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While it was oddly and rather unceremoniously revealed a few days ago, it has now been confirmed that Season 2 of Doctor Who featuring Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor will be released on the BBC and Disney+ on April 12, 2025. The latest series of the iconic sci-fi series will premiere on this date at 12 a.m. Pt/3 a.m. Et on Disney+ in the U.S. and on BBC and BBC iPlayer in the U.K. Following the first episode, each new episode will air weekly, with the Fifteenth Doctor’s second season lasting eight episodes in total. Not only has the release date now been confirmed, so has a major guest star, with X-Men 2 and GoldenEye star Alan Cumming set to star as mysterious character Mr. Ring-a-Ding.

You can check out the newly revealed synopsis for the latest season of Doctor Who below:

“The Doctor meets Belinda Chandra and begins...

The return date for the second season of Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor Who has been revealed. On Wednesday, it was jointly announced by Disney Branded Television and the BBC that Doctor Who Season 2 will premiere on Saturday, April 12 (12Am Pdt / 3Am Edt) on Disney+, as well as exclusively on the BBC and BBC iPlayer in the UK. New episodes for the 8-episode season will be released weekly.

Additionally, it was announced that Alan Cumming (The Traitors) will be guest starring in the second episode of the new season as the voice of Mr Ring-a-Ding. This marks Cumming's return to the Whoniverse after he previously played King James I in the 2018 episode, "The Witchfinders." Mr Ring-a-Ding is described as a "happy, funny, singalong cartoon, who lives in Sunny Town with his friend Sunshine Sally. However, in 1952, after years of repeats in cinemas across the land, Mr Ring-a-Ding suddenly looks beyond the...

Reports of Doctor Who being given the ax by the BBC have been greatly exaggerated according to the broadcaster themselves, but one can't help but wonder what's going on after a peculiar promo revealed the release date for the new season to be April 12, 2025. There was no fanfare, no announcement from the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) himself, nor anything from showrunner Russell T Davies. Heck, the official Doctor Who account on X hasn't even confirmed the date yet. Instead, it was announced during – of all things – a random rugby match.

Per The Independent, the announcement came on Friday, Feb. 21 during the BBC's coverage of the U20s Six Nations Rugby match between England and Scotland. "There are forces beyond this universe," the promo (seen below) begins as we're shown footage of what to expect in the upcoming season, including a look at the Dalek's homeworld. "It's all a game to them,...

One of the longest-running TV shows of all time could be in trouble, as a new report claims that the iconic sci-fi series Doctor Who is now hanging in the balance, and could even face the axe. It has even been claimed that the current Doctor, BAFTA winner Ncuti Gatwa, is poised to quit the coveted role, with the primary reasons for the behind-the-scenes issues stemming from both low ratings and agenda-driven, or so-called “woke,” storylines.

Now, this alleged insight comes courtesy of the U.K. outlet The Sun, so take everything with a massive grain of salt. However, an insider has reportedly stated that “Ncuti doesn’t want to be tied to the series beyond this and plans to relocate to Los Angeles with several Hollywood projects standing by for him. His team also see a lot of fan backlash from the series, and don’t want the perception...

Mark Gatiss is known primarily for his role in the BBC’s modern adaption of Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Gatiss played Mycroft Holmes in the adaptation created by former Doctor Who showrunner Stephen Moffat, with whom he co-wrote the series - and with whom he may be working on a revival.

Gatiss is known for his acting career, but he’s contributed heavily to British television with involvement in major shows such as already mentioned Sherlock, Dracula, and Doctor Who. Of the latter show, Gatiss has not returned to write for the sci-fi series since 2017, and now fans can know why, per Radio Times.

Related Doctor Who Newcomer Teases Christmas Special's 'Unlikely Pairing' With Ncuti Gatwa

Doctor Who guest star Nicola Coughlan has teased that there’s a “really unlikely pairing” at the heart of the Christmas special “Joy to the World”.

Gatiss’ involvement With Doctor Who...

