From Series 11 Writers and Directors in Doctor Who Magazine

Five writers were announced in addition to Chris Chibnall. They are given primary credit for one episode each, though that does not necessarily discount a writers' room type collaboration over all ten episodes. They were each asked to describe their episodes in three words:

Malorie Blackman: heartfelt, thought-provoking, timely

Ed Hime: really rather spooky

Peter McTighe: creepy, fun, rollercoaster

Vinay Patel: educational, epic, emotional

Joy Wilkinson: dark, funny, squelchy



This is what was learned from the directors:

There was an outdoor scene filmed in Wales intentionally involving inclement weather in Episode 1, 7, 9 or 10.

A filming block involved scenes that went from "Baroque to the future".

The location filming of Episodes 4 and 6 occurred during quite a bit of rain, snow and mud. This might have something to do with writer Joy Wilkinson describing her episode as "squelchy".

Episode 5 or 8 contains a zany action sequence in an entirely digitally-created world.


The director's statements:

Jamie Childs, Episodes 1, 6, 7 & 10

"I love real locations, and I think they bring a lot of realism to any film, especially in sci fi when you want to ground the surreal in the real world. As we shoot mostly in and around Cardiff, one of the main concerns with any exterior location was always: will it rain? I have to say Wales never let me down. I don’t think I got bad weather once, apart from the one time I wanted a specific type of ‘bad’ weather and I got it. So I was very lucky overall.” 

Mark Tonderai, Episodes 2 & 3

“It’s a movie a week in essence without regular standing sets. But I always think – as under pressure that I am – what about design or costume? Man, they are really under the gun. Sometimes they go from Baroque to the future in one block. But what’s great is that on Who I operated camera B, which meant the episodes I shot really are mine, you know? I shot it how I saw it. And our crew were wonderful human beings whose craft elevated everything I did.”

Sallie Aprahamian, Episodes 4 & 9

“The weather was not kind to us on one of the episodes – howling rain storms, snow, lots of mud and bright sunshine, sometimes within minutes of each other. The cast and crew were amazing, working on through with good humour and craft. That’s how Doctor Whomagic sometimes has to happen."

Jennifer Perrott, Episodes 5 and 8

“It was my turn to film just after the apocalyptic snow storms earlier this year, so I wasn’t hindered by arduous weather. The previous team lost filming time due to red-alert snow storms. I did have a zany action sequence in studio where we just had the actors, green screen and fans blowing their hair – the entire world around them will be created with VFX. I can’t wait to see what those geniuses at [effects house] DNEG create for that.”

Series 11 Writers Finally Announced!

Malorie Blackman, Chris Chibnall, Ed Hime, Vinay Patel, Pete McTighe and Joy Wilkinson are the Doctor Who, Series 11 writers.

I suspect this announcement was written and ready to go for the day it was discovered that mail/post subscribers had received their issues of Doctor Who Magazine, which again missed an opportunity to announce an exclusive.

The Series 11 directors were also officially announced today but they were already discovered.

"Crazy" New Design for the TARDIS Interior

If you've been paying attention, you have seen the video of the twelfth Doctor's TARDIS being dismantled.



You've also watched the interior if the TARDIS blow up after ejecting the newly-regenerated thirteenth Doctor in Twice Upon a Time.


Despite this evidence, here is what Chris Chibnall had to say about a new TARDIS interior design at press conference at San Diego Comic Con:

"No, I didn't say that!," he said, laughing as one of his questioners stated that he mentioned that the TARDIS exploded so we will see a new one. "I said it exploded. You said we'd see a new one." Chris Chibnall then refused any more questions on the subject.

Last week, after a photo credit was published in Doctor Who Magazine, two photos depicting portions of the TARDIS interior were discovered on character and publicity stills photographer Ben Blackall's online portfolio. Those photos, along with some other character portraits and publicity stills can be found on the Facebook page for Doctor Freedom.

