CATHERINE Tate has revealed she could return to Doctor Who.

The 48-year-old played the Doctor’s companion Donna Noble from 2006 to 2010 opposite David Tennant.

Catherine’s last episode saw her character’s memory wiped by the Doctor, in order to protect her from burning up her head.

With Donna’s memories of the Doctor entirely wiped, Doctor Who fans have always felt there’s no hope of getting Donna back on the show.

But, speaking on Lorraine, the comedian has revealed she could return to the BBC TV show if writers work around it.

She said: “I don’t know if I could return with the way Donna’s storyline went.

“Unless they go back in the TARDIS to before I came into it.

“That’s how we get me back on!”

Catherine also confessed how shocked she is when she meets Doctor Who fans in far-flung parts of the world.

She said: “You don’t realise the far-reaching arms of Doctor Who until you’re in a Walmart in West Virgina and someone comes up to you and asks you if you’re Donna Noble.

“I say yes even though she’s a character, not actually me.

“I could’ve just stepped out the TARDIS!”

Peter Capaldi is starring as the current Doctor, alongside Pearl Mackie, who replaced Jenna Coleman as his companion.

But Peter – who has played the iconic character since 2014 – recently admitted he is unsure of his future on the show.

“I’ve been asked to stay on, but it’s such a long time before I have to make that decision,” he told the Radio Times.

“Steven’s been wonderful, so I love working with him. Chris is fantastic and he’s a hugely talented guy.

“I don’t know where the show’s gonna go then. I don’t know,” he added.

 

Another returning Doctor Who writer has apparently been revealed for next year’s season.

12 new episodes are currently filming in Cardiff and will premiere on BBC One in April 2017.

Little Britain actor Matt Lucas – who will be reprising his role as Nardole in this year’s Christmas special followed by a number of episodes in Season 10 – has tweeted writer Jamie Mathieson, saying “love love love your script.”

Mathieson has written three Doctor Who episodes before; ‘Mummy on the Orient Express’, ‘Flatline’ and ‘The Girl Who Died’ (with Steven Moffat).

The Being Human writer previously told Doctor Who Magazine: “[I’ve submitted] a load of ideas for [Season 10]. Hopefully the Doctor Who camp is still happy with me … it’s been great so far.”

Doctor Who returns to BBC One this Christmas with ‘The Return of Doctor Mysterio’.

This weekend sees the arrival of long-awaited Doctor Who spin-off Class, and after months of knowing very little at all we’ve recently started to find out all sorts of things about what we can expect from the BBC3 sci-fi series.

We know the characters (Katherine Kelly’s teacher Miss Quill and teenagers Charlie, Ram, April and Tanya), the baddies (dark creatures called the Shadow Kin), and even some of the storylines – but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still more to learn, as RadioTimes.com discovered when we went behind the scenes to discover a Tardis-full of surprising facts about the autumn’s hottest UK sci-fi show.

Starting with a big revamp for a (in every sense of the word) Doctor Who institution…

1. Coal Hill School has changed

 Over the years Coal Hill has appeared a few times in Doctor Who, usually as a pretty traditional, ordinary UK school. But upon entering the set, it’s a more modern, flashier set-up than we’ve seen before – so what gives?

“It’s a bit different from what we’ve seen in Doctor Who before, and we wanted to update it,” producer Derek Ritchie tells us as we make our way down the school corridor. “Make it feel a bit more aspirational.”

“As an ex-pat I can tell you that when the British talk about their schooldays, the phrase that they always say is, ‘A bit s**t’,” series creator Patrick Ness expands later.

“This Coal Hill is a place you’ll want to go, and these students are people you want to have as your friends, and you want to go on these adventures and you want to identify with one of them, or more of them, and so that was always always about really stepping away from the idea of ‘a bit s**t’.”

The Department of Education WILL be pleased.

2. It’s not just for kids

As we discover on our trip, despite its “Young Adult” branding the team behind Class insist that it’s not just for kids, with its young cast particularly keen to emphasise its cross-generational appeal.

“I would watch it, my friends would watch it, my family would watch it, so I think it’s going to be generational,” Sophie Hopkins (who plays “mother hen” teenager April) says.

“I mean, that’s obviously where it’s aimed, at the young adult,” actor Greg Austin (who plays offbeat Charlie) agrees.

“But young adults want to be and are essentially adults, so I think it will appeal to that demographic, and to people a lot older. They can see references to their own childhood and their own teenage years.”

3. It’s not as dark as fellow spin-off Torchwood

Comparisons between Class and Torchwood, the original Doctor Who spin-off that preceded it by exactly ten years, were inevitable. Both have similar premises (holes in space and time let nasty aliens through) and more “grown-up” themes (Patrick Ness comments that “we’ve introduced blood back into Doctor Who”) and both are, you know, Doctor Who spin-offs.

But in a meeting room at Cardiff’s Roath Lock Studios (where Class, Doctor Who and other series like Casualty are filmed), Ness and executive producer Brian Minchin are keen to play down the comparisons – especially when it comes to the bleakness.

