As we revealed earlier this month, the unfinished Fourth Doctor story Shada is to be completed using hand-drawn animation.
Below you can find the newly-released artwork for the regular DVD and Bluray editions, which will be released on Dec 4, 2017.
The 1979 adventure wll be produced as a feature-length film with Tom Baker and Lalla Ward reprising their roles as the Fourth Doctor and Romana respectively.
Shada will be released as a digital download in the UK on Nov 24, 2017, and on DVD and bluray on Dec 4, 2017.
Doctor Who hires Broadchurch producer to join Chris Chibnall for series 11
Broadchurch producer Sam Hoyle is joining Chris Chibnall on Doctor Who series 11, which will see Jodie Whittaker taking on the famous starring role as The Doctor.
Hoyle recently joined the series as co-executive producer, and will be working with showrunner Chris Chibnall and executive producer Matt Stevens.
She previously worked on all three series of ITV’s Broadchurch with Chibnall, and also on his two films for BBC1, The Great Train Robbery: A Robber’s Tale and A Copper’s Tale.
She has also worked on The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby for BBC1 and Camelot, a 10 part series for US cable network, Starz.
Earlier this month, BAFTA Cymru tweeted about the news, writing: “We are joined tonight by Head of Drama in Wales at @bbcstudios Simon Winstone and Executive Producer of @bbcdoctorwho Sam Hoyle”.
With Doctor Who gearing up for its next series, we now know who’s going to be joining the new Doctor when the show returns in 2018.
The Chase host Bradley Walsh is a regular cast member and will be joined by Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill.
The BBC made the news official on Sunday night (October 22), sharing a photo of all three of them alongside Jodie on the official Doctor Who Twitter feed.
Doctor Who series 11 will premiere in Autumn 2018 on BBC One.
This year’s festive special ‘Twice Upon a Time’, starring Peter Capaldi in his final appearance as the Twelfth Doctor, David Bradley as the First Doctor and introducing Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, airs during Christmas 2017’s schedule.
BBC’s Doctor Who website interviewed Jodie Whittaker about taking on the role of the Doctor…
1) What does it feel like to be the Thirteenth Doctor?
It’s very nerve-racking, as it’s been so secret!
2) Why did you want the role?
To be asked to play the ultimate character, to get to play pretend in the truest form: this is why I wanted to be an actor in the first place. To be able to play someone who is literally reinvented on screen, with all the freedoms that brings: what an unbelievable opportunity. And added to that, to be the first woman in that role.
3) Has it been hard to keep the secret?
Yes. Very hard! I’ve told a lot of lies! I’ve embroiled myself in a whole world of lies which is going to come back at me when this is announced!
4) Who was the first person you told when you got the role?
My husband. Because I was allowed to!
5) Did you have a codename and if so what was it?
In my home, and with my agent, it was The Clooney. Because to me and my husband, George is an iconic guy. And we thought: what’s a really famous iconic name? It was just fitting.
6) What does it feel like to be the first woman Doctor?
It feels completely overwhelming, as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you’re told you can and can’t be. It feels incredible.
7) What do you want to tell the fans?
I want to tell the fans not to be scared by my gender. Because this is a really exciting time, and Doctor Who represents everything that’s exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one.
8) What are you most excited about?
I’m most excited about becoming part of a family I didn’t even know existed. I was born in 1982, it’s been around longer than me, and it’s a family I couldn’t ever have dreamed I’d be part of.
9) How did Chris sell you the part?
We had a strange chat earlier this year where he tricked me into thinking we were talking about Broadchurch. And I started to quiz him about his new job in Wales, and asked him if I could be a baddie! And he quickly diverted the conversation to suggest I should consider auditioning to be the 13th Clooney.
It was the most incredible chat because I asked every question under the sun, and I said I’d take a few weeks to decide whether I was going to audition. He got a phone call within 24 hours. He would’ve got a phone call sooner, but my husband was away and there was a time difference!
10) Did he persuade you?
No. There was no persuasion needed. If you need to be persuaded to do this part, you’re not right for this part, and the part isn’t right for you. I also think, for anyone taking this on, you have to want to fight for it, which I certainly had to do. I know there will have been some phenomenal actors who threw their hats in the ring.
11) What are you going to wear?
Don’t know yet.
12) Is that your costume in the filmed sequence which introduced you as the new Doctor?
No.
13) Have any of the other Doctors given you advice?
Well they can’t because they haven’t known until now, but I’m certainly expecting a couple of calls – I’ve got a couple of mates in there. I’m mates with a companion [Arthur Darvill], I’m mates with a trio of Doctors. I know Matt Smith, Chris Eccleston and obviously David Tennant. Oh! And let’s throw in David Bradley! Four Doctors! So I’m hoping I get some calls of advice.