A new glimpse at Doctor Who's upcoming 2024 Christmas special "Joy to the World" has been unveiled by the BBC, teasing Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor facing a terrifying prehistoric threat. Set in a hotel full of time-travelling rooms, the adventure is penned by former showrunners Steven Moffat and follows the events of season 14. While Gatwa's Doctor will be travelling alone following him parting ways with Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), he will soon be joined by Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan as guest companion Joy.

The official Doctor Who YouTube channel has shared a new clip from "Joy to the World" following it's premiere during the BBC Children in Need telethon event.

In the clip, The Doctor and Joy investigate a terrifying new contraption developed by Villengard from season 14's "Boom", though a surprise guest interferes...

This is a developing story...

Source: Doctor Who

Doctor Who 5/10

The latest season of Doctor Who introduces the Fifteenth Doctor,...

It’s Doctor Who’s 60th year, it’s a time of celebration, and sometimes we like to celebrate by getting granular. Any fool can write a Top 60 Stories list, we’re breaking it down further. The plan is be ranking single frames by 2063.

As it’s a time of celebration, we cordially invite you all to join in by listing your top 60 episodes in the comments. Eat some Celebrations. Play some Kool and the Gang. We can go back to complaining about Doctor Who later, for now let’s try to focus on this extraordinary children’s show featuring a genocidal maverick as its hero, and how mint it is. Because it is, really, I don’t think we mention that enough. This could actually be on telly in 2063.

Very scientific process behind this list: they’re the 60 best Doctor Who TV episodes, listed in chronological order.

1. An Unearthly...

Warning: contains spoilers for all episodes mentioned.

In some respects Doctor Who in the 1960s had an advantage over the rest of the show: it was brand new, it built in the loss of the lead actors into the format, and it was largely free of mythology weighing it down. Indeed, with the reveal of the Doctor’s backstory in the final story of the decade, it stands apart in the Doctor remaining a genuine mystery throughout.

It was also a time of experimentation, when Doctor Who tried different styles and genres to see what it could get away with. Occasionally the show coagulated into a consistent format, but there was also the variety of Season 2, probably the show’s most successful attempt at grimdark storytelling in Season 3, and the occasional subversive or anarchic flourish as Patrick Troughton’s Doctor shone outside a more standardised action/adventure format.

While the...

The Writers Guild of America announced some of its nominees for its 2015 awards on Thursday, including television, new media, and radio, and among the TV nominees are series both new and old, and all beloved.

In the comedy series category, freshman Netflix show "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" scored a nomination for best series, as well as an overall best new series nod. "The Last Man on Earth" also landed in that latter category, and was singled out for its pilot episode writing, too.

On the drama side of the equation, lauded "Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul" also got best series and best new series nominations, in addition to a an episode writing nod. Newly-minted Emmy winner "Game of Thrones" also scored a best drama citation, as well as an episodic writing nomination.

The full list of nominees released this week are below. Nominations in the theatrical and documentary categories will...

Strictly for serious Doctor Who fans who won’t mind the ultra-low-budget ethos, and who’ll love the fan-fiction-y tidbits that are catnip to Whovians. I’m “biast” (pro): big Doctor Who fan

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

It’s hard to remember now, what with so-called NuWho nearly a decade old, but there was long Doctor Who drought throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, between the cancellation of the classic show and the reboot in 2005. But there were a few attempts to quench the thirst of parched Whovians with unofficial, quasi-authorized semipro films. One of them, 1995’s Downtime, has just been released on DVD for the first time. The Doctor doesn’t appear here — the producers couldn’t get a license to even mention him — but we do get the return of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney...

Koch Media

From celebrated Doctor Who director Chris Barry Downtime is a unique British 1995 sci-fi movie from the Doctor Who universe featuring treasured characters and talent from the franchise. It follows The Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney – Doctor Who) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen – Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures) of Unit who investigate New World University; a sinister school run by old enemies Victoria Waterfield and Professor Travers.

Fighting alone this time – without their famous time-travelling scientific advisor – The Brigadier and Sarah Jane are hard pressed to decide who is friend or foe as they search for a missing Locus, which binds the Great Intelligence’s power. The battle is broadened when the Brigadier’s own family is threatened and Unit faces a powerful new breed of Yeti!