Just today, Doctor Who concept artist Darren Fereday tweeted this (You are only seeing the reply because the tweet was deleted. Screenshot below):

You are most welcome & thanks for all the things & things we can't talk about yet😉

— Arwel Wyn Jones (@arwelwjones) August 6, 2018

So production designer Arwel Wyn Jones had a "crazy" vision for the new TARDIS interior which I assume he designed with input from Jodie Whittaker.

As for Chris Chibnall, I think a very discerning ear is required whenever he makes statements about Doctor Who.

Update:

It seems Darren Fereday was asked to delete some tweets.

Had to pull the plug on the artwork! Want to thank everyone who took the time to comment and who hit that like button, over a thousand hits! Love how psyched you guys are for the show and what we've done, and hope you're loving the toy. Much love x

— Darren Fereday (@DarrenFereday) August 8, 2018

Fereday not only deleted his tweets which featured his own renditions of the sonic screwdriver but also deleted his tweet about Arwel Wyn Jones' "crazy vision" for new TARDIS interior design.

Perhaps one of the secrets is that, like one of the toy versions, the tip rotates.

Of course! Been sonic-ing things ever since I got it!#DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/ruBzJZajMn

— Neil (@BryterMoon) August 7, 2018

Chris Chibnall said to Digital Spy:

"Secrecy is not an end in itself." 

"…it's not out of a desire for secrecy, it's a desire for that moment when it goes out of people experiencing it together."

I fail to see how being secretive about the mere existence of a new TARDIS interior fits with keeping the broadcasts a communal experience when an explosion already destroyed the twelfth Doctor's console room in Twice Upon a Time so it can be presumed a new one is required.

I also fail to see how drawings of a device which has already been released as a toy version and is already in the hands of fans would also be subject to the same secrecy.

It's really a shame how restricted the creative people on the production team are in sharing their enthusiasm. Even comic and concept artist Patrick Goddard was forced to delete a tweet of a drawing he created of the thirteenth Doctor's costume the day it was revealed to the public.

Series 11 Trailer Breakdown by Episode/Filming Block

First, the new Doctor Who Series 11 Trailer:

Block 1, Episodes 1 and 7:

Episode 1:

The Doctor in a cave

The Doctor, startled, rising abruptly.

These two scenes are believed to be of the Doctor constructing her new sonic screwdriver. Note she is still wearing the twelfth Doctor's vest and shirt. Some photos from this scene of the Doctor constructing the sonic screwdriver were leaked.

Chris Chibnall had this to say about the new sonic screwdriver at San Diego Comic Con:

"There's a very specific way this Doctor comes by this sonic screwdriver." 

"It's made out of some interesting components which you'll find out about in Episode 1."

Block 2, Episodes 2 and 3

Episode 2:

This episode features aliens in a desolate landscape, likely another world. These scenes were filmed at Macassar Beach Pavilion, an abandoned water park near Cape Town, South Africa.

The Doctor, Graham, Yasmin and Ryan climb a sandy slope with some ruins.

Graham, Yamin, Ryan and the Doctor look out on the ocean from some ruins.

Here are two scenes which contain the actor Shaun Dooley which I believe are from the same episode.

Episode 3:

An episode set during the 1955 Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott and the events with Rosa Parks which led up to it. This episode also features scenes filmed in South Africa, mostly in Cape Town. Note the Doctor's costume variation, a burgundy shirt instead of navy blue.

Block 3, Episodes 4 and 6:

This is the block which contained the much-covered filming in Gosport and Sheffield in February. Alan Cumming is playing Kings James the First in one of the episodes which features witches in the 17th Century. The other episode features at least one spider but it is unclear whether the episode is about spiders.

I can tell this still is from Block 3 because Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh are wearing the same costumes from the Sheffield filming photos.

Block 4, Episodes 5 and 8:

Not enough is known about this filming block to place any stills from the trailer.

Block 5, Episodes 9 and 10:

Some of the filming from this block took place in Granada Province, Andalucia, Spain.

There were local horse riders hired for scenes for the Spain filming. Note one of the them holds a gun.

The rest of the stills I cannot yet place:

These scenes were likely filmed in a quarry. 

