‘Hell Bent’ is shaping up to be quite an episode.

The ninth series finale of Doctor Who will be more than an hour long.
‘Hell Bent’, airing Saturday, December 5 , has been confirmed to last 65 minutes. The previous episode ‘Heaven Sent’ is also extended, at 55 minutes.
The extra length is just as well, given how epic the plot summary for the finale sounds.

If you didn’t know – SPOILERS – the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) will be returning to his home planet and come face to face with his fellow Time Lords on Gallifrey.”If you took everything from him, betrayed him, trapped him, and broke both his hearts… how far might the Doctor go?” teased the BBC.
Gallifrey was long thought destroyed, but in 2013’s 50th anniversary episode ‘The Day of the Doctor’, it was revealed that the planet had actually been ‘lost’ in another dimension.

Meanwhile, Steven Moffat has revealed that Doctor Who ‘s next companion doesn’t even have a name yet – but told Digital Spy that the new character will fundamentally change the series.Mark Gatiss also recently confirmed that a follow-up to last Saturday’s ‘Sleep No More’ is being considered.

Doctor Who airs Saturdays on BBC One.

Gatiss reveals the surprising origins of one of his episodes, and why he has mixed feelings about ‘Vincent and the Doctor’.

Mark Gatiss is a busy man. In his day job, you might find him cursing Sherlock’s name as Mycroft Holmes, running the Iron Bank of Braavos, or wearing grotesque prosthetics as one of the League Of Gentlemen.

But by night? He’s become one of the most reliable writers of Doctor Who since the TARDIS rematerialised on our screens ten years ago.

And so, with his eighth episode ‘Sleep No More’ going out on BBC One last Saturday, Digital Spy sat down with Gatiss to reflect on a decade of involvement with the world’s greatest science-fiction series.

‘Sleep No More’ just aired on Saturday night. When an episode of yours goes out, do you monitor the reaction online?

“No, I step away – you’ll scroll through the ones that liked it, weirdly in search of the one that hated it. But I loyally tweet about the show each week, even when it’s not my episode.
“I always do that, and I’m amazed how many people go, ‘Oh Christ, I’d forgotten!’ So that’s done some service! But no, I don’t read the reactions – I don’t read reviews for things I’m in either. It keeps you sane.”

You’ve mentioned the possibility of a sequel to ‘Sleep No More’ – is that happening?

“I’ve got an idea, which I’ve talked to Steven [Moffat, Doctor Who showrunner] about. The thing about this stage of planning a new season is there’s all kinds of things being thrown at the wall, so we’ll see. I’d love to do a sequel though, I really would.”

The end of the episode does very much tee up a follow-up…

“Yes, well, the Doctor gets it wrong – and that’s something worth having fun with…”

You’ve written eight episodes for Doctor Who since 2005. Which would you say has changed the most from conception to realisation?

“Ooh, that’s a good question! Probably [2007 episode] ‘The Idiot’s Lantern’, the second one, I would say. It wasn’t always about the Coronation, it was about music – and I remember writing a kind of pitch document which was like [1986 rock musical] Absolute Beginners!
“It was about a really hip ’50s, and the central kid was a bit older and Mr. Magpie ran a record shop. I’d forgotten all about that!

“But weirdly it ties into ‘Sleep No More’, because that’s when Russell T Davies and I – 10 years ago – had this discussion about how creepy this song ‘Mr. Sandman’ was. ‘Mr. Sandman’ was in the original draft of that, so it’s waited all this time.

“That’s where it comes from – that chat about how this weirdly optimistic song is nevertheless really creepy! So it’s finally borne fruit.”

Has there been one episode that stands out as the toughest to write?

“I don’t know… I’ve not got stuck. ‘Victory of the Daleks’ – what was tough about that was the tone, because I wanted it to be a war movie in 45 minutes, but I was very conscious of the taste issues. It seems like maybe a slightly silly thing to say with a children’s programme, but I’m aware that Churchill was a controversial figure.

“I find it interesting when people start up petitions saying the Doctor should meet Anne Frank or Martin Luther King. On paper, it sounds great, but you’ve got to remember what the show is. And whilst it can brilliantly obey its original remit to educate and broaden children’s minds, at the same time it’s difficult.

