The Thirteenth Doctor adventures to continue with Big Finish

Saturday, 13 July 2024 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill (Credit: Oliver Bowring)

Big Finish Productions, in partnership with BBC Studios, have announced a new series of twelve, hour-long, full-cast audio adventures with Jodie Whittaker reprising her role as the Thirteenth Doctor alongsider Mandip Gill as Yasmin Khan.

Jodie Whittaker said: 

“I’m over the moon to be joining Big Finish for more adventures in the TARDIS. Recording the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz is a really lovely thing to revisit. One of the things Mandip and I used to love on Doctor Who was getting in, doing a new episode and meeting a brand-new cast. I just can’t wait to step back into the boots, pull on the coat and get cracking. One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be brilliant.

Mandip Gill added:

Doctor Who has been a huge part of my career and personal life and I am looking forward to seeing how I can further enrich my character through this exhilarating series. To be able to work with Jodie again is a dream come true, we have such a special friendship, I’m sure the recordings will be filled with laughter.

Big Finish’s Chairman, Jason Haigh-Ellery said:

This year Big Finish is celebrating its 25th anniversary of producing full-cast Doctor Who audio drama – so, when we were granted the licence to create new stories set during the Thirteenth Doctor’s era, we immediately set to work. 

I am delighted that the inimitable Jodie and Mandip have decided to return to their roles with us and I’m excited to welcome them to Big Finish. Alongside our two other forthcoming series for the Fugitive Doctor (played by Jo Martin) and the Master (played by Sacha Dhawan), 2025 has never looked brighter for the Thirteenth Doctor and her fam.

Big Finish’s Creative Director, Nicholas Briggs added:

Jodie and Mandip were so welcoming to me when I worked on set with them in the TV show, so I’m looking forward to repaying the compliment. They’re lovely people and they’re full of enthusiasm for this project.

 

The new adventures will be available to pre-order at a discounted price from the Big Finish site, either individually or as a complete set. The series is expected to be released from July 2025.





FILTER: - Jodie Whittaker - Thirteenth Doctor - Big Finish

Doctor Who Target Collection 2023

Thursday, 19 January 2023 - Reported by Marcus
BBC Books

BBC Books are to publish new Doctor Who Target books in July 2023

BBC Books has announced that it will be expanding the Doctor Who Target range with five new titles in Summer 2023, all publishing on 13th July, each with newly commissioned cover artwork by Anthony Dry.

The new titles celebrate Target publishing Doctor Who books for half a century. The 2023 collection celebrates the dramatic return of David Tennant and showrunner Russell T Davies to the programme.

Both The Waters of Mars by Phil Ford and The Planet of Ood by KeithTemple are  Doctor Who episodes from the Tenth Doctor era.

Fans will also be able to add a Twelfth Doctor adventure, as played by Peter Capaldi, to their collection with The Zygon Invasion by Peter Harness and a Thirteenth Doctor novelisation with Kerblam! by Peter McTighe.

Stephen Gallagher’s Warriors’ Gate and Other Stories will feature the Fourth Doctor.

Launched in 1973, Target Books published novelisations of almost every Doctor Who serial aired between 1963 and 1989, with only a few notable exceptions.

BBC Books began reissuing these classic paperbacks in 2012, and in 2018 expanded the Target range to include all-new novelisations of modern-era Doctor Who episodes.

This year, the expansion continues with:

Kerblam!: Graham (Bradley Walsh), Yaz (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole), The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) (Credit: BBC Studios (Ben Blackall))Kerblam! by Peter McTighe

Kerblam! is the biggest online retailer in the galaxy – but how did it become so big? When the Doctor’s Kerblam! package includes a mysterious request for help, she heads straight to the company’s warehouse moon to investigate...
 

Pete McTighe is a British screenwriter, producer, and lifetime Doctor Who fan. As well as writing episodes of Doctor Who, he has written two series of hit BBC drama The Pact, alongside writer and showrunner duties on A Discovery Of Witches, The Rising, and Wentworth for which he received five Australian Writers Guild nominations. He also writes and directs acclaimed short films to promote Doctor Who - The Collection Blu-ray releases.

Planet of the Ood (Credit: BBC)The Planet of Ood by Keith Temple

The Doctor and Donna learn that the planet of the Ood holds cruel and awesome secrets. As they battle for justice and survival, the fate of the entire Ood race hangs in the balance. Will the outcome be salvation – or extinction?