Starring Nicholas Courtney, Deborah Watling, Jack Watling and Elisabeth Sladen reprising their roles as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Downtime is an unofficial sequel to...

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The 1990s Doctor Who spin-off movie Downtime – starring Nicholas Courtney and Elisabeth Sladen - is finally getting a disc release…

Good news, everyone! The 1996 Doctor Who spin-off film Downtime is finally getting a DVD release. It’ll arrive on disc next month, on Monday the 16th of November, to be precise.

If you’re unfamiliar, this is a 70-minute story that brought back classic era Doctor Who characters including Nicholas Courtney’s Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith, Deborah Watling’s Victoria Waterfield and Jack Watling’s Professor Edward Travers.

There’s just one catch, though – Downtime was made by Reeltime Pictures, not the BBC. Although regular Doctor Who director Christopher Barry called the shots, the BBC didn’t grant Downtime a licence to include the Doctor, or even reference him directly. Still, it has a soft spot in many fan’s hearts, not least for introducing Kate Lethbridge-Stewart,...

Koch Media have announced the UK release of Downtime, a unique British 1995 sci-fi movie from the Doctor Who universe (but unofficial) featuring treasured characters and talent from the franchise – which will be available for the first ever time on DVD from 16th November.

Downtime follows The Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney – Doctor Who) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen – Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures) of Unit who investigate New World University; a sinister school run by old enemies Victoria Waterfield and Professor Travers. The technology obsessed University holds a gateway to Earth made by classic foe the ‘Great Intelligence’. Fighting alone this time – without their famous time-travelling scientific advisor – The Brigadier and Sarah Jane are hard pressed to decide who is friend or foe as they search for a missing Locus, which binds the Intelligence’s power. The battle is broadened when the Brigadier’s own family is threatened and Unit...

After spending a few years in development (and taking time out to direct the first Hunger Games film), Gary Ross has finally had the chance to work on one of his passion projects. New images from the film, The Free State Of Jones, are now online. Matthew McConaughey stars in the American Civil War drama, playing real-life advocate Newton Knight. A Mississippi man who had been a loyal Confederate recruit, he defected from the army and took a group of like-minded troops with him to create the Free State of Jones. Knight later married a slave (Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Rachel), creating one of the first ever publicised mixed race unions in the South, fought against the Confederates from within his new state and led a daring raid to free children who were still enslaved following the end of the conflict.Stx Entertainment is backing this one, which Ross wrote as well as directed.

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Actor, comedian and podcaster Toby Hadoke – a man who has built relationships with Doctor Who cast and crew from across the show’s history – has produced a BAFTA-style compilation of the creative personnel who passed away in 2014. Featuring such luminaries as directors Michael Hayes, Christopher Barry and Michael Kerrigan, John Lumic actor Roger...

The post Toby Hadoke’s BAFTA-style Doctor Who 2014 In Memoriam Compilation appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Divisive and flamboyant, maddening and beloved, former Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry outshone every politician in the 40-year history of District of Columbia self-rule. But for many, the legacy of the so-called "mayor for life," who died Sunday at 78, was not defined by the accomplishments and failures of his four terms in office and long service on the D.C. Council. Instead, Barry will be remembered for a single night in a downtown Washington hotel room and the grainy video that showed him lighting a crack pipe in the company of a much-younger woman. When FBI agents burst in,...

Divisive and flamboyant, maddening and beloved, former Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry outshone every politician in the 40-year history of District of Columbia self-rule. But for many, the legacy of the so-called "mayor for life," who died Sunday at 78, was not defined by the accomplishments and failures of his four terms in office and long service on the D.C. Council. Instead, Barry will be remembered for a single night in a downtown Washington hotel room and the grainy video that showed him lighting a crack pipe in the company of a much-younger woman. When FBI agents burst in,...

Derek Martinus has died, aged 82.

Martinus was best known for his directing work on Doctor Who - helming 26 episodes of the BBC sci-fi drama in all.

His efforts included William Hartnell's final story 'The Tenth Planet' (1966) and Jon Pertwee's first outing 'Spearhead From Space' (1970).

1965's 'Galaxy 4', 1967's 'The Evil of the Daleks' and the same year's 'The Ice Warriors' were his other three contributions.