“If you’re dealing with such dark stuff, then you should consider what would actually be gained. For instance, the Van Gogh one [2010’s ‘Vincent and the Doctor’] doesn’t shy away from the fact he was mentally ill, and actually that’s very bold, but it’s not necessarily what the show does.

“I don’t know. It seems laudable but I think you also have to remember that fundamentally it’s an entertainment show and maybe those sort of arguments should be had somewhere else.”

Tom Riley told us that he would love to return to the show as Robin Hood – would you be up for it?

“Yeah, I would love it, of course. But the one thing I did find writing that one was that there are aren’t as many tropes of Robin Hood-ness than you think. There are things like the battle over the water and rescuing Marian, but there aren’t that many…
“So for a sequel, I think it would have to be something different. It would have to be Robin Hood in space, or something.”

Does revealing Robin to be real open the fictional floodgates for Doctor Who – could the Doctor now meet Frankenstein or…?

“Yeah. The thing is, the format is so wonderfully elastic. It’s about the story, isn’t it? There’s an in-built fun factor in meeting big historical figures, and finding out they’re not quite what you think.
“As for fictional characters, why not? The point is made with Robin Hood. But I think you’d have to be careful. You’d have to make sure you weren’t just repeating the same joke, I suppose.”

Tom Riley told us that he would love to return to the show as Robin Hood – would you be up for it?
“Yeah, I would love it, of course. But the one thing I did find writing that one was that there are aren’t as many tropes of Robin Hood-ness than you think. There are things like the battle over the water and rescuing Marian, but there aren’t that many…

“So for a sequel, I think it would have to be something different. It would have to be Robin Hood in space, or something.”
Does revealing Robin to be real open the fictional floodgates for Doctor Who – could the Doctor now meet Frankenstein or…?

“Yeah. The thing is, the format is so wonderfully elastic. It’s about the story, isn’t it? There’s an in-built fun factor in meeting big historical figures, and finding out they’re not quite what you think.
“As for fictional characters, why not? The point is made with Robin Hood. But I think you’d have to be careful. You’d have to make sure you weren’t just repeating the same joke, I suppose.”

With The Master having become Missy, and the sonic screwdriver being swapped for sonic sunglasses, is there anything about Doctor Who that’s sacrosanct and should never be changed, or is everything up for grabs? Could you, say, ditch the police box?

“You could do it for a bit, which is what is happening with the sunglasses, I’m sure – and all the petitions in the world, it’s all just more coverage, isn’t it?
“But I would say the TARDIS. It’s now an iconic thing and it’s known universally. Obviously the Doctor changes, but the police box, I think, maybe is the thing.

“You’d struggle to find anything as good, and weirdly so much of it feels right now. Although he’s not a policeman, he is policing the universe. I suppose the only other thing would be if it was a doctor’s surgery – but they’re not as interesting to look at! ”

Doctor Who – Series 9, Part 1 is available now on DVD and Blu-ray. New episodes are also available to purchase via the new BBC Store.

Jenna Coleman has spoken about her decision to quit Doctor Who after 3 years – and the circumstances of Clara’s surprising exit.

At the weekend’s official Doctor Who Festival, the BAFTA-nominated actress revealed why now was the right time to depart the TARDIS.

Coleman also reflected on her time working with two different Doctors – or should that be 13? – and whether she would consider a return to the sci-fi series.Speculation over who will be the next Doctor Who companion is rife – with Ingrid Oliver’s amiable Osgood topping a Digital Spy poll.

However, Oliver has played down rumours linking her to a permanent stay aboard the TARDIS, while Who showrunner Steven Moffat has also insisted the show’s new co-lead will be an entirely new character.

Doctor Who – Series 9, Part 1 is available now on DVD and Blu-ray. New episodes are also available to purchase via the new BBC Store.

Doctor Who: The Zygon Inversion had an official consolidated rating of 6.03 million viewers.

The rating issued by the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, or BARB, includes all those who watched the programme within one week of transmission. It does not include those watching online via iPlayer

Doctor Who was the 9th most watched programme on BBC Television, and third overall on Saturday. The episode finished at 24th in the chart.