“Torchwood in the first series went quite far,” Minchin says now (having previously script-edited the older spin-off), “and we haven’t done anything like [series one episode] Countrycide or anything like that, because I think you can sometimes push people away.”

“And otherwise it does look like, ‘Ooh look at us, how bad we’re being,’” Ness adds. “And you don’t want that to happen. It has to be story-driven. It has to come from story. We’ve talked a lot about how everything has to be earned, or an audience can tell.”

Still, that isn’t to say there couldn’t be any sort of overlap between the two shows – say some sort of crossover one day?

“I couldn’t possibly tell you,” Derek Ritchie says. “Spoilers! You guys don’t wanna find out too much yet, do you?”

Damn their sense of showmanship.

4. Doctor Who’s alien invasions have taken their toll on the world

Back when Class was announced, we speculated about whether Ness’ book The Rest of Us Just Live Here would influence the new series, using its “kids in the background of big world-ending adventures” idea to imagine the real-life repercussions of a country which is invaded by Daleks every couple of years and once had an evil Time Lord for Prime Minister. And as it turns out, we may have been right…

“Well my last novel was called The Rest Of Us Just Live Here, and it was a novel about all those characters who live in a world with The Chosen Ones but aren’t The Chosen Ones,” Ness says. “What if you lived in the world like that and just had your regular teenage problems?”

And apparently the modern Doctor Who world’s spate of alien invasions (which, having started when the series returned in 2005, would have punctuated the entire adolescence of the main characters) have not gone unnoticed in the series.

“We do talk about that, yeah,” Ness says.

“It’s dealt with really cleverly in the script actually,” Minchin chips in. “We should probably wait until you see ep one actually. But we will deal with it.”

5. There’s a specific reason why the series is called Class

If you thought this teenage sci-fi show was secretly hiding a Marxist tract in its name, you’re actually not too far from the truth – because as Patrick Ness explains to us, the title was always supposed to imply a double meaning.

“Again, that’s an expatriate having a little bit of fun because I know, having lived here for a long long time, that the British talk about class.

“And I thought, ‘Okay, well let’s make the title a little allusive, let’s make it ring like a struck bell,’ is my feeling about the title. So it is, it’s set in a class, it absolutely is, that is the most basic explanation for it. But ‘class’ has lots of meanings.”

We’re sure the oppressed proletariat would agree.

6. The whole series came from a rejected Doctor Who episode

As we reported earlier this year, Patrick Ness (above) was originally asked to write an episode for Doctor Who, but turned it down because he wanted to make his own stuff. And then an idea emerged…

“They said ‘You know we’re thinking of a spin-off set in Coal Hill,’” Ness recalls now. “You never know where an idea’s going to come from or what’s going to stick to an idea, and for some reason I thought, ‘Ooh I know how I’d do that. I know how I’d start that and I know who might be the centre of that and what might stick to that.’

“It was kind of unexpected. I didn’t expect to be writing this but you take a good idea when it comes and embrace it.”

If only all rejections could turn out so well, eh? Certain RadioTimes.com writers’ own school proms might have gone very differently.

7. They’ve been thinking about a Doctor Who spin-off for years

If you’re wondering why there hasn’t been another spin-off since The Sarah-Jane Adventures, apparently it’s not for lack of interest – at least among members of the press.

“Every time we meet journalists they say ‘is there gonna be a spin-off?’”, executive producer Brian Minchin (who has the same title on Doctor Who) tells us.

“So you guys would come to us saying ‘Is there gonna be a Vastra spin-off, is there going to be a Clara and Ashildr spin-off? Is there going to be a Missy spin-off?’

“So the idea of, the concept of, the idea that people wanted more than just Doctor Who has always been in our minds. But we never wanted to do it just because.

“The question was, why now, because it’s been five years? And the answer was because Patrick Ness came along and he had a great idea for a spin-off. We would never do a spin-off just because there was a want for it or just because it would help make money or whatever. It had to be the right idea behind it.”

In other words, it’s the efforts of tireless entertainment journalists that have brought you all this series. You’re welcome.

8. It’s FULL of Doctor Who Easter Eggs

While on set we noticed a few fun Doctor Who references, including a building named after a classic character (no spoilers here) and even a tribute to ex-companion and Coal Hill staff member Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) – and apparently we should be looking out for more over the course of the series.

“We’re kind of peppering the show with little easter eggs wherever possible,” producer Derek Ritchie tells us.

“So there’s little nods throughout, in design or wherever, that will always link it to the Doctor Who universe. Because that’s so important to our audience as well. To feel part of Doctor Who, but a new part of Doctor Who as well.”

9. They’re already hoping for a second series

“It’s designed to be returning, definitely,” Minchin tells us, with Ness more recently telling fans in a Q&A that he’s already made plans for another run of episodes.

“Let’s hope everyone loves it,” Minchin continues.

“We love it. We’re so excited about this show, it’s so special what Patrick and everyone has put together, this cast, these stories.

“I’ve always wanted to make a show like this that can tell those stories sincerely, an unironised take on what it is to be growing up and I think it’s the best combination of brilliant sci-fi stories and emotional stories I’ve worked on for a long, long time… and it’s funny.”