Born on April 4, 1931, Martinus studied at Yale Drama School and worked as an actor, before turning his attentions to a career as a director.

His credits include episodes of Blakes 7 and Z Cars and award-winning children's drama The Paper Lads.

Doctor Who director Christopher Barry dies, aged 88

Watch a clip from 'Spearhead From Space' below:...

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Welcome, dear listener/reader to this week’s podKast with a “K” in which we welcome Doctor Who fanzine producer Gareth Kavanagh, editor of Vworp Vworp! as a guest for the full show! Christian Cawley and James McLean are in the hotseat too, with a nice selection of topics under discussion. To kick it off, we mull

The post PodKast On American Doctor Who, Christopher Barry, Missing Episodes appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Television director who worked on Doctor Who for 16 years and was at the helm when the Daleks made their first appearance

Christopher Barry, who has died aged 88, directed many notable television series, ranging from science fiction to historical dramas and literary adaptations. At the heart of his work was a 16-year association with Doctor Who.

It began in 1963, with the inaugural appearance of the Daleks – the metallic creatures who would become the most enduring monsters in the show's history. Of Barry's remaining stories with the first Doctor, William Hartnell, The Romans (1965) was an exercise in knockabout comedy, and The Savages (1966, though now lost) a thoughtful morality tale.

When ill health compelled Hartnell to hand over the part of the Doctor to Patrick Troughton, Barry worked closely with the incoming actor, who was initially unsure how to play the part. The resulting adventure, The Power of the Daleks (1966, though again lost...

James Lomond is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Christopher Barry, who put together some of Doctor Who‘s most wonderful moments, passed away last Friday 7th February at the age of 88 at his home in Oxfordshire. Barry was a television director who worked on some of the UK’s best loved dramas including Z Cars, Poldark and All Creatures Great and Small alongside some

The post Classic Director Christopher Barry Dies appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Sad news from the Doctor Who family today. Via Doctor Who News, we learn of the death of prolific classic-era director Christopher Barry at the age of 89. How important was Barry to creating the legend of the show? Doctor Who News:

Barry joined the Doctor Who team in the late summer of 1963, when he was assigned to direct the second story, The Daleks, replacing Rex Tucker who had left after artistic differences with producer Verity Lambert. The script he would bring to life would see the introduction of the Daleks and ensure the success of the fledgling series. Barry would end up directing episodes 1,2,4 and 5 of the story, creating the ‘sink-plunger’ cliff hanger at the end of episode 1 which would see the nation on the edge of their seats until the full revelation of the Dalek machine in episode 2.

That important. Barry would go on to direct some of the most-loved serials,...

Doctor Who director Christopher Barry has died, aged 88.

Barry began his TV directing career in the 1950s and helmed some of Doctor Who's most iconic episodes.

The longest-serving director on the original run of Doctor Who, Barry's credits include the Daleks' first appearance in 1963's 'The Dead Planet'.

He also directed Patrick Troughton's first outing - 1966's 'The Power of the Daleks' - and Tom Baker's debut - 1975's 'Robot'.

Barry's final Doctor Who work was 1979's 'The Creature from the Pit', and he was also renowned for his work on Z Cars, Poldark, All Creatures Great and Small and The Tripods.

Since retired, Barry was residing in Oxfordshire at the time of his death.

News Louisa Mellor 10 Feb 2014 - 10:28

Christopher Barry, noted director of classic Doctor Who and countless other series, has passed away at the age of 88...

We're sad to learn that director Christopher Barry, who directed over forty episodes of Doctor Who between 1963 and 1979 alongside a great deal of much-loved television work, has passed away at the age of 88.

Christopher Barry was one of the rare Doctor Who directors whose work on the show spanned four Doctors, including stories with William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. His first Who episode was 1963's The Dead Planet, part of the first Dalek serial that famously introduced the planet Skaro and the Thals. Sixteen years later, Barry's final Who serial was 1979's The Creature From The Pit featuring Tom Baker.

In addition to Doctor Who, Barry took the helm on over thirty episodes of Z-Cars, as well as several instalments of All Creatures Great And Small,...