The final episode of the ITV drama Downton Abbey topped the ratings for the week with 10.90 million viewers.

The Gallifreyan Newsroom has just returned home after an extraordinary weekend at The Doctor Who festival in London’s Excel centre.

We arrived on a very rainy Saturday morning and immediately did what us Brits do best, join a queue, it was massive too, made up from people of all ages and levels of fandom and indeed countries, I chatted with a young lady who had come over from Germany for this festival.  Some were dressed in everyday clothes, (including me I should add) but some were Cosplayers and very good they were too.  The level of detail that I saw was amazing.  Amongst the standouts were Missy (she was very popular with the Cosplayers and the fourth doctor’s costume.

I met up with two friends of mine, Gavin and Alex.  I had arrived just before them, so I was already in the queue.  I was wondering how on earth we were going to find each other amidst the throng, however Gavin is 6 foot 2 tall, so this issue wasn’t so insurmountable after all. Once we gained entrance into the festival we were given our lanyard at the end of which was ticket. Once we had been given this we were off!  The festival was split into two streams “Dalek” and “Cyberman” this was largely designed to phase people though the venue to avoid everyone arriving at the same point, at the same time.

Our first port of call at 9.45am was ”The Impossible Worlds” presentation. This was a fascinating talk with Stephen Nicholas and Mike Tucker the writers of a book of the same name. Mike of course will be well known to fans of the classic series and new series alike. Stephen has worked on the series since 2004 when new series went back into production. I asked Stephen a question about the current shape of the TARDIS compared with the look and dimensions of its classic counterpart?

He told me that they wanted the new TARDIS prop to be more of a box shape. He then went into great detail on the pains they went through the get the paint colour and texturing was just right. In short these people are hugely talented and the level of detail and thought that goes into the production is outstanding.

Mike Tucker was asked about the TARDIS interior, which of course has changed massively since the classic series days. Back then, he told the audience, the BBC television centre (which, for the most part, is where Doctor Who was filmed) didn’t allow for any “standing sets”.

That is to say, that no sets were permanent, they were put up and taken down after each recording session. The same studio may be used for Top of the Pops or Grandstand before Doctor Who, which accounts for why the TARDIS set was in such a poor state of repair during the latter Sylvester McCoy era. However since 2005 the TARDIS interior has been a permanent fixture, which saves time and therefore money putting it up and down for each recording session.

During the session photos and pages from their book were being put up onto the large video screen to illustrate their talk. I would heartily recommend this book for fans of all ages and in particular if you have an interest in art and design.

After this session had ended we had some time to look around all the many stalls and stands present at the festival. All the old favourites were there, Doctor Who Magazine, This Planet Earth, and BBC Store to name just a few. I did see some very fetching Doctor Who Christmas jumpers being sported around the place, so I think I may need to purchase one soon, in time for the festive period, not to mention our Christmas jumper day at work, which is coming up soon.

I was really impressed with all the various sets that were on show and available to look around. One highlight for me was Davros’s lair which we saw during the Witches Familiar. We were able to enter through those famous Dalek 1960s shaped corridors, at the end of which we saw Davros in his chair surrounded by all the connecting wires leading to his life support system. Other highlights from this area was Clara’s living room, and a snowy “set up” with the TARIDS, where you could have your photo taken whilst the visual effects people shower you with fake BBC “snow”

Those very clever folk from Millennium Effects were also on stage demonstrating their art.  This presentation was moderated by Mark Gatiss. On stage were two of their computer designers, one working in 3D, the other working in 2D.  Their challenge was to create, from scratch a concept design, render it, and show it to the audience at the end of the session.

The Mire made a dramatic appearance on stage, before taking off his head revealing the actor inside the costume.  The designers explained that, the brief for this particular costume was that it should give the impression of a very heavy solid and protective armour.  However in actuality the costume was very light weight in construction, much to the delight of the poor actor inside.  On a table in front of the presenters was an Ice Warrior head, which a member of the audience was invited to wear on the stage.  Before the head was put on some guidance was given on how to walk as an Ice Warrior, making each step seem very heavy and deliberate.

