A new issue of Radio Times cam out this week with Jodie Whittaker on the cover.
This is what Chris Chibnall has to say about casting her as the Doctor:
"I felt the time was right for a female Doctor – I felt the audience were really ready for it. I think if we hadn't done it, we would have been really behind the world – and Doctor Who has to be out front leading the world, showcasing all the amazing things out there. So it was never a question in my mind. It was time."
"The 13th Doctor is incredibly warm, funny, energetic, inclusive – she's the greatest friend you could wish to have as your guide around the universe."
Jodie Whittaker added:
"And now it isn't just attainable for half the population. The Other half can be the Doctor as well. Girls will no longer just think, 'Oh I can be the companion.' Being the first female Doctor and showing children that their heroes in shows don't always look the same is a huge honor for me."
"The pressure on any actor coming into the role – man or woman – is huge because they're big boots to fill. And for me, there's been 12 pairs of boots."
Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole are interviewed as well. The interviews were recent because they were nearing the end of Series 11 filming after nine months of filming, which began in November.
There is a new photo of Graham in a fish and chips shop with a fictional newspaper in his hands called the Sheffield Advertiser. It's the same restaurant set as seen in the teaser which was just released.
Radio Times is officially scheduled to hit newsstands and digital editions Tuesday, July 17.
This web page, was deleted. It's from a merchandiser selling a calendar by Danilo, a company licenced to sell Doctor Who merchandise.
I do not know why the web page was taken down but I can venture to guess that perhaps they did not yet have permission to post the images of the calendar or offer it for sale.
Hence, we have another "leak", although it would likely be more accurate to call it an early, unauthorized posting of merchandise images.
The images on the website contained character portraits of the Doctor and her companions, Graham, Yasmin Khan and Ryan Sinclair.
This next photo is from South Africa filming. Note the photo credit given to the South African photographer, Coco Van Oppens.
Photo by Giles Keyte
Note each of the production stills are by a different photographer, which suggests that a unique stills photographer was employed for each filming block, which would mean they are not from the same episodes. The change of costume for the companions would suggest this as well.
Series 11 Information from the Issue
The thirteenth Doctor's costume has some "hidden attributes" yet to be revealed which will "delight longtime Whovians".
Chris Chibnall said casting Jodie Whittaker "was the easiest decision I made in my whole career" because "She was just so compelling."
Graham is a "regular bloke from London who's ended up living in the north of England and gets taken away on this journey," according to Bradley Walsh. "It's like Jodie is Captain Kirk and we're the rest of the guys on the bridge. I'm like, Lieutenant Uhura."
Jodie Whittaker said the TARDIS rejected the Doctor, kicking her out at the the of Twice Upon a Time.
Whittaker was interviewed by the magazine five months into filming, sometime in March, so likely during the third filming block.
After a set visit during the filming of a scene, the thirteenth Doctor is described as "excitable and ebullient" and Mandip Gill describes her as having "a similar energy to Matt Smith's Doctor. Very high energy."
Jodie Whittaker herself describes her Doctor as "hopeful and fizzing with wonder." "This Doctor goes in all sorts of directions but essentially, I think the big theme is hope." "There are no rules, and it's liberating. But it's equally terrifying."
I will not post the leaked content on this page but I will describe it.
A video clip leaked of a scene which takes place on a train a half an hour after the Doctor regenerated. The Doctor, Yasmin and Ryan are present, walking through the train. Yasmin is PC Kahn of the Hallamshire Police, Yaz to her friends. Hallamshire is an historic district in the City of Sheffield. Ryan's last name is Sinclair.
The train is a potential crime scene and the driver's window was broken.
The Doctor is surprised to be called Ma'am, despite having briefly glimpsed her own reflection before she fell out of the TARDIS. Somehow this did not make her gender apparent, or perhaps it's post-regeneration confusion. In fact, she can't yet remember her own name.
That's all I dare to describe and, I assure you, the clip is a lot funnier and exciting than I have described.
There are also two photos of the Thirteenth Doctor in dark, "steampunk" goggles with what appears to be her new sonic screwdriver.
This material can be found on the @JoshBinns5 Twitter account, though I suspect the account will be suspended shortly.
There is a backstory to the leaks. At least one person received the materials in a Twitter DM from someone who claimed to be a BBC employee. The alleged BBC employee has now deleted that account and all traces of communication from it.
UPDATE June 27:
I think by now most people who wanted to see the leaked material have seen it.
Someone on Twitter said that on Tuesday, June 19 they were shown the leaked materials.
Based on what this person saw in the photos which contain images of the new sonic screwdriver, they created their own drawings of the device which have also been making to rounds. Some people profess astonishment that this fan-created artwork is also subject to removal due to copyright issues but I believe this is in line with ownership of the actual design the drawings were taken from.
About the photos featuring the new Sonic screwdriver; it's obvious these were stills taken from another clip, probably a clip which is also in the possession of the person who shared the train clip.
It is my opinion and guess that the train clip and another one featuring the new sonic screwdriver reveal are intended to be shown at San Diego Comic Con. I'll explain.