Keith Temple is a British screenwriter whose credits include Doctor Who, Doc Martin and the original BBC comedy drama, Angel Cake starring Sarah Lancashire. He has also written extensively for Continuing Drama including EastEnders, Emmerdale, River City and Casualty. Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for the horror feature film, Wyvern Hill. He has also written for the stage and lectures widely on screenwriting and filmmaking.

The Waters of Mars (Credit: BBC)The Waters of Mars by Phil Ford

The first human colony on Mars is destined for destruction in a nuclear explosion. This tragedy is a fixed point in history. The laws of time dictate that it cannot –must never – be changed. But as the Doctor’s darkest hour comes calling, he resolves to break the rules as he never has before...

 

Phil Ford has written scripts for Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures for BBCTelevision. He also wrote animated Doctor Who adventure Dreamland, and four Doctor Who Adventure Games. His extensive screenwriting credits include episodes of Taggart, Bad Girls, New Captain Scarlet and Coronation Street. He co-created Wizards vs Aliens with Russell T Davies.

The Zygon Invasion (Credit: BBC)The Zygon Invasion by Peter Harness

It took three Doctors to broker a fragile peace between Zygons and Humans. Now the Twelfth Doctor must face the fallout alone. With his alliescompromised and his companion believed dead, can he stop the world from plunging into war?
 

Peter Harness is an English playwright, screenwriter and actor. He has contributed to programs such as McMafia, City of Vice, and Case Histories and wrote a new miniseries adaptation of The War of the Worlds for BBC One

Credit: BBCWarriors’ Gate and Other Stories by Stephen Gallagher

A new-to-print, expanded novelisation of the classic 1981 adventure. With the TARDIS caught in the collapsing void between two different universes, the Fourth Doctor is drawn into a dangerous alliance with a race of enslaved, time-sensitive aliens.

The consequences are explored in two further short stories, one exclusive to this volume!

Stephen Gallagher is an English screenwriter and novelist from Manchester. He wrote two serials for Doctor Who, as well as writing for Rosemary & Thyme and Bugs. He also created and wrote Eleventh Hour, a science-based series for ITV.

Each of the authors for the 2023 Target books are the original screenwriters of the TV episodes.





FILTER: - Target - Fourth Doctor - Tenth Doctor - Twelfth Doctor - Thirteenth Doctor

Doctor Who Magazine Special 62: The 2023 Yearbook

Wednesday, 30 November 2022 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine Special 62:  The 2023 Yearbook (Credit: Panini)

This special issue of DWM celebrates the Thirteenth Doctor’s entire journey and looks back on an extraordinary 12 months.

The Thirteenth Doctor’s final adventures were among the most spectacular in the series’ history. This was a time of transformation in more ways than one – the return of some familiar faces and the announcement of Doctors Fourteen and Fifteen were just a few of the highlights.

And then, as outgoing showrunner Chris Chibnall handed over to Russell T Davies, production began on the episodes that will take the series into its 60th anniversary. 

Highlights include:

  • Exclusive interviews with Sophie Aldred (Ace), John Bishop (Dan), Sacha Dhawan (the Master), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Mandip Gill (Yaz) and Jodie Whittaker (the Doctor) on the making of the Centenary Special, The Power of the Doctor.
  • Ray Holman reveals the secrets of his costume designs for the returning Doctors and companions in The Power of the Doctor.
  • Analyses of every single Thirteenth Doctor story, from The Woman Who Fell to Earth to The Power of the Doctor.
  • A diary of the most significant events of 2022, both on screen and off.
  • Tributes to the Doctor Who luminaries who died during 2022.

DWM Special Edition 62: The 2023 Yearbook is on sale from Thursday 1 December at WH Smith, selected supermarkets and online from panini.co.uk priced £7.99.

A digital edition is also available, priced £6.99 from pocketmags.com

 




FILTER: - DWM - Thirteenth Doctor

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 583

Wednesday, 12 October 2022 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine Issue 583 (Credit: Panini)

Issue 583 of Doctor Who Magazine contains an exclusive preview of the final story for the thirteenth Doctor, The Power of the Doctor

 

Highlights of the new issue include:

  • Jodie Whittaker (the Doctor), Mandip Gill (Yaz), John Bishop (Dan) and writer Chris Chibnall talk exclusively to DWM about The Power of the Doctor in the 19-page preview. 

  • Chris Chibnall signs off as showrunner in his final Production Notes.

  • More from Chris, as he braves questions randomly selected from the TARDIS tin.

  • A full preview and contents list of the forthcoming Blu-ray box set Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 2.