Mark Gatiss described some of the processes that he went through during the making of “The Lazarus Experiment”.  The layering of prosthetics and ageing makeup which, once applied, really forced him to adopt the posture of the age he was supposed to be. He remembers reading a book and somehow forgetting that all this make-up had been applied to his face, and getting something of a shock looking in the mirror at his older self.

Also on stage during this set was our very first look at The Sandman, who at this time hadn’t been seen on television, this being some hours before “Sleep No More” had aired, so that was a real treat.  Mr Sweet from Crimson Horror was also in attendance, and for the first time we were able to see all the cables and little pumps that animated this little creature.

Our next big panel presentation was “Meet The Writers” which was moderated by Mathew Sweet (who will be familiar to listeners of Big Finish, as the writer of several of their stories) Steven Moffat lead the line-up and was joined by Peter Harness (Kill The Moon, The Zygon Invasion / Inversion and Sarah Dollard, a new writer to Doctor Who, who has written ”Face The Raven” (formally known as “Trap Street” in early drafts) This was a very interesting discussion with all the writers giving us insights into their own individual styles of writing and their own very unique techniques of transferring their ideas from their head onto paper and then to transfer that into a form that the actors can perform.

Each person, Steven Moffat in particular went into great detail about what happens when writers hit the dreaded “writers block” In his own words he confided to the assembled audience that the main reason why this happens for him, is that something has gone “wrong” with his prose at some point, thus bringing the narrative to a complete halt. He then went on to explain the process of either starting again with a page one re-write or at the very least unpicking the story to find where it had lost its way. One little technique, which was taken from the Doctor Who official programme, is that Steven always stands up to write when he is coming to the end of a script, such is his excitement and enthusiasm.

Of course many of the audience wanted to ask questions, a popular topic was how to get into writing. In the main the answers given were really uncomplicated. A person needs to “really want to write” and “there are no real barriers other than our own imagination and ability to convey that on paper and to keep on doing it, even though rejections will be common place.
Another question, and one that was asked on more than one panel was, “What Doctor Who story, from the missing episodes, would you like to see returned the most. Both Peter Harness and Steven Moffat opted for “The Power of the Daleks”. Steven’s reason was, that as a writer, he has had to write opening stories for two doctors, namely Matt Smith and Peter Capalidi, however he would love to see how David Whitaker set about the almost impossible task i.e. how to write for a new doctor for the very first time. Sarah Dollard, not being so steeped in the history of Doctor Who wasn’t able to come up with an answer for this one.

Once this presentation was over we stayed in our seats, as the next panel was the big one, the one everybody had been waiting for, “Meet The Cast” which starred Jenna Coleman, Michele Gomez, Ingrid Oliver and the twelfth doctor himself Peter Capaldi. I have to admit, dear reader, to feeling just a tad bit emotional when our host, Toby Hadoke announced them onto the stage. Clearly I was not alone in this as lots of members of the audience made the point before asking their questions and in the words of one young person, I can’t believe that I am speaking, and you are listing, to me” and that was the sentiment echoed by many people.

Each member of the panel were so entertaining and all were very vocal in saying how sorry they are that Jenna Coleman has decided to move on from Doctor Who. One audience member asked the panel which former companion they would most like to see return to the series and as one, they all replied Clara. One young girl was so sad to see Clara leave she had put together a scrapbook dedicated to her hero and presented it to Jenna during the session, a moment I’m sure neither of them will ever forget, Jenna was visibly moved by this. Steven Moffat made the point on a number of occasions that it still hurts being “dumped” said in the style of someone braking off a relationship, which I suppose it is in strange kind of way. Although it was said with a certain twinkle in his eye, one can’t help but wonder whether there was any truth behind this? I suspect a little.

When asked that perennial old question “what’s your favourite story” Steven Moffat skilfully dodged this, by saying, “that really long story, you know, which started with An Unearthly Child and ended with whatever the current episode is. Peter was similarly coy about his favourite story too, however he did make the point that his favourites do tend to change over time, but “Evil of the Daleks” did get a mention in the mix, so we will run with that for the time being.

Michele Gomez was asked whether she had looked at previous incarnations of The Master and did she take anything from the past into her current role? She claimed that she hasn’t watched anything as she didn’t want to feel in any way intimidated by the past, something she confessed she was feeling on stage answering questions from audience members who, clearly had far more knowledge about The Master’s back-story than she has.