Jodie Whittaker Biography
Jodie Whittaker graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2005 with a gold medal in Acting. Since then she has worked continually in Film, Television and Theatre. Her TV credits include the critically acclaimed ITV drama ‘Broadchurch’ (for which she was nominated for ‘Best Actress’ for the RTS Television Awards), Emmy award-winning ‘Black Mirror’, Sky 1’s ‘The Smoke’, BBC’s ‘Cranford’, in which she starred opposite Judi Dench and Imelda Staunton, ‘The Night Watch'(BBC), ‘The Accused'(BBC), and ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ (BBC).
Jodie has recently finished shooting ‘Journeyman’ written and directed by Paddy Considine as well as the lead in the new BBC drama series ‘Trust Me’. Her other film credits include ‘Venus’, (which earned her nominations for ‘Best Newcomer’ at the ‘British Independent Film Awards’, ‘Best British Newcomer’ at the ‘Critic’s Circle Awards’ and ‘Best Actress in a Motion Picture’ at the ‘Satellite Awards’), ‘Attack the Block’, ‘One Day’, ‘Black Sea’, ‘Good Vibrations’, ‘St.Trinian’s’, ‘Get Santa’ and most recently ‘Adult Life Skills’ which she Executive Produced as well as starred in which received a number of BIFA nominations.
Jodie made her professional theatrical debut at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in ‘The Storm’. Other theatre credits include playing the title role in ‘Antigone’ at the Royal National Theatre, ‘Bash’ at the Trafalgar Studios ‘Awake and Sing’ and ‘Enemies’ at the Almeida, both directed by the then Artistic Director, Michael Attenborough.
David Tennant is reunited with the Tardis in the W1A finale
It has been a while since he last set foot in the Tardis, but former Doctor Who star David Tennant will finally be reunited with his favourite big blue box in the finale of W1A.
The comedy series based on the internal workings of the BBC gives narrator Tennant an excuse to talk about his beloved Tardis this Monday, as fictional public relations guru Siobhan Sharp plots to do something FUN with the spaceship during the much-hyped BBCMe launch.
Her plans obviously cause plenty of controversy within the team, with BBC Communications whizz Tracey Pritchard and Sharp almost coming to blows over it. The ensuing mayhem and overarching theme of the show’s final episode gives Tennant the perfect excuse to use the word “time” and discuss the “future” over and over and over again.
Real-life BBC director-general Tony Hall is also set to make a cameo in the episode, beginning at 10pm on BBC2.
The episode marks the end of the show’s third series and creator John Morton says we shouldn’t expect any more. “Because this is probably going to be the final one, I wrote it to its conclusion,” he said earlier this year.
What? No more Ian Fletcher? No more of David Tennant’s dulcet tones?
Well, maybe not.
“We’re all still alive, never say never, we’re all human aren’t we? But, from the opening scene, it was in my mind that this was the final time around with everybody” said Morton.
W1A series three is available to stream on BBCiPlayer
Doctor Who series 11: Everything you need to know about new companion Tosin Cole
As announced late last night, Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor is to be joined by three new regulars in Doctor Who series 11, including former Hollyoaks star Tosin Cole.
Tosin will play Ryan during the 10-week run in Autumn 2018, kicking off with a 60-minute episode for the opening launch – introducing the new Team TARDIS of Whittaker, Cole, Bradley Walsh and Mandip Gill.
Chris Chibnall, the new Doctor Who showrunner, says: “The new Doctor is going to need new friends,” whilst he describes Tosin as one of Britain’s “brightest talents”.
The actor himself commented: “I’m grateful and excited to be a part of this journey with the team. I’m looking forward to jumping in this Doctor Who universe.”
But what do you need to know about this up-and-coming actor?
He’s a (slightly) older companion
Tosin was born on July 23, 1992 – that makes him 25. Though he’ll be 26 when series 11 airs. Practically middle-aged compared to some Doctor Who companions!
He got his break in a web series
Tosin’s first television role came in the 2010 BBC Two teen drama The Cut. It debuted online as 5-min episodes, and can be seen in the US on Hulu.
He played a major role in an EastEnders spin-off
Cole’s second television role was a regular part in the EastEnders spin-off E20 in 2010 and 2011. This was another show which debuted online and also on the BBC Red Button.
You might recognise him from Hollyoaks
Cole featured in over 80 episodes of Hollyoaks as Neil Cooper (and also Hollyoaks Later). Neil came to a grisly end in 2012 when he was left to die in a mini-bus explosion.
He’s been in Star Wars too
Cole popped up in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as X-Wing resistance pilot Lieutenant Bastian – also known as ‘Red Four’.
He’s experienced in time-travel
In 2015, Tosin starred in an episode of BBC Two’s historical romp Versailles, playing Kobina in series 1, episode 3, ‘Mirror for Princes’.