  • A previously unpublished interview with the late Colin Lavers reveals the stories behind the costumes he designed for 1983’s The King’s Demons and The Five Doctors.

  • The sets of 1965’s Galaxy 4 are recreated, providing new insights into this mostly missing story.

  • The Fact of Fiction travels deep inside the most incredible machine in the universe as it looks back at 2013’s Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.

  • The final part of The Everlasting Summer, a new comic-strip adventure for the Doctor, Yaz and Dan.

  • Previews, reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser, Sufficient Data and more.

PLUS!

  • Doctor Who: A BBC Production, a 28-page supplement tracing the behind-the-scenes history of the show and highlighting the BBC executives who have steered its course.

  • A diorama of the First Doctor’s TARDIS control room.

  • A huge double-sided poster with images from The Power of the Doctor.

  • A download code for a complete, 60-minute Doctor Who audio drama.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 583 is on sale Thursday 20 October from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £10.99 (UK). Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £9.99.

 




FILTER: - DWM - THirteenth Doctor

Thirteenth Doctor’s Final Battles Get Special Blu-ray Release

Monday, 10 October 2022 - Reported by Marcus
Thirteenth Doctor - Steelbook (Credit: BBC Studios)

The Thirteen Doctor’s final battles to be marked with a special home entertainment releases

Jodie Whittaker’s final three episodes as The Doctor will be available for fans to add to their collections this November.

Fans have two options to commemorate the Thirteenth Doctor’s final battles. A standalone release of the regeneration episode, The Power of the Doctor will be available on DVD and Blu-ray, or alternatively a limited-edition Blu-ray Steelbook made up of the three Series 13 specials, Eve of the DaleksLegend of the Sea Devils and The Power of the Doctor.

 

The Power of the Doctor (DVD & Blu-ray), to be transmitted later this month, sees the Thirteenth Doctor take on her deadliest enemies in her final battle. The DVD and Blu-ray includes bonus materials:

  • The Power of the Doctor – Behind the Scenes
  • A farewell to Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill
  • Audio commentary

 

Doctor Who The Series 13 Specials (Blu-ray Steelbook) consists of the three specials that have aired on TV in 2022. The Steelbook includes bespoke never seen before artwork of the Thirteenth Doctor’s final adventures.

Bonus Material includes:

  • The Dalek Execution
  • The Sea Devils Return
  • Becoming Pirates
  • The Power of the Doctor – Behind the Scenes
  • A farewell to Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill
  • Audio commentaries of all three episodes

Both releases will be available for fans to buy from 14th November and is available for pre order on Amazon





FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Thirteenth Doctor

The Power of the Doctor - finale date confirmed

Saturday, 8 October 2022 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Power of the Doctor

The BBC has confirmed that Doctor Who’s feature length centenary special - The Power of the Doctor – will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 23rd October. This episode is the last of three specials that aired this year, and will mark Jodie Whittaker’s final adventure as the Thirteenth Doctor. 

Action-adventure in space and time for all the family, starring Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill, John Bishop, Sophie Aldred, Janet Fielding and Sacha Dhawan. In this feature-length Special to mark her last adventure, Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor must fight for her very existence, against her deadliest enemies: the Daleks, the Cybermen and her arch-nemesis, the Master.

 

Who is attacking a speeding bullet train on the edges of a distant galaxy? Why are seismologists going missing from 21st century Earth? Who is defacing some of history’s most iconic paintings? Why is a Dalek trying to make contact with the Doctor? And just what hold does the mesmeric Rasputin have over Tsar Nicholas in 1916 Russia?

 

The Doctor faces multiple threats…and a battle to the death.

 

The Power of the Doctor trailer on YouTube

 

Images from the episode:

 