This may be from Block 1 filming in a forest on November 16.

Series 11 News from Radio Times Magazine

Look Who's on our cover this week...The Thirteenth Doctor makes her Radio Times cover debut!

Features first pictures, on-set secrets, new co-stars and exclusive interviews. #DoctorWho #ThirteenthDoctor #JodieWhittaker https://t.co/YFpW95zdLr pic.twitter.com/SU8K3vK9kR

— Radio Times (@RadioTimes) July 16, 2018

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.

New Series 11 Information and Photos from Entertainment Weekly Magazine

Photo by Simon Ridgeway

Photo by Sophie Mutevelian

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."

Doctor Who Christmas Special is in the Works with a Familiar Director

After months of rampant speculation and debate that either there would be no Doctor Who Christmas special or that the Christmas special would be filmed as part of the ten Series 11 episodes, I'm happy to report that there will be an additional filming block for the Christmas special directed by Wayne Yip.

#RutherExclusive #DoctorWho news: There IS a Christmas Special this year; Wayne Yip is directing it pic.twitter.com/lk05OFTkv9

— Ruther (@Ruther2) July 4, 2018

Wayne Yip directed two episodes of the Doctor Who spinoff Class before directing two episodes of Doctor Who, Series 10, Empress of Mars and The Lie of the Land.

Seres 11 Composer Announced

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I am beyond thrilled to be part of the #DoctorWho family as series composer and am excited about this next chapter in @bbcdoctorwho. Read more info here: https://t.co/o1XHpliwXt #composer pic.twitter.com/iGTozPll2w

— Segun Akinola (@segunakinola) June 27, 2018

Segun Akinola will score Series 11

“The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire alumni will provide an exciting and emotional score beckoning in a new era for the show, including a fresh take on the legendary theme tune.”

Showrunner Chris Chibnall said:

“Welcome to the Doctor Who family, Segun Akinola! We’re over the moon Segun's agreed to join us, to provide the score for the next phase of the Doctor Who adventure. From our very first conversations, it was obvious Segun was a passionate, collaborative and delightful human being as well as a fantastic and bold composer. We’re looking forward to introducing the world to his exciting and emotional soundtracks for the Thirteenth Doctor.”

And Akinola said:

“Doctor Who is woven into the fabric of British culture and recognised globally. I am absolutely thrilled to be given the privilege of working on such a beloved series and to bring my musical voice to it.”

Segun Akinola's Blog 

Some examples of his work

Chris Chibnall's Different Kind of Relationship with Doctor Who Magazine

I received the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, #525, via my digital subscription. I contains some interesting articles on scenes and characters cut from various episodes of Doctor Who.

What it doesn't contain is Production Notes or news of any kind regarding Series 11 production.

This is a significant departure from the type of news the magazine used to report on series production during the times when Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat were the showrunners.

The editor of Doctor Who Magazine, Marcus Hearn was interviewed by Doctor Who: Panel to Panel podcast, which became available on February 3. It seems he couldn't stress enough how important Doctor Who Magazine is to Chris Chibnall, Matt Strevens, the BBC and BBC Worldwide (now BBC Studios). Below are a few excerpts from the podcast I've transcribed. All of it is interesting but I've highlighted the parts where Hearn is emphasizing how important Doctor Who Magazine is to the people producing it.

“I had a long meeting with Chris [Chibnall] and Matt [Stevens], I think in September were it was clear to me that both Chris and Matt are very enthusiastic about the magazine, have a very detailed knowledge of the magazine’s history and I’m please to say that both Chris and Matt and all their colleges and our colleagues a BBC television and BCC Worldwide value the magazine very highly, which is lovely to know.”

“It is the official Magazine. One thing I was delighted about was that Chris and Matt and all their colleagues at the BBC do actually recognize that we have a role to play as the official magazine and actually helping them to promote the series. We have, I hope, inside information.”