When watching An Adventure In Space And Time, I noticed one feeling dominated all others. It wasn’t excitement at seeing early Doctor Who recreated in high definition colour. It wasn’t admiration in the playing of the lead actors (all wonderful), nor even some fannish desire for accuracy (I let several anachronisms of speech and behaviour slip by, suspending my disbelief in the spirit of the piece).

The overwhelming feeling I had was one of protectiveness. I felt protective towards Verity Lambert, Waris Hussein, even Sydney Newman, the old so-and-so. But I felt especially protective towards William Hartnell. As an actor his reputation is pretty much intact, despite a few swipes at his memory from those too ignorant to know better. But as a man I felt that he had been much maligned, and An Adventure In Space And Time could either support the myths, or set the record straight.

Digital Spy readers named David Tennant as Doctor Who's greatest ever Doctor - now, with just 10 weeks to go until the 50th anniversary, DS is embarking on a new quest... to list the top 10 Who stories of all time.

We kicked off proceedings last Monday with William Hartnell classic 'The Aztecs' - now we travel seven years forward in time, for one of Jon Pertwee's all-time greats...

9. The Daemons (1971) - Five episodes - written by Guy Leopold

Season eight of Doctor Who - Jon Pertwee's second year with the show - represented the BBC sci-fi drama's second major creative revamp in two years. Just four stories on from a switch to full colour and new Earthbound format, Who found itself rejigged once again in 1971, with producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks eager to push the show in a new direction.

Sweeping change is always a risk,...

Poldark

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On 31 January, Acorn media are releasing Poldark: The Complete Collection on DVD in the United States. For those of you who may not remember the series, Poldark was a swashbuckling period drama about a British soldier who had returned to Cornwall after fighting in the American war of independence.

It had been quite a while since I had seen the original series so I was wondering how well the show would shape up given that it was originally broadcast in the mid 1970s. As it turns out, the show held up very well indeed and is comparable with the best of the period pieces that are currently being aired on PBS. Unlike a lot of the classic shows from the era, the...

Here's a bit of fun to warm the hearts of Doctor Who fans. Having read last week's interview with Sylvester McCoy, Rob Ritchie was kind enough to send us this pic of the great man recreating his most famous role (at least until the first Hobbit movie comes out) for a new imagining of the 1995 straight-to-video release Downtime...

Click the picture for full-size image

Original director Christopher Barry could not include The Doctor as a character for the original release due to rights issues, but this seems to be getting remedied now for a revised version of the tale, which featured the late Nicholas Courtney as The Brig, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield.

We're assured by Sylvester McCoy that the rather scruffy-looking table in the picture will end up CGI'd into the Tardis centre console, with suitable background dropped into where the green screen currently is.

Narcissist that I am, I sometimes go back to read my past reviews on the Shadowlocked website. I was just checking out the one for The Big Bang, in which I was foolishly attempting to make out that I'd found the ability to travel back in time to meet my five-year-old-self.

As you do.

Anyway, the ham-fisted point that I was trying to make was that Doctor Who is chiefly for kids. Although it enjoys a sizeable adult following, kids especially love Who. What's great about this is that they take it at face value, ignore the shortcomings and get caught up in the different fantasy worlds, scenarios and monsters. A good example of this approach is season 17 adventure The Creature From The Pit.

The difference between adults' reactions and kids' reactions to Pit is bigger than Mick Jagger's gob. To a child, Pit is an atmospheric fantasy adventure...

The British Board of Film Classification has cleared the Fourth Doctor story The Creature from the Pit for release on DVD.

The story, originally broadcast in the Autumn of 1979, stars Tom Baker as The Doctor, along with Lalla Ward as Romana and David Brierley as the voice of K9. Others in the cast include Myra Frances as Lady Adrast, Eileen Way as Karela and Geoffrey Bayldon as Organon.

The story was written by David Fisher and directed by Christopher Barry.

Extras cleared for the story areChristopher Barry: Director - 19'01"Team Erato - 14'46"Photo Gallery - 4'48"Animal Magic - 2'34"

No release date has yet been confirmed.http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com...