davies, has rocketed to the top of the UK iTunes charts on the day of release. 

The single is taken from the soundtrack of the 2023 Christmas special, The Church on Ruby Road due to be broadcast on BBC One on Christmas day as well as being available worldwide on Disney+.

The story is the first full adventure for the Fifteenth Doctor as played by Ncuti Gatwa. 

In the episodes the Doctor's world collides with Ruby Sunday played by Millie Gibson

The episode also stars Davina McCall as herself, Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood, Michelle Greenidge as Ruby’s mum Carla, and Angela Wynter as Ruby’s grandmother Cherry.

The Goblin Song is available on BBC Sounds and is also available via Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer.

All proceeds will go to BBC Children in Need.

The Goblin Song - Official Lyric Video The Goblins are coming for Christmas! 🧌🎄 Listen to THE GOBLIN SONG from 'The Church on Ruby Road' - available to stream now! 🎶