Doctor Who News, Articles, Cast and Crew Interviews

[Alan]

Flux Chapter 4: Village of the Angels
Saturday, 20 November 2021 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/1...he_angels.html

Doctor Who returns this weekend for the fourth chapter in the Flux series, Village of the Angels

Devon, November 1967. A little girl has gone missing, Professor Eustacius Jericho is conducting psychic experiments, and in the village graveyard, there is one gravestone too many. Why is Medderton known as the Cursed Village, and what do the Weeping Angels want?

The episode is written by showrunner Chris Chibnall along with Maxine Alderton, who wrote last year's The Haunting Of Villa Diodati

It is directed by Jamie Magnus Stone who directed the first two episodes of this season..

It stars Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor alongside Mandip Gill as Yasmin and John Bishop as Dan.

The episode can be seen in the UK on BBC One at 6.20 pm on Sunday. Full global broadcasts are listed at This Week in Doctor Who

It can be streamed on the BBC iPlayer, on Netflix, on Amazon Prime and Britbox depending on location.

Village of the Angels | Doctor Who: Flux

[cosmichobo]

I'm curious to see the Angels staring in a story again... but skeptical of how it's going to play out.

Also wasn't impressed with the Angel's invasion of the TARDIS. It was so forced - there was how many people in there looking at the Angel? And yet it "took control". Garbage. So many eyes on it, no way that could have happened.

[Alan]

Happy_58th_Anniversary_Doctor_Who3.jpg

[Alan]

Happy_58th_Anniversary_Doctor_Who4.jpg

#DoctorWhoDay

[cosmichobo]

This has just made my day! This has really put a smile on my face. This... the first Doctor Who story that I read... coming to life as best as we'll probably ever get to experience:

I don't do well with recons... but I do watch the surviving episode quite often. This is really exciting news.

[Alan]

Survivors of the Flux
Saturday, 27 November 2021 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/1..._the_flux.html

Doctor Who returns this weekend for the fifth chapter in the Flux series,Survivors of the Flux

As the forces of evil mass, the Doctor, Yaz and Dan face perilous journeys and seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their quest for survival.

The episode is written by showrunner Chris Chibnall and directed by Azhur Saleem who directed the third episode of this season..

It stars Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor alongside Mandip Gill as Yasmin and John Bishop as Dan.

The episode can be seen in the UK on BBC One at 6.25 pm on Sunday. Full global broadcasts are listed at This Week in Doctor Who

It can be streamed on the BBC iPlayer, on Netflix, on Amazon Prime and Britbox depending on location.

FIRST LOOK | Survivors of the Flux | Doctor Who

[Alan]

The Vanquishers
Saturday, 4 December 2021 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/1...nquishers.html

Doctor Who reaches its season finale this weekend with the sixth chapter in the Flux series, The Vanquishers

In the final epic chapter in the story of the Flux, all hope is lost. The forces of darkness are in control. But when the monsters have won, who can you count upon to save the universe?

The episode is once more written by showrunner Chris Chibnall and directed by Azhur Saleem.

It stars Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor alongside Mandip Gill as Yasmin and John Bishop as Dan.

The episode can be seen in the UK on BBC One at 6.20 pm on Sunday. Full global broadcasts are listed at This Week in Doctor Who

It can be streamed on the BBC iPlayer, on Netflix, on Amazon Prime and Britbox depending on location.

FIRST LOOK | The Vanquishers | Doctor Who: Flux

[Alan]

New Year's Day adventure announced
Sunday, 5 December 2021 - Reported by Chuck Foster

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/1...announced.html

The BBC have released details on the New Year's Day adventure for Doctor Who.

Following the explosive series finale of Doctor Who: Flux, the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and friends Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Dan (John Bishop), will kick-start 2022 with an action-packed spectacular episode set to air on BBC One on New Year’s Day.

Eve Of The Dalekswill also feature guest stars Aisling Bea (This Way Up, Living With Yourself, Quiz), Adjani Salmon (Dreaming Whilst Black, Enterprice) and Pauline McLynn (Father Ted, Shameless).

Sarah (Aisling Bea) owns and runs ELF storage, and Nick (Adjani Salmon) is a customer who visits his unit every year on New Year’s Eve. This year, however, their night turns out to be a little different than planned as they find themselves joining forces with the Doctor, Dan and Yaz in a fight against the Daleks.