A burning issue, which I’m sure more than one person was thinking about concerned who the new companion might be. Would he be male, would she be female OR have we already met this person (cough Osgood cough) Steven was quite rightly guarded about answering this question, however, The Gallifreyan Newsroom can exclusively reveal that whoever it is, they will be new into the series, a fresh start, which refreshes the series anew.

The whole Doctor Who festival was very well organised, very polished as one would expect from the BBC and by the look of everyone I met, an event that everyone enjoyed. Once this festival wraps, which at time of writing is now (Sunday November 15th 2015) they pack up and fly to Australia. Their festival begins on the 21st of November.

As something of a curtain raiser, I was invited to report on both our festival and to look forward to the Australian festival by ABC local radio presenter Rhianna Patrick. We had an excellent interview live on the radio this morning, (evening in OZ (where I was able to convey some of the highlights of the UK event and give the listeners a little flavour of what they can expect next week.

“We wanted to say thank you for being Clara. But more important than anything else, for being Jenna.”

The Doctor Who Festival ended on an emotional note today, with Peter Capaldi bidding his co-star Jenna Coleman farewell with a huge bouquet of flowers.
As the last panel finished, Capaldi stood to give a heart-felt speech to the actress, who is soon to depart her role as companion Clara Oswald.

“We just want to say good luck to you in the future and everything that you do,” he said. “We wanted to say thank you for being the most wonderful companion. For giving us the gift of your talent, your time, your friendship and for being Clara. But more important than anything else, for being Jenna.”

A clearly touched Coleman embraced Capaldi, before telling fans that, “The last four years have been the most wonderful journey, and incredible, unique, wonderful and mad and amazing.

“I will forever treasure the life experiences. I remember a conversation with Steven [Moffat], actually. We were talking about the 50th anniversary and how it was one of those that we will be looking back on for years and years to come and how special it was that we were apart of that. It’s such a special pocket of time. To have had so much warmth and enthusiasm and love from the fans has been incredible.”

Coleman announced her departure from Doctor Who in September, telling Nick Grimshaw on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, “I have left the Tardis and I’ve filmed my last scenes.”
Her announcement came after years of speculation over when the actress would exit the show. Tabloid rumours originally had her leaving in last year’s Christmas special, before eventually flip-flopping to say she would in fact be staying on for series nine. Showrunner Steven Moffat later confirmed that she had indeed originally been due to leave at the end of series eight finale Death in Heaven.

“That was her last episode,” he told Doctor Who Magazine. “And then she asked me if she could be in Christmas? So I said, ‘Okay, I’ll write you out in Christmas.’ She came to the read through and did the ‘write out’ version – and again changed her mind. But the truth is I never wanted her to go… She’s an amazing actress, and she never stops working to make Clara better. I was very happy to go the extra mile to make sure we could keep her.”

When asked about her future on the show, Coleman told Radio Times, “you never feel you’ve arrived… which is a good thing. It would be quite scary to feel safe. You’re in Doctor Who knowing it will never last. It’s constantly regenerating, so you want to make your time count and enjoy the adventure for the fleeting time you’re here.”

Doctor Who will continue with Face The Raven next Saturday on BBC1

The showrunner explains why the controversial villains seem to have disappeared.

It was one of the most controversial moments in recent Doctor Who history. In Victory of the Daleks, Matt Smith’s third episode, the copper coloured Daleks that had been a fixture of the show since its reboot in 2005 were replaced by brightly coloured models, dubbed the ‘New Paradigm’.

It’s fair to say that they never really caught on with fans – some dismissing them as ‘Teletubbies’ or ‘Power Rangers’. Now showrunner Steven Moffat has admitted the change was a “mistake”.
“Well I suppose if I’m completely honest – and it’s all my fault, no one else’s fault – I don’t think that was a great idea,” he told an audience at London’s Doctor Who Festival. “When I looked at them in person I thought ‘my god, the new Daleks are awesome. they’re so huge and powerful, they’re brilliant.’”
“But I learned a grave lesson: which is that when you put them on screen, of course, they don’t look bigger, they just make all the other Daleks look smaller.”