The Power of the Doctor: Tegan (JANET FIELDING), The Doctor (JODIE WHITTAKER) and Ace (SOPHIE ALDRED) The Power of the Doctor: Ace (SOPHIE ALDRED) (Credit: BBC) The Power of the Doctor: Tegan (JANET FIELDING) and ACE (SOPHIE ALDRED) The Power of the Doctor: Ace (SOPHIE ALDRED) and Tegan (JANET FIELDING) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) The Power of the Doctor: Kate Stewart (JEMMA REDGRAVE) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) The Power of the Doctor: Kate Stewart (JEMMA REDGRAVE), The Doctor (JODIE WHITTAKER) The Power of the Doctor: The Doctor (JODIE WHITTAKER) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) The Power of the Doctor: Dan Lewis (JOHN BISHOP) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) The Power of the Doctor: Vinder (JACOB ANDERSON) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) The Power of the Doctor: Yasmin Khan (MANDIP GILL) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) The Power of the Doctor: Yasmin Khan (MANDIP GILL) and The Master (SACHA DHAWAN) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) The Power of the Doctor: The Master (SACHA DHAWAN) and Yasmin Khan (MANDIP GILL) The Power of the Doctor: The Master (SACHA DHAWAN) The Power of the Doctor: The Master (SACHA DHAWAN) The Power of the Doctor: The Master (SACHA DHAWAN) The Power of the Doctor: The Master (SACHA DHAWAN) The Power of the Doctor: Cybermen The Power of the Doctor: Cybermen The Power of the Doctor: Ashad (PATRICK O’ KANE) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) The Power of the Doctor: The Daleks (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon)





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Doctor Who Specials - Thirteenth Doctor

Doctor Who: Redacted

Sunday, 10 April 2022 - Reported by Marcus
Jodie Whittaker (Credit: BBC)

The BBC has announced a new spin-off podcast, Doctor Who: Redacted will be available on BBC Sounds.

The 10-part series will begin alongside the television Easter special on April 17th, giving fans a brand new podcast of action-packed adventures.


Listeners will be introduced to characters, Cleo Proctor (Charlie Craggs), Abby McPhail (Lois Chimimba) and Shawna Thompson (Holly Quin-Ankrah) – alongside some familiar faces including the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Rani Chandra, Kate Stewart, Petronella Osgood and Madame Vastra.

Doctor Who: Redacted follows Cleo, Abby and Shawna - three broke university drop-outs from different cities across the UK who remain connected via their paranormal conspiracy podcast, ‘The Blue Box Files’. The trio speculates over Abby’s favourite conspiracy theory – intent on finding out the truth behind the mysterious ‘Blue Box’ that keeps cropping up across history. What if this random police public call box was actually an alien ship?

They don’t know who the Doctor is, or if aliens are real, but soon find themselves caught in a supernatural conspiracy as they learn that everyone who’s ever met the Doctor is disappearing and being forgotten. Essentially, they’re being redacted from reality. The Blue Box Files is so unsuccessful that our heroes are the last ones to be affected by the redaction, making Cleo, Abby and Shawna the world’s only hope. Now it’s a race against time to uncover the truth.

Set in the Doctor Who universe, the series entangles past and current storylines, cameos from the Doctor’s friends and allies, as well as appearances from monsters and aliens, identifiable to fans and non-fans alike.

Doctor Who: Redacted is scripted by bestselling author Juno Dawson, alongside a host of new and experienced writing talent. The audio drama primarily explores the relationships between ordinary people unknowingly immersed in the Doctor Who universe.

Juno Dawson, lead writer says:

Doctor Who was my first love, and it's an absolute thrill to add to the ever-expanding mythology in podcast form for the first time ever. What a total privilege to write for something so beloved, and put my own little flag on the landscape.

The cast for Doctor Who: Redacted includes Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who), Charlie Craggs, Jacob Hawley, Lois Chimimba (Doctor Who, Vigil), Holly Quin-Ankrah (Coronation Street, Grange Hill), Ken Cheng, Jemma Redgrave (Doctor Who), Ingrid Oliver (Doctor Who), Doon Mackichan (Good Omens, Smack The Pony) and more.

Doctor Who: Redacted is available first on BBC Sounds weekly from April 17th.

Episode 1 will be available following Doctor Who’s Legend of the Sea Devils on Easter Sunday.

 





FILTER: - Thirteenth Doctor - Production

Legend of the Sea Devils - Trailer

Saturday, 2 April 2022 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC have released a trailer for the upcoming story Legend of the Sea Devils.

Legend of the Sea Devils: TRAILER | Doctor Who





FILTER: - Thirteenth Doctor - Production

Legend of the Sea Devils - Easter Sunday

Friday, 1 April 2022 - Reported by Marcus
Legend Of The Sea Devils (Credit: BBC/Getty Images)

Doctor Who will return to screens worldwide on Sunday 17th April with The Legend of the Sea Devils. 

The story is the second in a trio of Doctor Who specials airing in 2022

UK viewers can catch the episode on BBC One or the BBC iPlayer, while in the USA the episode will screen on BBC America. 

Other worldwide broadcasts follow shortly afterward.