The trailer for the special, which aired following the series thirteen finale, finds the cast trapped in ELF storage and stuck in a terrifying time loop with the Daleks. Will the gang manage to avoid extermination and escape the storage facility in time to see out New Year’s Day?

Chris Chibnall, Showrunner, says:

We all need a little romance in our lives around New Year. Less so, Daleks. But Aisling Bea and Adjani Salmon’s characters will have to deal with both in a New Year’s Eve from hell. Together with Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, it’ll hopefully prove the perfect New Year’s Day tonic.

Eve of the Daleks: Trailer

[Alan]

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 572
Wednesday, 8 December 2021 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/1...issue_572.html

Issue 572 of Doctor Who Magazine features an exclusive preview of this year's New Year Special., Eve of the Daleks.

Highlights of the new issue include:

• An exclusive preview of Eve of the Daleks, with contributions from Chris Chibnall, John Bishop, Mandip Gill and director Annetta Laufer.
• Interviews with Series 13’s directors, Jamie Magnus Stone and Azhur Saleem.
• An interview with Annabel Scholey, who played Claire in Flux.
• In the first installment of a two-part feature, costume designer Ray Holman discusses his creations for Series 13.
• A behind-the-scenes look at what happened when a Doctor Who fan wrote to CBBC’s The Dengineers, to ask for his own TARDIS.
• Collectivity meets fans whose passion for Doctor Who books and toys began with childhood Christmas presents.
• The Fact of Fiction revisits the 2015 Christmas Special The Husbands of River Song.
• It’s Behind You!, a brand-new comic strip adventure for the Doctor, Yaz and Dan.
• Public Image analyses the ratings for Flux.
• The Doctor Who Magazine Christmas Quiz.
• Previews, reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser and more.

PLUS: a giant double-sided poster!

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 572 is on sale from panini.co.uk and WH Smith from Thursday 9 December
priced £6.99 (UK). Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £5.99.

[Alan]

Chris Achilléos 1947-2021
Thursday, 9 December 2021 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/1...1947_2021.html

The artist Chris Achilléos has died at the age of 74

Chris Achilleos designed the covers for many Target novelisations of Doctor Who stories throughout the 1970s. His inspirational illustrations were for many fans of the era, their primary visual connection with Doctor Who.

His artwork had a seminal influence on the science fiction and fantasy genres, and throughout a career spanning five decades, he consistently remained one of the most respected and in-demand artists in his field.

The signature Achilléos style combined vivid colours, minute detailing, and an innovative blend of historical, psychedelic, and comic book influences. Although much of his work was produced on commission, to be miniaturised and serve as book covers, album covers, and film posters, Achilléos produced all his canvasses at largescale, which allowed him to showcase his rare technical skill, refined during his studies of Scientific and Technical Drawing.

Such was the ambition of his artwork that it earned the attention of George Lucas, who hired him as a conceptual artist for the visual-effects showpiece Willow; it was a position Achilléoshad previously held on the production of the cult classic Heavy Metal, starring John Candy and Harold Ramis.

It was, however, for his book covers that Achilléos was perhaps best known. His work has adorned hundreds of books, for authors such as Robert E Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Michael Moorcock.

His prolific work for the Target range of Doctor Who novelisations, meanwhile, left an indelible mark upon the show and its universe. In the worlds of Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi, a guest at the opening of a 2016 exhibition of Achilléos’ Doctor Who artwork:

Chris Achilléos artwork perfectly captures the action-packed spirit of 1970s Doctor Who.
It’s like he invented it himself.”

Lavishly detailed, with psychedelic overtones and an unapologetically pulpy sensibility, Achilléos’ work both reproduced and reinterpreted the eccentric energy of the show’s classic era, defining a generation’s image of the Doctor and his adventures in the days before repeats or VHS recordings.

From the depths of outer space to the realms of fantasy, Achilléos’ subject matter was a far cry from his childhood in rural Cyprus, during the last days of British rule. He moved to England in his early teens, along with three siblings and a widowed mother. He spoke no English and described himself as an introvert who sought solace from prejudice in his art.

Lacking the money for art supplies, he produced his earliest sketches on the back of wallpaper and on paper donated by a local butcher. Having always fiercely maintained his rights over his work, retaining wherever possible the original canvasses, his professional pieces have become highly sought after, and adorn the walls of collectors the world over. Their abiding influence is evident in the work of the admirers he inspired.