Sounds like the full package. 

10. Peter Capaldi might be in it more than once

Pretty much everyone who’s vaguely interested in Doctor Who must know by now that Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi will be appearing in the first episode, setting the events of the series in motion as he tasks the young heroes (Fady Elsayed, Greg Austin, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah) with their planet-saving duties.

However, the inclusion of the Doctor is an unusual step (he never appeared in Torchwood and only dropped in briefly a few seasons into The Sarah-Jane Adventures), and not a decision taken lightly.

“The show has to stand on its own,” Ness says when asked about Capaldi’s involvement. “It has to, has to, has to.

“But it’s also part of this absolutely fantastic tapestry and universe, and that kind of hand-off and the imprimatur that the Doctor can give… it’s not quite how the Star Trek series all did it, they all started with sort of a handoff, but I just thought [it would] really say, ‘This is where we are and this is the point of view we’re going to take.’”

But when pressed on whether Capaldi would return to the series after the initial hand-off, the team are a bit more cagey.

“The best way to find out what happens is to watch the series!” Minchin argues, before hinting: “It’s a world that has the Doctor in it…”

If we were betting men and women, we’d say we’ll be seeing the Tardis again before series’ end.

11. But despite all these crossovers, Class is not trying to BE Doctor Who

“Class is not trying to be mini Doctor Who,” Minchin tells us. “This is its own show with its own voice.”

However, it does “plug” the gap left by Doctor Who’s delayed tenth series, which will air next April rather than its expected 2016 slot – so was there a sense of that while making it?

“Yeah, it’s gonna fill a gap,” Ness acknowledges. “But the only way you ever, ever solve that problem is by making the best show possible. And that’s always gonna be what I wanna do.

“We can’t have a crutch. It’s got to work on its own terms. So I hope in a year from now you’re asking Brian on a Doctor Who junket if they’re going to bring any Class monsters in, cause that’d be the best result.”

“There’s enough of a connection that you’ll discover as the series goes on, that every true Doctor Who fan will go, ‘ooh, aw, that’s really cool!’” Greg Austin adds.

Doctor Who, regenerated? Sounds class.

Class episodes 1 & 2 will be available from BBC3 online from 10am this Saturday 22 October

It’s official! More bantz-filled encounters between the Doctor and his Time Lady nemesis are on their way!

In case there was any doubt, the Doctor will be coming face to face with his Time Lady nemesis Missy in the new series of Doctor Who. Expect much Gallifreyan banter.

Filming on the second block of season 10 began today, and Michelle Gomez, who plays the female incarnation of the Master, told Music.com “I can officially say that I will be starting back on Doctor Who soon.”

“Soon” in anyone’s book must mean sometime this year and that in turn means series ten, no question.

It isn’t as if Gomez hadn’t been hinting at a return. Back in July she told us “I don’t know absolutely if I’ll be back or not” before immediately going on to talk about a first meeting between Missy and Pearl Mackie’s new companion Bill as if it was a done deal.

“I’m very excited to see what she’ll do,” Gomez told RadioTimes.com of Mackie. “I’m more excited to see what Missy will do with her… I’m intrigued to see what [showrunner] Steven [Moffat] has in store for our first meeting.”

Doctor Who series ten is expected on BBC1 next April 2017.

New Doctor Who YA series Class is just over a week away from hitting screens, and it’s safe to say that it’s looking pretty exciting. But the imminent premiere has many fans thinking one thing – could there be a spin-off for Jenna Coleman’s ex-companion Clara, whose departure last series seemed to suggest further adventures with immortal half-alien Me (Maisie Williams)?

Well recently we put the question to Jenna herself, and we seemed to get a definitive answer – but it might not be the one fans are hoping for.

“I’ve been asked that question a lot actually,” Coleman told RadioTimes,com.

“Yeah, I think there’s a bit of interest from fans there in particular. I mean it’d be fun to do, but again maybe some things are best left in the imagination.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0mHaqw4sSU#action=share

So no luck there; but could there still be a door open for a return from Clara do the main series? She’s still out there in the universe, after all…

“Well this is the point,” Coleman replied. “I think the Doctor doesn’t even remember her any more, so I’m not quite sure what story could be told there! Because she’s been wiped from his memory.

“And the things is as well, I loved the exit. I thought [showrunner] Steven [Moffat] did an amazing job. And I like leaving it, in a way, where in the fan’s imagination she’s off in her own Tardis still travelling. I wouldn’t want to unpick that in any way.

“And obviously, the show is regenerating forwards, so… I doubt it would be for a while.”

Still, while Coleman is now more focused on her latest role in ITV historical drama Victoria (now out on DVD, below), she says she is looking forward to watching Class, which is set in Clara’s old workplace Coal Hill School.

“That was part of the story that I loved, I thought it worked really well,” Coleman told us.

“Of having Clara as a teacher and then run away into the stationery cupboard and Narnia, and sometimes by accident bringing along a couple of kids. I thought it had really huge appeal.

“So yeah, I really look forward to seeing that.”

Sounds like Miss Oswald isn’t quite done supervising her students just yet.