A new anthology of short stories set in Doctor Who’s Paradise Towers has been announced by Obverse books

Available for pre-order now. Publication date: 20 May 2024

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

BBC Studios have released images of Varada Sethu who will join the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday in Ncuti Gatwa's second season of Doctor Who which will air in 2025.

The pictures released today show the cast together at a read-through for an episode in the series currently being filmed. 

Like many Doctors who have come before him, one companion is not enough for the Fifteenth Doctor and in season two, he will have two by his side as Varada Sethu steps aboard the TARDIS joining Mille Gibson playing Ruby Sunday

Sethu is best known for her  role as Cinta Kaz in the Disney+ Original series “Andor.” Her additional credits include “Jurassic World Dominion,” “Annika” and “Strike Back.”

Sethu says:

Showrunner, executive producer and writer Russell T Davies says:

Currently in production, the second season of Doctor Who, the fifteenth since the revival in 2005 and the 41st since the series started in 1963, is set to debut in 2025 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ in the U.S. and around the world (where available).

The Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday feature in a brand new game, BBC Wonder Chase, which has launched on Roblox today.

Doctor Who is one of the brands featured on the new service which includes shows like Match of the Day,, EastEnders, and The Next Step as well as some of the BBC’s most famous faces – including Gary Lineker, Zara McDermott, Louis Theroux and Hacker T Dog.

People can play fun mini-games, collect BBC iPlayer-themed coins, learn interesting nature facts and complete tricky obstacle courses. Along the way, they can challenge themselves to find and collect limited edition stickers or just take it easy, relax and chat with pals in their friends' list while watching clips from some of their favourite BBC shows in the cinema area.

The new BBC Wonder Chase experience aims to reach young people where they are and bring the BBC to them. Roblox is enormously popular with younger audiences and is used by over 71 million people every day. The experience is free on Roblox, and available on PC, mobile (iOS, Android), PlayStation, Xbox. To find it, just go to Roblox and search for BBC Wonder Chase. 

Fiona Campbell, controller of youth audience, BBC iPlayer and BBC Three, said:

Patricia Hildalgo, Director of Children’s and Education, said:

The journey begins in Wonder Central, a fantastical city set on the water. Here, people will run into documentarians Louis Theroux and Zara McDermott, have a laugh with CBBC’s Hacker T Dog, or a red nose game from Comic Relief. From Wonder Central, they can also find portals to other parts of the experience – including:

• Total Sport – a collection of sporty islands people can adventure around, surrounded by giant inflatables and activities, where they can meet and chat to Match of the Day stars Gary Lineker, Micah Richards and Alan Shearer.
• Deep Space Zone – an otherworldly planet where people will find Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday as well as a mischievous Goblin.
• Tiny Planet – here people will enter an English country garden, but they’ll be the size of a bug! An interactive space for fun and learning about nature, and where players can chat to some of the BBC’s best known nature presenters, including Liz Bonnin and CBBC’s Deadly 60’s Steve Backshall.
• Festival Park – a celebration of music, art and culture all set in a chilled out, magical festival. People can find and chat to Michelle, Kenzie and Eldon from the hit CBBC show The Next Step, or visit the BBC News rave tent.

BBC Wonder Chase world will evolve across the coming year with new content added and new worlds developed.

The experience was made by the BBC with Bristol based games developer Mobile Pie. The BBC has also used a number of accessibility tools for the experience, which are available on the Roblox platform. This includes the option to stop or pause motion such as grass or wind to reduce animations for those who may find them distracting. There is built-in support for Adaptive Controllers for people using PlayStation or Xbox, plus the ability to change what the buttons do so that users can control their experience. And there is a feature where users can automate a double jump, a key action, to help those who may have issues tapping twice in quick succession.

To find BBC Wonder Chase, click here or go to Roblox and search for BBC Wonder Chase.