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This week on the Temple of Geek Podcast, our host Monica is joined by Nicole Hakim and Divinity to discuss the future of Doctor Who. If you haven’t caught up on the recent seasons, you may want to save this episode and tune in later because there will be potential spoilers for the upcoming Doctor Who specials as well as previous seasons.
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The Future of Doctor Who
In the last few weeks, the Doctor Who fandom has been treated to lots of incredible news. Old companions and old Doctors returning, former showrunners returning, and the news of a new Doctor and a new companion announced. Temple of Geek writer Elizabeth, who goes by Lady of Time Cosplay on social media, compiled a list of information confirmed and unconfirmed announcements revolving around the future of the show.
At the end of the Doctor Who Easter special of this year, Doctor Who audiences were given a trailer for the fall Doctor Who special, where we saw that two former Classic Doctor’s companions will be appearing, Tegan and Ace, played by Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred respectively. The feature-length episode will air in the autumn and will also feature the Doctor’s nemesis The Master, played by Sacha Dhawan. We will also see the return of Kate Stewart played by Jemma Redgrave.
The next bit of exciting news was that Award-winning actor Ncuti Gatwa has been cast as the Doctor! The BBC announced that Gatwa who is best known for his critically acclaimed performance in Sex Education is set to take charge of the TARDIS in 2023.
Having recently come off his critically acclaimed series, It’s A Sin, Russell T Davies returns as showrunner for Doctor Who 12 years after he left the role. This was announced last fall shortly after the summer announcement that Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall would be leaving Doctor Who after the third season of Jodie Whittaker’s run. Jodie’s final feature-length special, where the Thirteenth Doctor will regenerate, will transmit in autumn 2022 as part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations.
Davies will succeed Chris Chibnall, who previously announced he will hand over the keys to the TARDIS next year as the show celebrates its 60th Anniversary in 2023. Davies was responsible for Doctor Who’s revival in 2005 after more than a decade-long cancelation. He is often credited with bringing the show to a global audience and turning it into one of the most globally beloved sci-fi series. The 2005 Doctor Who reboot also led him to create two spin-off series, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
David Tennant and Catherine Tate return to Doctor Who! This was confirmed by the BBC ahead of filming that took place in London. A few things to note are that the BBC announcement Article also avoids referring to David as the 10th Doctor
Says that they are “ filming scenes that are due to air in 2023 to coincide with the show’s 60th-anniversary celebrations” which may indicate that this is not the 60th anniversary proper and may be part of the episode(s) leading up to the events of the 60th.
Also, something to note: Filming for the show’s 50th started in April of the year it was due to air, so this is filming WAY in advance. Though it could just be because of actor availability- Neil Gaiman has expressed interest in the 3rd season of Good Omens and David is due to be in a play that’s been rescheduled twice now due to the pandemic, though the new dates have yet to be announced.
The official announcement said “The Doctor and Donna parted ways when the Doctor had to wipe Donna’s memory, making her forget him, in order to save her life. He left her family with a warning: if ever she remembers, she will die. But with the two coming face to face once more, the big question is, just what brings the Doctor and Donna back together? ”
Also filming with the Doctor and Donna is a new character named Rose. It was announced that Yasmin Finney has joined the cast as another character called “Rose” and was spotted on set with the Doctor and Donna. A previous Casting call from Andy Pryor resurfaced as the news broke about this. The call was for a Transfemme guest lead in a major BBC drama. And they must be available to film in May and June of 2022. It called for someone who could look as if they had one white and one black parent. The current fan theory is that she may be Donna and Shaun’s daughter. Shaun is Donna’s husband who she’s seen marrying in “The End of Time Part 2”.
Un-announced Doctor Who news seen on social media
May 16th, one day after David and Catherine’s return was announced, Doctor Who started filming in Camden! David Tennant has a new costume with a dark blue coat and his suit appears to be plaid instead of pinstriped now.
🚨 FIRST LOOK: The first on-set photos of David Tennant and Catherine Tate filming their Doctor Who return have been shared online!
David is wearing a new coat and the Thirteenth Doctor's TARDIS is also on set….what could be happening? 🤔#DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/ZEyRX0AVO1
— Whovian Fanbase (@whovian_fanbase) May 16, 2022
On-set reports note that the exterior of the TARDIS still looks like Jodie’s version. Also returning, are Wilfred Mott and Sylvia Nobel!
The WHOLE temple-Noble family Are back #DWSR #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/9rJ2ciKnwO
— TD11TH (@TD11TH) May 17, 2022
#DWSR PICTURES OF WILF pic.twitter.com/fX5GKUYsR6
— la¡na ⎕ 🦷 (@andrews_films) May 16, 2022
Former Doctor Who director Rachel Talalay was spotted on set Monday though at the time she said she wasn’t directing but later confirmed that yes, she is directing whatever they’re filming currently but wasn’t directing on Monday.
Rachel Talalay on set #dwsr pic.twitter.com/49ft3uToKk
— pEDRO (@PHampford) May 16, 2022
But later she posted to her own Twitter account “Thank you for all the love, #DoctorWho fandom. Back atcha. Hope you enjoyed yourselves!
fyi, I did not lie/fib/Andrew Garfield about not directing on Monday. Some rehearsals and caught a shopping trip to #Cyberdog: have loved it there for years!
@DaveDogFacedBoy can confirm.”
Thank you for all the love, #DoctorWho fandom. Back atcha. Hope you enjoyed yourselves!
fyi, I did not lie/fib/Andrew Garfield about not directing on Monday. Some rehearsals and caught a shopping trip to #Cyberdog: have loved it there for years! @DaveDogFacedBoy can confirm. pic.twitter.com/RYGBPXbTQa— Rachel Talalay (@rtalalay) May 18, 2022
Late-night filming on May 18th also revealed that David’s Doctor has a new sonic screwdriver!
a new video of the sonic has surfaced from @acrolvm #DoctorWho #dwsr pic.twitter.com/xCCwLi7fzL
— The Post Monument™ (@thepostmonument) May 18, 2022
A few people on Twitter said it reminded them of 12’s sonic, but others who were there for filming said it looks different. Some were also theorizing that the lights present on set indicated a possible Christmas special, but according to people who live in the area those lights are up year-round.
https://twitter.com/wikioccult/status/1527227841636597760
And finally, it looks like UNIT is back.
🚨NEW – UNIT are BACK in #DoctorWho! Clearly showing off, they look fantastic 😉🔥 pic.twitter.com/AjBWR4Ls8I
— Tardis Central (@Tardis_Central) May 20, 2022
About our hosts
Divinity is a blogger best known for her TikToks about movies and pop culture. She is the creator of “THE WAY I SCENE IT” where Divinity has created a space for viewers to reflect and affirm their life experiences through journaling about their favorite scenes and characters. You can check out her blog at https://www.officiallydivinity.com/ or follow her on TIK TOK at https://www.tiktok.com/@officiallydivinity
https://www.tiktok.com/@officiallydivinity/video/7095474160033385770?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Nikki is a freelance writer and contributor for Temple of Geek. You can find her work on entertainment websites such as Comic Book Resources and Looper.Com. The majority of her work centers around her love for pop culture. She loves comics, anime, Doctor Who (of course), and cartoons.
Monica is the Editor-In-Chief at Temple of Geek. She has been at Temple of Geek since 2016 sharing her fandoms and passions with our readers. A veteran of the Southern California convention scene, she enjoys going to as many comic book conventions and pop culture events as she can. You can check out her work here and follow her on Twitter and Instagram as @thisdorkynerd.
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