For details check This Week in Doctor Who

 

In a swashbuckling special adventure, the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill), and Dan (John Bishop) come face to fin with one the Sea Devils, first seen in the 1972 Third Doctor story. 

Why has legendary pirate queen Madam Ching come searching for a lost treasure? What terrifying forces lurk beneath the oceans of the nineteenth century? And did Yaz really have to dress Dan up as a pirate?

 

The final Doctor Who episode starring Jodie Whittaker will be screened in the Autumn as part of the celebrations making 100  years of the BBC. 

 

Legend Of The Sea Devils (Credit: BBC/Getty Images) Legend Of The Sea Devils: Yasmin Khan (MANDIP GILL), The Doctor (JODIE WHITTAKER) (Credit: BBC/Getty Images) Legend Of The Sea Devils (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) Legend Of The Sea Devils: Ying Ki (MARLOWE CHAN-REEVES) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) Legend Of The Sea Devils: Madam Ching (CRYSTAL YU) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon) Legend Of The Sea Devils: Ji-Hun (ARTHUR LEE) (Credit: BBC Studios/James Pardon)





FILTER: - Broadcasting - Thirteenth Doctor

Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall to leave Doctor Who

Thursday, 29 July 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Jodie Whittaker (Credit: BBC)

Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall will be leaving Doctor Who following a trio of specials ending in an epic blockbuster to air in autumn 2022 as part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations.

The current showrunner and Thirteenth Doctor have been in charge of the TARDIS since filming for the Thirteenth Doctor began in 2017 but both have confirmed they will be leaving the series at the end of 2022

A six-part Event Serial has been announced for this autumn, and two Specials were already planned for 2022. To help mark the 100th Anniversary of the BBC, BBC One has now asked for an additional final feature-length adventure for the Thirteenth Doctor before the Doctor regenerates once more.

After taking the helm of the show, Chris Chibnall made the groundbreaking decision to cast Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor. He also brought in Tosin Cole (Ryan), Mandip Gill (Yaz) and Bradley Walsh (Graham), and cast the acclaimed Sacha Dhawan as the latest incarnation of The Master, plus Jo Martin as the mysterious Fugitive Doctor, adding new characters, layers and twists to the mythology of the show.

Chris Chibnall said

Jodie and I made a “three series and out” pact with each other at the start of this once-in-a-lifetime blast. So now our shift is done, and we’re handing back the TARDIS keys.

Jodie’s magnificent, iconic Doctor has exceeded all our high expectations. She’s been the gold standard leading actor, shouldering the responsibility of being the first female Doctor with style, strength, warmth, generosity and humour. She captured the public imagination and continues to inspire adoration around the world, as well as from everyone on the production. I can’t imagine working with a more inspiring Doctor – so I’m not going to!

For me, leading this exceptional team has been unrivalled creative fun, and one of the great joys of my career. I’m so proud of the people we’ve worked with and the stories we’ve told. To finish our time on the show with an additional Special, after the pandemic changed and challenged our production plans, is a lovely bonus. It’s great that the climax of the Thirteenth Doctor’s story will be at the heart(s) of the BBC’s centenary celebrations.

I wish our successors - whoever the BBC and BBC Studios choose - as much fun as we’ve had. They’re in for a treat!

Jodie Whittaker added

In 2017 I opened my glorious gift box of size 13 shoes. I could not have guessed the brilliant adventures, worlds and wonders I was to see in them. My heart is so full of love for this show, for the team who make it, for the fans who watch it and for what it has brought to my life. And I cannot thank Chris enough for entrusting me with his incredible stories. We knew that we wanted to ride this wave side by side, and pass on the baton together. So here we are, weeks away from wrapping on the best job I have ever had. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express what this role has given me. I will carry the Doctor and the lessons I’ve learnt forever.

“I know change can be scary and none of us know what’s out there. That’s why we keep looking. Travel Hopefully. The Universe will surprise you. Constantly.”

Current Director of BBC Drama Piers Wenger added

Over the last four years Chris and Jodie have made Doctor Who history and their time on the show is indelibly marked on our memories. From Rosa Parks to Ascension of the Cybermen, Chris and Jodie have given Doctor Who some of its most life-affirming and tear-jerking moments to date and we are beyond excited to see what they have in store for us in the new series this Autumn. Jodie's final adventure to mark the BBC's Centenary in 2022 is set to be a Doctor Who Special to remember. I’d like to thank them both for their incredible work on the show

With over a year of adventures to come, the Thirteenth Doctor still has plenty in store for fans.

 

 





FILTER: - Thirteenth Doctor - Production