Following the reaction from fans, the old models made a comeback, with the New Paradigm Daleks stepping into the background. They were completely absent from this year’s opening episode The Magician’s Apprentice, which featured various models from throughout the tin-pots’ history, leading to speculation they had been dumped entirely.
According to Moffat, that isn’t the case, they’re simply taking more of an administrative role.

“So I revised my plans and I now consider them an officer class of Dalek,” he explained. “You do seem them about from time-to-time. It just became a little bit mad in The Magician’s Apprentice because there were so many different Daleks in there that I didn’t want to confuse the eye.”
“They haven’t gone away. We still have them. But that’s the answer. The answer to most questions I find is that I’ve made a mistake.”

Something wicked this way comes, but is it coming for Ms Oswald?

Doctor Who goes to Diagon Alley as 12 and Clara rush to the aid of their old pal Rigsy but will the companion be the one to Face the Raven?
The ominous bird, who we’re guessing is the one we spotted chasing a man in the next time trailer, hovers above Jenna Coleman’s head in the first official picture.
And the second trailer, released by Doctor Who’s official YouTube account, sees her saying “goodbye” to the Doctor and urging herself to be brave.

Jovian Wade rejoins the Doctor and Clara as Rigsy for the 10th episode, which takes the trio to a truly special street, hidden in the heart of London.
“Sheltered within are some of the most fearsome creatures of the universe… and Ashildr (Maisie Williams)! With a death sentence hanging over their heads, not all of the intruders will get out alive”, the official synopsis reads.

Could Clara’s time be up? Or is it all a red herring?
Will The Doctor face death? Or could Risgy flatline?
We’ll have to wait until next weekend to find out.
Doctor Who series 9 continues on Saturday nights on BBC1

The Twelfth Doctor tells RadioTimes.com that the next companion “has to be somebody I’m happy with,” while also offering his thoughts on the subject of male companions…

Jenna Coleman’s Clara is yet to officially leave Doctor Who, but that hasn’t stopped fans speculating on what they want from the next companion. And that includes the biggest fan of them all – the Twelfth Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi.

“I think it’s nice to have someone who’s light-hearted, and fun,” he told RadioTimes.com. “And I think it’s good that the Doctor can be quite dark, sometimes, but you need someone to draw him out of that, and also to throw that into contrast. So someone who can run, scream and be quite glamorous – glamorous in any demanding situation.’

In particular, Capaldi expressed a desire to go back to the roots of the show’s revival, which starred Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, a frustrated, working class 19-year-old who longed to escape life on a council estate.

“I’ve always loved what Russell did with Billie Piper,” he said. “Because you hadn’t really had in Doctor Who a very clear, working-class voice. And I liked how Billie was very clearly someone who lived on an estate, and was a normal person.

“Which in a way the show hadn’t really done that before. It was of its time, in the sense that everyone spoke standard English, and it didn’t always reflect the real world. So I always like it when they have companions who reflect the real world – which Jenna does, because she’s from Blackpool. You can’t get more real-world than Blackpool!”

There is, of course, a possibility that the next companion could be a twist on the norm – a male companion. What does Capaldi think of Doctor Who turning into an intergalactic lads on tour?
“I quite like the idea of classic Doctor Who, which I must probably identify as Jon Pertwee or Tom Baker. Which is Jon Pertwee with Katy Manning and Elisabeth Sladen; and Tom Baker with Elisabeth Sladen – I just think that combo of the slightly strange and alien Time Lord with the intelligent, enthusiastic and inquisitive girl is a good combo. I don’t know why – but it just seems to work.

“And also [the male-female partnership in Doctor Who] has no romantic component, so I think it allows both characters to operate to their full extent. They’re never taken into a cul-de-sac of romance.”

Whoever the companion ends up being, it’ll have to be someone who gets Capaldi’s approval – which makes a male companion pretty unlikely. But has he been asked to give his fateful opinion yet?

“Not so far. I will be [asked] at some point. I’m not quite sure where we are at the moment. But obviously at the end of the day it has to be somebody I’m happy with. Happy to work with. That will have to be looked to.”