He’s got previous with some Doctor Who veterans
Tosin starred in a short film, Shelter, with Jessica Hynes, and directed by Reggie Yates. Whovians will know that Hynes has played two different characters in the show (Joan Redfern in ‘Human Nature/The Family of Blood’ and Verity Newman in ‘The End of Time’), while Yates played Leo, the little-seen brother of Martha Jones.
Shelter is currently available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.
https://www.instagram.com/p/5ru4x-MLH7/
He’s a Man Utd fan
Followers of his Twitter and Instagram accounts will know Cole is a Manchester United fan. He also loves (and plays) basketball.
You can check out his past work on Netflix
Earlier this year, Tosin starred in the Netflix film Burning Sands, which received its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRdmnWAA9_x/
Doctor Who series 11: Everything you need to know about new companion Mandip Gill
Doctor Who fans across the world have been celebrating the news that the 13th Doctor, as played by Jodie Whittaker, will be joined by three new companions, including ex-Hollyoaksstar Mandip Gill.
She will play Yasmin during series 11’s ten-week run in Autumn 2018, kicking off with a 60-minute episode for the opening launch introducing the new Team TARDIS of Whittaker, Gill, Bradley Walsh, and Tosin Cole.
Mandip said: “I am over the moon to be joining the Doctor Who family. This is an iconic show with an amazing fanbase and I look forward to everything that brings.”
But what do you need to know about this up and coming actress?
Team TARDIS’ combined age is almost 150
Like her co-star and Who newcomer Tosin Cole, Gill is on the older side for a companion. Born on January 5, 1988, the actress is 29 (and will be 30 when Doctor Who series 11 airs next year).
Her big break was Hollyoaks
Gill’s debut television role was Phoebe McQueen in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks. Her first appearance was in 2012 but, and again like her new Who co-star Cole, her character was killed off – first she was shot, then went into a coma, only to return from it to be poisoned by potassium chloride in her medical drip.
Poor thing.
She thought her Doctor Who role was “unattainable”
Gill told the BBC that certain roles, like Doctor Who companion, seem “unattainable,” adding, “so much so I didn’t believe it to be true for the first few weeks.”
You can catch her soon on BBC One
Mandip will be seen very soon as junior registrar Talia in BBC One’s Love, Lies and Recordsfrom the brilliant Kay Mellor (The Syndicate, In The Club).
The series also features Extras’ Ashley Jensen and The Thick Of It’s Rebecca Front.
[Above: Mandip in BBC One’s Doctors]
Her fellow new companion is an “old friend”
Tosin Cole, who plays new companion Ryan, is described by Mandip as an “old friend”. The two both starred in Hollyoaks, with their time on the show overlapping for just under a year.
She’s a familiar face on primetime TV
Fans of The Good Karma Hospital and Casualty will recognise Gill, as will viewers of daytime show Doctors, where she made regular appearances as Shazia Amin in 2016.
Mandip LOVES telly…
And she loves tweeting about it too! Gill’s current favourite shows include ABC and Netflix’s How To Get Away With Murder, ITV’s Liar, and BBC Three comedies People Just Do Nothing and Fleabag.
She’ll soon appear in a movie with Game of Thrones stars
2018 will see the release of The Flood in cinemas starring Gill alongside Game of Thronesregulars Lena Headey and Iain Glen, and The Missing’s Arsher Ali.
HAIR!
Mandip shows off some sensational hair pics on Twitter and Instagram.
Bradley Walsh, host of ITV quiz show The Chase, has officially been announced as one of the new companions in Doctor Who series 11, set to air in 2018.
He will star alongside Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor and fellow new companions Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole. Playing a character called Graham, Walsh will be seen in a series of ten 50-minute episodes (with the opener being a 60-minute special).
The 57-year-old entertainer is very much a Whovian and even watched the show during the First Doctor’s era. “Am I thrilled to be part of this whole ground-breaking new dawn for the Doctor? Oh yes!”
But did you know that this is not his first foray into the Whoniverse? Back in 2008, the Law & Order UK actor played a memorable role in the much-loved Doctor Who spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.
The show was devised by writer Russell T Davies (then Who showrunner) and featured Doctor Who companion actress Elisabeth Sladen as the titular adventuress. Sarah Jane Smith made her Doctor Who debut in 1973, travelling with Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor and Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor before leaving in 1976.
Such was the character’s popularity, Sarah Jane returned for the very first spin off K9 & Company in 1981, two years later in ‘The Five Doctors’, and then again beside David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor in the 2006 episode ‘School Reunion’.
The Sarah Jane Adventures began the following year on CBBC, with Bradley appearing in the series 2 tale, ‘The Day of the Clown’, written by Phil Ford (who would go on to pen stories for Doctor Who).
‘The Day of the Clown’ saw children in Ealing, London going missing, with the culprit being a man calling himself Elijah Spellman – enter Bradley Walsh.