“It’s probably too early in the game to actually say. ‘How is the magazine going to help, or to work alongside of colleagues at the BBC to promote the new series because, as I’m talking to you now, we’re only in very early February and so we’re some months away from that but we have had a number of conversations about how much they value the magazine and about how they’re going to be working with us to help to promote the series when that comes around. So yes, we’re talking to Chris and Matt, we’re talking to the cast of the new series. I haven’t been on set but my deputy editor Peter Ware and as well assistant Emily Cooke have been spending some time in Cardiff. I’m planning to go next week for the first time. And so we are gathering material for when the time comes for outright transmission.”

Since issue #521, published after Jodie Whittaker's Doctor appeared on Twice Upon a Time and featuring the thirteenth Doctor on the cover with the caption “Jodie Whittaker is the Doctor", there hasn't been any production news of note. In past series, the magazine provided the names of the directors and writers, information on what block was currently being filmed and the occasional name or two of some of the actors who would appear in the series. The absence of production news is a very different approach with the new showrunner.

I look forward to seeing the material gathered by the magazine staff once they are given the go-ahead to publish it. here is another quote from the podcast which gives you an idea of the Hearn percieves the magazine's directive.

“That we will be breaking news, I hope. We the time comes later this year when the new series begins but I don’t necessarily feel that’s our primary function. I don’t think, as Series 11 approaches, I would hope we get the opportunity to do that but I think people will look to Doctor Who Magazine more for a detailed and accurate representation of what’s actually happening. I think they will look to Doctor Who Magazine for a detailed and accurate representation of actually how the show is actually coming to the air. They’ll look to Doctor Who Magazine for an accurate and detailed representation of the people who are actually making the show because that’s the sort of thing we do on Doctor Who Magazine, we talk to the people, not just the actors, who are obviously terribly important, but we talk to the people who actually the writers, the directors, the behind-the-scenes people that maybe other magazines may not be interested in but that’s what we do on Doctor Who Magazine. I see Doctor Who Magazine not just as a source of accurate news of that sort buy also as a journal of record.”

Doctor Who Magazine is available at UK Newsstands Thursday, May 3. It is also available right now via a Kindle digital edition and on Pocketmags at 12:01 a.m., May 3.

A Typical Day for Chris Chibnall at Roath Lock Studios

In the new Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition number 49, In the Studio, Chris Chibnall speaks of his current experience with Doctor Who production.

“I love Roath Lock. It’s the best facility I’ve ever worked in. I can walk in to say hello to costume and makeup, then go across to one of the four studio spaces for Doctor Who, where worlds are being built and shot on. Then up the stairs to the production office to discuss future schedules and pre-production and post-production and marketing and social media, a meeting with the script team in the Dalek room (yes, there’s a Dalek room), then down the corridor to the edit suites where half a dozen episodes are being worked on simultaneously. In fact, I just described a typical day there for me.” 

The Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition is in newsstands in the UK now and a digital version is also available.

The Handover from Steven Moffat to Chris Chibnall

On the Graham Norton Radio Show on Saturday April 15, Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies spoke of their knowledge (or lack thereof) of Doctor Who Series 11.

On the handoff to Chris Chibnall, Steven Moffat said, “We kept meaning to have a proper dinner but then we didn’t because Chris is incredibly busy so, the very last time I left the studios at Roath Lock, I walked past a meeting room and I saw Chris sitting in the middle of the horseshoe of people who were staring at him in hope and I saw the look on his face and I thought ‘he’s sitting in my terrifying chair. I’ll go in and hug him. I’ll go in and hug him goodbye’ and I got into the back of a car and played lots of Murray Gold Music on my headphones. It was brilliant.”

When Moffat and Davies were asked about their knowledge of current production on Doctor Who, Moffat professed no knowledge and said,“People just say things like, ‘It’s going really, really well.’ and that’s great and we’re really pleased about that, like hearing your ex-girlfriend is really, really happy and having a fantastic time.” To Which Davies replied, “Also, you kind of know it isn’t,” with a laugh. “Because you know the show and there hadn’t been a day in Doctor Who’s history where it was going well,” Moffat added. To which Davies replied, “When that snow came along (there was a small storm when they were filming outdoors near Treowen on February 28 and a larger snowstorm closed down production on March 2), I was laughing.”