He leaves behind a wife, two daughters and two grandsons.

Thanks to Candy Jar Books

[BruTak]

RIP sir, and thank you for all your wonderful illustrations.

[Alan]

Big Finish Licence Extended to 2030
Friday, 10 December 2021 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/1...d_to_2030.html

Big Finish Productions, in association with BBC Studios, has confirmed that its licence to make original Doctor Who and spin-off audio adventures has been extended until 31 March 2030.

For more than two decades, Big Finish has been producing high-quality, full-cast audio drama featuring characters from the worlds of Doctor Who. The first, The Sirens of Time, was released in July 1999 and, since then, over a thousand new adventures have been released on collector’s edition CD, digital download or vinyl LP.

This year, the company was awarded a Guinness World Record for the longest-running science fiction audio play series, in recognition of the achievements of its Doctor Who range. 2022 will see the release of a raft of new ‘classic era’ box sets (starring original series actors Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann) plus new adventures for the Ninth and Tenth Doctors (played by Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant respectively).

Big Finish also produces the spin-off audio drama series Torchwood, Class, The Diary of River Song, Jenny – The Doctor’s Daughter, The War Doctor Begins, The War Master, UNIT, The Year of Martha Jones, Peladon, The Lone Centurion, The Robots, and The Lost Stories, plus a range of audio novels

Jan Paterson, Director of Books and Audio at BBC Studios, said:.

Our partnership with Big Finish has been going for over 20 years. Over this time the team there has created the most extensive range of original Doctor Who audio dramas and readings, working with the original casts. This renewal of our long-term licence secures our partnership to allow Big Finish to create fantastic new adventures for the Doctors and their friends for many more years.

Jason Haigh-Ellery, Big Finish Chairman and Co-Executive Producer, added:

We are very grateful to the BBC for once again placing their faith in Big Finish and extending our license into another decade – this time up to 2030. This allows us to really plan ahead and create long term story lines and character development not just for the Doctors and the companions but also for new series and elements that we can’t talk about yet! We are excited about the next decade and the adventures we are going to create in the TARDIS for us all to enjoy together.

Nicholas Briggs, Big Finish Creative Director and Co-Executive Producer said:

This rather lovely licence extension from the BBC for us to continue making Doctor Who audio drama until 2030 takes me past my official retirement date — although I have no plans to retire from anything. I look forward to working with Big Finish’s great creative team and our colleagues at BBC Studios for many years to come!

All the above Doctor Who titles and more are available to own from the Big Finish website at www.bigfinish.com

[Alan]

[Alan]

Eve of the Daleks publicity
Thursday, 23 December 2021 - Reported by Chuck Foster

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/1...publicity.html

This year's festive special, Eve of the Daleks, will premiere on BBC One at 7:00pm on New Year's Day.

The BBC's guide to the Christmas line-up reports:

The Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and friends will kick-start 2022 with an action-packed spectacular episode set to air on BBC One on New Year’s Day. The festive special will feature guest stars Aisling Bea (This Way Up, Living With Yourself, Quiz), Adjani Salmon (Dreaming Whilst Black, Enterprice) and Pauline McLynn (Father Ted, Shameless).

Sarah (Aisling Bea) owns and runs ELF storage, and Nick (Adjani Salmon) is a customer who visits his unit every year on New Year’s Eve. This year, however, their night turns out to be a little different than planned…

The festive episode is the first of three Doctor Who Specials airing in 2022. The second Special airs in Spring and Jodie’s final feature-length Special (in where the Thirteenth Doctor will regenerate), will transmit in autumn 2022 as part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations.

Doctor Who is a BBC Studios production for BBC One and a BBC America co-production. BBC Studios are the international distributors for Doctor Who.

Speaking about festive treats in general, the BBC's Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore said:

Christmas 2021 is a time to reunite with friends and family once more, and this year’s line-up of must-see shows will bring everyone together to share the festive season on the BBC. There’s a stocking full of special programmes to enthral and enchant featuring your favourite stars and characters, whatever your mood. The BBC is the place to be entertained this Christmas and New Year.