But his robotic clowns gave away the fact that this guy was an alien.
Sarah Jane and her young chums soon discovered that Spellman was, in fact, an “energy entity” from the Jeggorabax Cluster. Feeding on fear, this particular one lured the children of Hamelin away from their parents after it crashed into Earth in the 13th Century, and was hence known as the Pied Piper.
We never knew Bradley had such a dark past. Here’s hoping Graham is a friendlier proposition than Eljiah…
Bradley Walsh among new cast members for Series 11!
Jodie Whitaker will be joined by Mandip Gill, Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole
Doctor Who’s first female Time Lord will be joined by three new companions, the BBC has announced.
Jodie Whittaker, who takes over as the 13th Doctor next year, will be joined by new cast regulars Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill, as well as Sharon D Clarke in a returning role.
Walsh will star as Graham, Cole will play Ryan and Gill will play Yasmin.
Walsh said he was looking forward to being part of the show – some 50 years after first becoming a fan.
The former Coronation Street actor and presenter of quiz show The Chase said: “I remember watching William Hartnell as the first Doctor. Black and white made it very scary for a youngster like myself.
“I was petrified, but even though I’d watch most of it from behind the sofa through my fingers, I became a fan…
“Am I thrilled to be part of this whole ground breaking new dawn for the Doctor? Oh yes!”
Gill, who has appeared in Hollyoaks and Casualty, said she was “over the moon” to join the “iconic” show, adding: “Certain roles seem unattainable and this is one of those, so much so I didn’t believe it to be true for the first few weeks.”
Cole, who had roles in EastEnders and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, said he was looking forward to “jumping in this Doctor Who universe”.
Chris Chibnall, the show’s new head writer, said those chosen as companions were “three of Britain’s brightest talents”.
“The new Doctor is going to need new friends,” he added.
The BBC also confirmed the series will have a 10-week run of 50-minute episodes in autumn 2018, starting with a feature-length hour show for the launch.
No details about the new characters beyond their names have yet been revealed.
Whittaker was revealed as the next Time Lord in a trailer broadcast at the end of the Wimbledon men’s singles final in July.
The Broadchurch star succeeds Peter Capaldi, who took over the role in 2013 and leaves in the forthcoming Christmas special.
The reaction to Whittaker’s casting was mostly positive – but a sizeable minority protested that the Doctor shouldn’t be played by a woman.
The appointment also sparked a war of words between two former Doctors.
Peter Davison, who played the character from 1981 to 1984, said he felt “a bit sad” the character might no longer be “a role model for boys”, but his comments were dubbed “rubbish” by his successor, Colin Baker.
‘No comment’ from Beeb over Doctor Who and the Bluebell Railway
The BBC was staying tight-lipped this week over reports that scenes for a forthcoming episode of Doctor Who were shot at the Bluebell Railway….
Social media said that a film crew was at the vintage steam line on a day when the railway was entirely closed to the public.
The Bluebell Railway could not confirm that Doctor Who was the subject of the activity. No trains were scheduled to run that day in any case.
There is extra interest in the long-running favourite featuring the eccentric yet compassionate Time Lord – for the first time the Doctor will be played by a woman.
The 13th incarnation sees Jodie Whittaker in the iconic role, taking over from Peter Capaldi when he leaves the global hit show at Christmas.
She will make her debut in the closing moments of the festive special Twice Upon a Time, due to be screened on Christmas Day.
Asked if the Bluebell Railway was to play its part in the Doctor Who saga, a BBC spokesman said: “This isn’t something we’d comment on.”
The vintage line is in frequent demand as a film and television location, and for advertising and fashion shoots.
Matt Lucas hints that his time on Doctor Who may not be over
Nardole may have last been seen saying his goodbyes to The Doctor on a colony ship at the end of Doctor Who series ten but it sounds as though that goodbye of his wasn’t quite so final.
Matt Lucas has dropped a hint that we may well encounter him in the Whoniverse again, telling Den of Geek that his relationship with the series isn’t exactly over.
“I’m really glad I did it,” he began, “No regrets at all, only gratitude. I’m not sure my relationship with the show is over, either. But I can’t really go into great detail about that. It remains a big part of my life, let’s put it that way!”
Could he join forces with Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteeth Doctor on screen? Or perhaps return as Nardole in a new audio drama?
The actor remained tight-lipped on what his confession actually means, but he did go into great detail when it came to discussing his respect for the fans of the series.
“There’s something about the Doctor Who fandom… if you watch Doctor Who, you’re a member of the club, if you’re in the show, you’re a member of the club,” he said.
“We’re all members of the club! It’s an odd group. I don’t think there’s the hierarchy that would often exist: ‘I’m in the show, you watch it’. That doesn’t exist in the Whoniverse. If you watch it, you’re in!”
And we’ll be watching out for Nardole when The Doctor returns on Christmas Day.
