New Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall has made many changes behind the scenes of the show, the latest of which has come to light.

The visual effects of the show have been worked on since it came back in 2005 by a company called Milk VFX. They used to be a part of The Mill, before being spun into their own company. However, their time on the show has come to an end, as visual effects producer Louise Hastings confirmed to the Radio Times that Chibnall and the BBC have made a change.

Double Negative, a firm currently working on Avengers: Infinity War amongst many other projects, is the new VFX company attached to the show. “The decision was made that when Steven Moffat and the rest of his team stood down from Doctor Who and the new team came in, that they would also mix up the vendors as well”, Hastings explained.

As such, Twice Upon A Time, last year’s Christmas special, marked the departure not just for Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi, but also the firm that’s been creating visual effects for the show for over a decade.

Radio Times.

The ultra-secretive casting of Jodie Whittaker as the 13^th Doctor in Doctor Who didn’t just extend to the greater British public – but also to many people working on the show! That specifically includes outgoing visual effects team Milk FX – a company involved in one guise or another with the show since 2005 – who had no inkling of Whittaker landing the role until it was formally announced.

As visual effects producer Louise Hastings told the Radio Times, “we were kept in the dark when it came to the reveal of who the new Doctor was… we found out it would be Jodie at the same time as everybody else, watching the Wimbledon final”.

Milk FX was asked by the BBC to quote for doing the regeneration scene, “and the storyboards had been drawn with a man as the Doctor, so that was a bit of a surprise”, Hastings added. “They threw us off the scent!”

The actual regeneration wasn’t then shot with the main unit of Doctor Who, although the team at Milk had done the effect several times before for assorted regenerations. In particular, effects artists Nick Webber is credited as having designed the original work. The scene itself is now up to over 2 million views on YouTube alone…

 

A Doctor Who series 11 round-up, with news of two more being added to the cast, and the shoot returning to Sheffield…

More news continues to filter through about the currently-in-production Doctor Who series 11, that of course sees Jodie Whittaker taking on the title role.

Thus far, the production has been to Cardiff, Sheffield and Cape Town. And this week, they’re back in Sheffield again, as filming continues on block three of episodes for the new run.

Several reports on social media have cited that the show is shooting around Park Hill for the next few days. Here are just a few of the reports…

Doctor Who is filming near Park Hill again for the next couple of days/nights. They're at a house above the amphitheatre and Park Hill flats. Didn't see much earlier so I predict night shoots. #DWSR https://t.co/OqQeMcAYIp

— Penny (@tinyswift_) February 12, 2018

https://twitter.com/GirlyLetters/status/963134362165358594

It’s been confirmed that it’s definitely Doctor Who that’s filming there.

Plus, we’ve got news of some more faces joining series 11 in supporting roles. Thanks to the sleuthing work of Ruther2 on Twitter, we learn that David Rubin is playing Raymond Parkes in the South African-shot second block of episodes…

#DoctorWho casting info: David Rubin plays Raymond Parkes in block 2 pic.twitter.com/xcA60PBfAW

— Ruther (@Ruther2) February 11, 2018

#DoctorWho casting info: David Rubin plays Raymond Parkes in block 2 pic.twitter.com/xcA60PBfAW

— Ruther (@Ruther2) February 11, 2018

And in episode three of the new series, the character of Mr Steele will be played by Richard Lothian…

#DoctorWho casting info: @RichardLothian plays Mr Steele in episode 3 pic.twitter.com/2r1290rnFX

— Ruther (@Ruther2) February 12, 2018

More news as it comes through…

Doctor Who series 11 has been filming in South Africa this year, and a little bit of casting news has come to light…

You can add another face to the cast list for Doctor Who series 11, thanks to the fine sleuthing work of Girly Letters on Twitter.

The new run of the show recently filmed two episodes in South Africa for the second block of episodes, and one of the guest stars was Aki Omoshaybi. He’s playing, as per his agent’s website, a character called Fred Grey in the show.

Block two of filming covered episode two and three of series 11, and it’s unclear as of yet which of those Omoshaybi has appeared in. Here’s the Tweet, though, that reveals his casting…

https://twitter.com/GirlyLetters/status/962466220195962882

More news as we get it.

Fan anticipation is already huge for Doctor Who‘s groundbreaking 11th series, and now we’ll have even more to savour from a supersized opening adventure.

After Peter Capaldi hung up his keys to the big blue box in last year’s Christmas special, Jodie Whittaker is taking over the reins as the first female version of the time-travelling troublemaker.

And to celebrate the beginning of a new era, the Beeb is apparently making the debut instalment of series 11 quite a bit longer than we’d expect.

According to Radio Times, Whittaker’s first episode to herself will run at 65 minutes instead of the usual 50.

Here’s how a BBC Worldwide description describes the episode: “Already highly anticipated, Series 11 heralds a brand-new era for Doctor Who with a world-class team at the helm. Incoming lead writer Chris Chibnall has a fresh and inclusive vision for the series.

“Bigger and bolder than ever, this series marks the arrival of Jodie Whittaker, the 13th Doctor – a super-smart force of nature, alongside a team of new and delightful characters. The show will be full of action and adventure, humour and thrills. An unmissable high-end drama everyone will enjoy.”

The series officially rebooted in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston playing the titular Doctor, and since then, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Capaldi have all had their time to shine.

When the show returns, Whittaker’s thirteenth incarnation of the legendary Time Lord will be joined by a whole new cast of companions, comprising Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole.

Fans already knew that Whittaker’s premiere would clock in at over an hour, so you may be asking what an extra five minutes gets you. Well, in terms of Doctor Who‘s dramatic storytelling, there could be anything from a heartfelt goodbye to a shocking death, so keep ’em peeled.

Doctor Who series 11 will premiere in Autumn 2018 on BBC One and, although we don’t have a specific date yet.

Doctor Who fans can finally get an insight into how the show’s 50th anniversary special might’ve played out if Christopher Eccleston had agreed to return.

Steven Moffat included the ninth Doctor in his first draft of ‘The Day of the Doctor’, but rewrote the script to feature John Hurt’s War Doctor when Eccleston declined to appear.

But now, a script from the earlier draft will be released for the first time, and it’s all for a very good cause.

The excerpt will appear in A Second Target For Tommy, a collection of Doctor Who short stories being published by Obverse Books, with all the proceeds going to support writer Tommy Donbavand, who is battling cancer.

The book follows the original A Target For Tommy, which was published in 2016.

As well as Moffat’s exclusive script excerpt – a piece of Doctor Who history – A Second Target For Tommy will feature stories from over two dozen more writers.

The collection is available to buy from Obverse Books, with an e-book of the first Target for Tommy also still available to purchase.

For more on Tommy Donbavand, you can check out his blog Tommy vs Cancer.