When Does Doctor Who Series 11 Premiere?

Update: The initial reports of October and rumors about Sunday were correct.

On September 5, the BBC officially announced that the first Series 11 episode, The Woman Who Fell to Earth, will air simultaneously in the UK and the USA Sunday, October 7. No word yet on the exact time.

What follows is my journey to the truth:

All signs point to October but no specific date in October.

From Chris Chibnall in Doctor Who Magazine 523:

"I’ve been in Liverpool, along with other members of that team and the Thirteenth Doctor herself. For 72 hours at least, all roads lead to Liverpool – for Doctor Who and the global television industry.
We come here to talk, to tell people a little bit about what we’re doing and what this new series of the show will feel like. We come to meet with treasured commercial partners, like Big Finish and Penguin Random House, with broadcasters from all the territories, with iTunes and Amazon and Netflix, all of whom are massively important to taking Doctor Who as far around the world, and to as many people, as it can go."

Here is a photo from the Doctor Who panel at BBC Worldwide Showcase, which was on February 20. If you look at the slide behind Chris Chibnall, Jodie Whittaker, Matt Strevens and Sam Hoyle in the second photo, you will see text that states, "Delivers October 2018"

Another source is BBC Newsround, which says,

"Doctor Who fans might have to wait until October for the new series - but the show's makers have revealed its brand new logo."

There is also this from the former editor of Doctor Who Magazine:

I wouldn’t promise September.

— Tom Spilsbury (@TomSpilsbury) December 25, 2017

Update: One more source has confirmed an October premier date for BBC One:

"The new season of the acclaimed TV show will feature ten 50-minutes episodes and is set to premiere in October 2018. Crackle will add the eleventh season following its premiere on BBC One..."

Second Update: Now the Radio Times magazine says its August 18-24 issue that the BBC has confirmed that Doctor Who will air "by October".

Third Update: Ooh, Sunday???

The following issue is out on 17 October. So all it indicates is that the series is likely to have started before that date. (Perhaps the series will start on 7 or 14 October.) As for the book, that doesn't really factor into it. But we'll see.

— Tom Spilsbury (@TomSpilsbury) August 20, 2018

Who knows – I only said 'perhaps'. :)

— Tom Spilsbury (@TomSpilsbury) August 20, 2018

Fourth Update: Sunday, SEPTEMBER 23? 

The SideReel website has Episode 1 premiering on Sunday, September 23, a huge departure from the October delivery date given at BBC Worldwide Showcase back in February. I'm told SideReel has been accurate in the past.

Now the Sunday Times Culture magazine is also saying Sunday, September 23.

Looks like we will be getting a September release #DoctorWho #Series11 #Airdate (Sunday time Culture Magazine) pic.twitter.com/bnapCmaF3W

— thomas (@tomsut14) August 26, 2018

Fifth Update: in relation to news received on September 4

On September 4, CultBox reported that the air date, Sunday, October 7, could be found on every iTunes website offering Doctor Who Series 11 for presale. BBC Studios promptly sent them a stern letter asking them to take down the story because the air date they reported (which was obviously accurate) was "classified" and a "trade secret". CultBox complied.

News from Doctor Who Magazine 524

News from the magazine is scant. In the Gallifrey Guardian section, it stated, "Work on the new series of Doctor Who continued throughout March, despite the unseasonably snowy conditions that affected much of the UK, and principal recording on several episodes has now been completed."
I can tell you, based on several online CVs, three filming blocks are complete, consisting of two episodes each, directed by Jamie Childs, Mark Tonderai and Sallie Aprahamian.
In other news, Russell T Davies took over the Production News column and wrote, "NO WAY!!!!!! Oh my GOD!!!!!!!!" in reaction to learning the name of a Series 11 guest star after a "No, not him", reportedly from Chris Chibnall when Davies stated, "Naah, too late, he blew it.", likely referring to Alan Cumming.