The Doctor Who Centenary Special is coming to our screens soon(ish). As usual, the rumour mill has been churning, and as usual (for this era of Doctor Who at least) details have been sparse. But after months of anticipation, a few facts are finally coming to the fore.
To try and straighten out matters, here is our round-up of everything that we do know so far, from the trailer, to the cast, to the release date.
It’s been 100 years?
No, the centenary is a reference to the BBC’s 100th birthday celebrations (although next year in autumn Doctor Who will be celebrating its 60th anniversary - a gigantic milestone for a TV show).
This coming October the BBC will celebrate its centenary with dozens of special episodes, one of which will be this forthcoming episode of Doctor Who. It’s going to be momentous: Jodie Whittaker (who plays Doctor Who) is exiting the series, and it will mark showrunner Chris Chibnall’s exit too.
The 60th Anniversary Special
But just to complicate matters, there is a special 60th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who in the works, too, and there has been tonnes of speculation about it.
It will likely be coming out in November next year and – 12 long years after they left the series – Catherine Tate and David Tennant have been confirmed to be reprising their roles as Donna Noble and the Doctor for the episode.
It has, naturally, confused fans: isn’t Ncuti Gatwa going to be the next Doctor (taking over from Whittaker)? And if Gatwa is playing the Doctor in this special, what will Tate and Tennant be doing?
The BBC 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?”
Russell T Davies, who returns as Doctor Who’s showrunner in 2023 and is set to be writing the 60th Anniversary Special, added: “They’re back! And it looks impossible - first, we announce a new Doctor, and then an old Doctor, along with the wonderful Donna, what on earth is happening? Maybe this is a missing story. Or a parallel world. Or a dream, or a trick, or a flashback. The only thing I can confirm is that it’s going to be spectacular, as two of our greatest stars reunite for the battle of a lifetime.”
So what do we know about the Doctor Who Centenary Special?
Yes, back to that. Firstly, Whittaker and Chibnall are leaving. Here’s everything else that we know.
Title
This week Doctor Who Magazine #582 finally released the title: it’s going to be called The Power of the Doctor. It’s pretty ambiguous, since the Doctor is powerful, for dozens of reasons – including the time-travelling police box and a magical screwdriver – and of course because of the alien’s ability to regenerate, which will be a key feature of the forthcoming episode.
Trailer
The trailer for the special was released back in April. Titled The Thirteenth Doctor’s Final Adventure it only gave audiences a glimmer of what was to come but it was enough to get palms sweating: In just 30 seconds audiences saw gun fights, explosions, Daleks, and the Doctor looking seriously worried. “Nothing is forever. No regeneration. No life,” said a voice ominously as the teaser opened.
Plot
So what should fans expect? Well detail-wise, it’s still slim pickings. Ashad (a human who has been partially Cyber-converted) and The Master (a renegade alien Time Lord, played by Sacha Dhawan) are confirmed to be returning (both featured in the trailer). Plus, two “classic era” (aka the original series which ran from 1963 until 1989) stars are set to feature: Sophie Aldred’s Ace (she was in the series between 1987-1989) and Janet Fielding’s Tegan Jovanka (who starred in 1981-1984).
Fans are also hoping that the romance that has been blooming between companion Yaz and The Doctor will finally culminate in something (both companions Yaz and Dan are expected to leave the show with Whittaker).
Episode length
It’s going to air for 90 minutes - meaning that there’s a copious amount of time for tonnes of drama to go down.
Release date
The episode is set to be released in October as part of the BBC’s birthday programming; this was confirme at the Edinburgh International TV Festival by Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s Chief Content Officer.
So what else is there to know?
So that’s everything we know about the forthcoming special, but what’s the low down about Whittaker and Chibnall?
Who is Jodie Whittaker’s replacement?
In July 2021 Whittaker shared the news that she would be leaving the series. Speaking to Radio Times magazine, she said: “Chris [Chibnall] and I always said we were going to do three series together, but then when you get to it, it’s a very different thing.
“Sometimes it was like… ‘Are we sticking to this decision?’ There’s part of me that could absolutely say, ‘No, let’s keep going! Let’s go back on it!’ But to give the fans the level that they deserve, there has to be some sacrifice. You have to know when you’ve done it.”
Then in May this year, it was announced that Ncuti Gatwa would be replacing Whittaker as the next doctor. The Rwandan-Scottish actor is best known for his role in Sex Education, which won him dozens of nominations and awards, including two BAFTA nominations and a Critics’ Choice Television Awards nomination.
Gatwa’s casting, depressingly, garnered some backlash, being criticised as a woke or diversity-motivated decision: Gatwa will be the first black actor to lead the series.
Speaking to Radio Times, Davies said: “Simply the best actor walked into the room.”
“There aren’t quite the words to describe how I’m feeling. A mix of deeply honoured, beyond excited and of course a little bit scared,” Gatwa told The Hollywoood Reporter.
Sharing the news on his Instagram, he posted two heart emojis next to a blue square emoji – which almost certainly symbolises the Tardis, the Doctor’s time-travelling, space-warping police box.
Who will write the next series?
Davies is returning as the showrunner for the 2023 series, a decision that some Doctor Who fans will feel relieved about. Davies was the writer and one of the executive producers of the show when it was revived back in 2005, and was the creator of some of its most acclaimed episodes.
Speaking about the change in September 2021 Davies said: “I’m beyond excited to be back on my favourite show. But we’re time-travelling too fast; there’s a whole series of Jodie Whittaker’s brilliant Doctor for me to enjoy, with my friend and hero Chris Chibnall at the helm.”
Chibnall, on the other hand, has divided Doctor Who fans during his tenure. Although he was a head writer and co-producer of Torchwood, and was the creator of the award-winning crime drama Broadchurch, when the writer took over from Steven Moffat (starting with the eleventh series, which ran from October to December 2018) some fans were disappointed with his approach.
The series experienced what to some felt like a shake-up: The Doctor was a woman, the companions were a diverse group, episode themes were often focused on social justice (with a particular focus on racism – Ryan and Yaz spoke about experiencing racism in Sheffield, for example, and in one episode the real demons were revealed to be prejudice and bigotry rather than the time-travelling creatures), and politics (in another episode there was Trump-like figure). There was a lack of classic monsters, too: not enough Daleks, Cybermen or Sontarans for some people’s taste.
In a statement, Chibnall said: “Jodie and I made a ‘three series and out’ pact with each other at the start of this once-in-a-lifetime blast. So now our shift is done, and we’re handing back the Tardis keys.”
