The BBC has announced the premiere date for Doctor Who’s hotly anticipated new season.
The show, which will see Ncuti Gatwa step into the Tardis for his inaugural series as the Time Lord, will be airing on Saturday May 11, both on the BBC and (for the first time) internationally on Disney+.
Two episodes will premiere on BBC iPlayer at midnight, while the show’s premiere will air on BBC One right before the final of the Eurovision Song Contest: a stacked double bill if ever there was one. Meanwhile, those outside of the UK will be able to catch up on all the action on Disney+.
Alongside Gatwa’s turn as the Fifteenth Doctor, Millie Gibson will also be appearing as his companion Ruby Sunday, fresh from her debut in the Christmas special The Church on Ruby Road.
They’ll be joined by Michelle Greenidge as Carla Sunday, Angela Wynter as Cherry Sunday and Anita Dobson as the mysterious Mrs Flood, who seems to know a lot more about the Doctor than she initially let on – as well as guest stars Jinkx Monsoon, Aneurin Barnard, Yasmin Finney and Jonathan Groff.
Though we don’t yet know what the plot of the new episodes will be, a teaser trailer, which dropped last month, promised encounters with monsters, Georgian-era aristocrats and even the Beatles. Showrunner Russell T Davies has also hinted that we’re set to find out more about Ruby’s mysterious past: she was abandoned outside a church on Christmas Eve as a newborn.
“At last, it’s my great delight to unleash a whole new season of the Doctor and Ruby’s adventures together,” Russell T Davies said as the news was announced. “Monsters! Chases! Villains! Mysteries! And a terrifying secret that’s been spinning in space and time for decades. Don’t miss out!”
This series also marks the first since the BBC and Disney+ arm Disney Branded Television signed a new partnership, effectively making Disney+ the new home for Doctor Who outside the UK.
