Belinda and the Doctor standing next to the TARDIS and looking open-mouthed with excitement. Belinda is holding the Doctor’s arm.
Things might be about to get very timey-wimey, as it seems Doctor’s Who’s Eurovision-inspired episode is in danger of not getting a BBC One transmission – because of the real-life Eurovision Song Contest.
The sixth episode of the show’s upcoming 15th season, which comes from writer Juno Dawson, is titled The Interstellar Song Contest, and will see Rylan Clark guest starring as one of the hosts of the space-bound version of Eurovision.
Rylan Clark and Julie Dray as Sabine in Doctor Who
It’s set to be released on BBC iPlayer at 8am on the same day as this year’s Eurovision grand final, but Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has revealed there is currently a question mark over whether it will get a BBC One transmission like the season’s other episodes.
Speaking during a Q&A for the new run, Davies said:
“The most exciting week of all is the Eurovision week, because that afternoon is the FA Cup Final live on BBC One. At 8 o’clock at night is Eurovision live across Europe.
“We’re in the middle. If the football has lots of goals and things, going into extra time and penalties, we get crushed in the middle.”
He continued:
“It’s like we cannot move – the football can’t move, Eurovision can’t move. So we genuinely don’t know if we’ll be transmitted that day. It’ll be on the iPlayer, but you’ll have to sit there that day.
“I’ll have to sit through a f**king football match to find out whether Doctor Who’s going out that night.
“They said to us, ‘Do you want to move it?’ and I said, ‘That’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever heard. Let’s find out if we’re transmitting. Let’s feel alive.’ So that Saturday is going to be fun.”
Season 15’s scheduling is slightly different than the previous run – episodes will now stream on iPlayer from 8am UK time, rather than midnight.
BBC iPLAYER REMOVES FEAR HER FEATURING HUW EDWARDS
The BBC have removed an episode of Doctor Who from iPlayer which featured former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards, who was charged and pleaded guilty to the “making indecent images of children” this week.
Edwards featured as himself in Series 2 episode Fear Her, broadcast in 2006 as part of David Tennant’s debut series as the Tenth Doctor alongside Billie Piper as companion Rose Tyler.
In the episode, the TARDIS lands in 2012 with the Doctor planning to show Rose the London Olympics. On a nearby housing estate, a desperate mother is hiding her daughter’s unearthly powers.
The episode was removed from iPlayer today (Friday 2nd August). The BBC have not yet commented on the move or confirmed whether it plans to re-upload the episode with edits.
A BBC spokesperson said earlier this week regarding Huw Edwards: “The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected.
“The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023, nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year.
“In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.
“Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.
“During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions. We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards’ actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.”
A BBC spokesperson has stated: “An episode of Doctor Who has been temporarily removed from BBC iPlayer to be re-dubbed.”
DOCTOR WHO: DAVID TENNANT TO READ CBEEBIES BEDTIME STORY
The Fourteenth Doctor and his TARDIS will land in the CBeebies Bedtime Story universe on Friday 24 November.
Ahead of the first 60th anniversary special episode of Doctor Who, the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) will be reading The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers to families across the UK.
The Way Back Home is a tale all about friendship, adventure and helping others. When a boy discovers an airplane in his closet, he does what any young adventurer would do: He flies it into space! Fortunately there’s friendship to be found, and what better way of finding your way back home, than by making a friend?
The Doctor joins the stellar slate of famous faces to have read a CBeebies Bedtime Story including Tom Hardy, Harry Styles, Guz Khan, Jodi Whittaker, Kate Winslet and Rose Ayling-Ellis.
CBeebies Bedtime Story is on each weekday at 6.50pm on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer. Doctor Who’s story will air on Friday 24 November.
Welcome to The Whoniverse where every Doctor, every companion and hundreds of terrifying monsters live.
The word Whoniverse was invented by fans, so it’s time to give it official status. And Tales of the TARDIS is one of the greatest delights of my career – to see old Doctors and companions reunited, still fighting the good fight, is a perfect way to celebrate the Doctor’s 60th birthday!
Reprising their roles as the Doctor and companions to go on a timey-wimey spin down memory lane in these unmissable adventures are; Maureen O’Brien and Peter Purves, Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury, Katy Manning and Daniel Anthony, Peter Davison and Janet Fielding, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, and Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred.
Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury (Image: Alistair Heap/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios)Katy Manning and Daniel Anthony (Image: Alistair Heap/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios)
These Doctor Who legends step back into character to reflect on their adventures and in the process they discover something new, leaving viewers with a new insight into the story of each timeless pair.
Over six parts, each episode of Tales of the TARDIS features a different duo, with brand new scenes woven together with classic episodes to create a feature-length omnibus episode.
Peter Davison and Janet Fielding (Image: Alistair Heap/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios)Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant (Image: Alistair Heap/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios)
With new scenes written by Showrunner Russell T Davies, and previous Doctor Who writers Phil Ford and Pete McTighe, Tales of the TARDIS allows fans to rediscover the stories they love whilst inviting new viewers to explore the vast mythology of the Doctor.
Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Showrunner says:
“The word Whoniverse was invented by fans, so it’s time to give it official status. And Tales of the TARDIS is one of the greatest delights of my career – to see old Doctors and companions reunited, still fighting the good fight, is a perfect way to celebrate the Doctor’s 60th birthday!”
Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred (Image: Alistair Heap/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios)
Dan McGolpin, Director of iPlayer and Channels adds:
“I’m delighted to welcome Tales of the TARDIS exclusively to BBC iPlayer, the home of Doctor Who, which is consistently one of our most popular programmes every single week of the year. Tales of the TARDIS will sit within The Whoniverse and features brand new and incredibly moving scenes with well-loved characters; it will be a fantastic starting point for a new generation to discover some of the most classic episodes and a joyous way for longstanding fans to catch up with old friends.”
Viewers can discover Tales Of The TARDIS when The Whoniverse launches on 1st November, with the extensive back catalogue of Doctor Who.
Tales of the TARDIS is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios Productions for BBC iPlayer. Executive Produced by Russell T Davies, Jane Tranter, Julie Gardner, Phil Collinson and Joel Collins. It is produced by Scott Handcock and directed by Joshua M. G. Thomas. The episodes are written by Russell T Davies, Phil Ford, and Pete McTighe.
Over the years, I meet so many people who were inspired to find careers in TV, because of the behind-the-scenes material the BBC would show. And now it’s back, in the grand old tradition of Doctor Who Confidential, but in a brand new form, Unleashed! So a whole new generation – and faithful fans of old – can see what the stars and the crew get up to behind the cameras.
The BBC is to screen Doctor Who’s Christmas special in 4K resolution and high dynamic range (HDR) colour via iPlayer.
When the programme is broadcast, viewers will be prompted to switch to the higher quality streamed version by pressing the red button.
US video platforms including Disney+, Netflix, Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video commonly offer content in this format.
But it is more rare on the BBC and Sky.
To take advantage of the facility, households will need a compatible TV and a relatively fast internet connection.
More vivid
Ultra-High Definition (UHD) – the other name given to 4K – delivers four times as many pixels as regular 1080p high-definition (HD) video.
The benefits are that images can appear sharper and more detailed, although this is not always apparent if the screen is not large enough or viewers are sitting too far away.
For many people it is HDR that delivers the most notable difference.
Pictures typically appear to be more vivid and colourful.
It takes advantage of the fact screens can go brighter and/or darker than they used to be able to, providing a greater dynamic range.
As a result, the shadows of an image can be made less murky while the highlights – including sparks from special effects – can have more impact.
It has subsequently offered a limited range of full-length programmes including Dynasties; His Dark Materials; and Dracula, as well as sport including Wimbledon and Fifa World Cup 2018 matches.
But despite pioneering related technologies – such as developing the hybrid-log gamma format used to stream live action simultaneously in both HDR and normal TV – it has been resistant to deploy it widely.
This had led to odd situations such as Peaky Blinders being offered in HDR on the UK’s Netflix service but only Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) on iPlayer.
The BBC is, however, also providing further shows in 4K HDR over the coming days including:
the Queen’s Christmas Broadcast
the drama series Black Narcissus
the natural history documentaries Meerkat: A Dynasties Special, and A Perfect Planet
A spokesman for the corporation added that there would be further content in the new year.