The train clip shows the Doctor a half hour after her regeneration and introduces Yasmin and Ryan by first and last name. It is my guess that this clip will be shown right before Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole take the stage for the Doctor Who Panel at San Diego Comic Con.
I also think that, at some point during the panel, the clip featuring the Doctor with her new sonic screwdriver will be shown after which the prop will be revealed on stage. This is a great way to promote new merchandise and I wouldn't be surprised if toys or replicas based on the new sonic screwdriver are offered for sale shortly after San Diego Comic Con.
I have further reason to believe the leaked materials are intended for San Diego Comic Con. To be fair to Beth Axford of the Doctor Who Magazine Time Team, she claims no inside knowledge. On June 25, she said, "Wait a few weeks. It's not long now." The San Diego Comic Con Doctor Who panel will likely occur on Sunday, July 22.
I'm not the only one who believes the clips are intended for San Diego Comic Con.
They don’t need to turn any attention away. It really isn’t something they need to do. UK fandom getting uppity about a couple of Comic Con clips need to be reminded that part of Doctor Who’s success today is down to the international appeal. Good for them if they get clips.
Tapatalk is primarily designed as a convenient way to access forums, yet my first encounter with the leak was via a YouTube video which was brought to my attention on Twitter. I'm told the forum in question is Reddit. I'll update this blog again if I find out more.
"It is understood the unfinished clip had temporary music and had not gone through the process which determines the final visual look of the scene.
That may help investigators identify the part of the production chain where the leak originated before it was uploaded to Tapatalk.
It also appears that a small number of individuals on a different online platform, Discord, which is often used by gaming communities, had seen and discussed the short scene almost a week before it leaked publicly.
BBC Studios moved quickly to ensure the Tapatalk link was disabled and to remove the clip from social media platforms and video sharing sites.
Some fans online have speculated that the BBC may have planned to show a finished version of the clip at San Diego Comic-Con."
That last part is interesting. The writer of the news piece, Lizo Mzimba, BBC News entertainment correspondent, often knows in advance when and where news and publicity will break but cannot reveal the information due to news embargoes.
Also, I've been told the forum name of the leaker on Discord:
Oh, you're good! Discord is a chat platform, and they have a Doctor Who community that's loosely attached to the Doctor Who Reddit. The person who first posted it on the Discord was called "FactionParadoxIsn'tCanon".
Now, in August, BBC Studios has filed a subpoena in Seattle, Washington to the headquarters of Microsoft to release information on the the owner of a Microsoft OneDrive account which had the leaked clip uploaded onto it. The information came from TorrentFreak. The article also states the footage in question was stolen from the studio.
So what do we know about this leaker? The leaker is likely a male member of the Doctor Who production team.
If the footage leaked from the studio, it likely originated from someone on the production team. Someone on Twitter stated that they were shown the clip by a person who told them that he was a BBC employee. I assume this was via Twitter DM since the person stated the leaker has since blocked them. The Twitter person also referred to the person who shared the clip with him as "the guy" and "he".
The Twitter person has not yet been questioned as part of the investigation. I wonder if the investigative team really knows what they are doing if they are only attempting to follow the digital trail to find the leaker.
FOURTH UPDATE August 9
The Radio Times has a bit more information about the investigation.
According to their sources, it seems the BBC Studios investigation will will now include questioning of people who claimed prior knowledge of the leak on social media.
"We understand that BBC Studios is currently determined to track down various figures who indicated on social media that they had received the leaked material prior to its wider circulation earlier this year…"
Their sources also claim that Tapatalk and Microsoft are fully cooperating with the court orders.
"At the moment, it’s difficult for the BBC to prevent further leaks without knowing the original source of the material, or how much material was taken, so the legal application – which sources say is an entirely amicable process between the BBC, Microsoft and TapaTalk and a fairly standard procedure that has to be enacted due to privacy laws – is their best shot at keeping the new series under wraps and protecting the BBC’s IP."
FIFTH UPDATE August 10
It would seem BBC Studios believes it has come closer to finding the individuals responsible, or at least their contact(s), having targeted two Twitter accounts, @Vortexia and @MrWhelan101, according to the World Intellectual Property Review.
"The BBC filed its subpoena against Twitter at the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday, August 3"
"The BBC asked for any personal information held by Twitter on two of its users, including address, internet protocol location, and date of birth. The users are identified as Vortexia and Mr Whelan 101."
Both Twitter accounts have responded with statements after I tweeted them:
This is 100% bullshit but whatever, my ISP is masked anyway and i have just about every firewall you can think of protecting my privacy. Come after me all you want. You won’t get far. https://t.co/FT1yTAPuzJ
Well, that's interesting. The account I mentioned was @Vortexia and I received a response from and account called @VortexiaTweets, which has now deleted all the tweets on its account.
I know this shoot was for Doctor Who because he said as much in his blog here and here.
I realize there isn't much to see here but it tells us two things; Simon Ridgway remains the stills photographer for Doctor Who, and a character shoot occured on May 11 with an unspecified prop crucial to the shoot.
I'm sure we all look forward to seeing the official photos of the characters along with the "crucial" prop once they are released.