Focussing on the show itself, the BBC have released a number of interviews with the cast and crew:

(CONTINUED BELOW)

[Alan]

(Part II (continued from above))

Inteview with Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor):

What can audiences expect from Eve Of The Daleks?
I think the festive special is a wonderful high octane contained story, so if you haven’t seen the series, including the Flux, you can start this episode and be taken on a rollercoaster through a scenario where the Doctor, Yaz and Dan are stuck in a time loop. Not only are they stuck in a time loop, they’re being pursued by the Doctor’s biggest enemy, which is the Daleks. For the Doctor it is her worst scenario.

This is all set on New Year’s Eve and we’ve two fantastic guest stars, Aisling Bea and Adjani Salmon who are not only hilarious but also wonderful actors that provide so much energy and brilliant chemistry. Audiences can expect lots of comedy, lots of fun, high stakes, huge amounts of jeopardy and an energised rollercoaster ride.

Can you introduce us to Sarah and Nick? How was it working with Aisling Bea and Adjani Salmon?
In the New Year’s Day special we were really lucky to work with Adjani Salmon and Aisling Bea. I had met Aisling before - and had never met Adjani - so I knew how lovely Aisling was going to be and how hilarious she is! My first introduction to Adjani was when we did the read through on Zoom and he was absolutely hilarious and I couldn’t wait for his energy and Aisling’s energy, they’re so different and they complement each other so well. Because they’re both from a world of comedy which I’m not from or Mandip’s not from (but obviously John is!) it was like comedy gold dust just being on set with them, they were making us laugh the whole time. What they brought to the characters and what they brought to the episode was really fun, a lot of high energy, a lot of farce, high stakes in this very groundhog, Russian Doll environment.

What was it like filming this time loop story from an actor’s perspective?
From the actor’s perspective, filming a repetitive moment or the replaying of the same moment in time – the Groundhog Day sequences where we exit the TARDIS and you realise that time is playing a loop - it’s actually really fun to shoot because you end up shooting really quick. So because you set it up, you’re covering so many moments that it’s only slightly different. It’s a little bit tricky sometimes because it all does turn into one in your head and then you’ll turn a corner and realise you’re shooting a different moment and it’s unexpected.

I have to say being on set the episode feels like it’s going at a million miles an hour even though you’re hitting the same moment every time, so I found that fascinating. It was brilliant because it’s contained, it’s in one location, there’s a real brilliant use of comedy with the Daleks as well which was really interesting to do. But also there was just five of us the entire time and that was so much fun.

What was it like filming the scenes where you’re exterminated?
When I read this episode for the first time and in one of the opening moments get exterminated I genuinely thought, “Somebody has decided to write me out a bit sooner than I thought!” It’s brilliant to play because the first time, for the Doctor, it’s as if you’re grasping at those seconds and that realisation that it could be your last moment. And for you to be killed by a Dalek would be so horrendous! But then once you realise you’re in this time loop the anticipation of the pain and the fun that can be had with that... it’s the first time in my career I’ve died so many times in an episode, there’s always a first!

What makes the Daleks so frightening?
What makes a Dalek so frightening is no matter how many times you think you’ve defeated them they always come back. And it’s that never-ending game of tennis, terrifying tennis.

How has the Doctor and Yaz’s relationship developed since they first met each other?
I think what’s been great is the amount of time that’s played out, I think obviously (our) first season was in real time... but with season twelve and season thirteen what happens is we have these elongated gaps between seasons and the time spent away, like the months that the Doctor’s in prison. In this season, there’s the time where Yaz has absolutely no idea if she’s going to see the Doctor again.

So the Doctor has given Yaz a hologram of information and Yaz continually plays it as her one connection to the Doctor when they’re parted in time. I think what’s brilliant is that these two, have had out of everyone - for my Doctor - the most amount of time together. And so it grows from Yaz’s perspective from somebody who is finding her feet to leading and confidence. What the Doctor loves is seeing Yaz’s independence and confidence grow, but she never falters in always being there for the Doctor and vice versa as well.


Interview with Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan):

What can audiences expect from the New Year’s Day special?
The New Year’s special is a standalone episode so it’s a really easy access point for anyone that perhaps didn’t watch the series or has never watched Doctor Who. It’s full of adventure, there’s a lot at stake, particularly for the Doctor but it’s also the funniest episode we’ve done. There’s lots of humour, there’s lots of warmth, romance, and then there’s this really cool storyline in which the gang are stuck in a time loop against the Daleks and unless they break the time loop it’s not going to look good for them.

It’s a really nice, essentially easy watch but not because there is a lot at stake but at the same time, having come off the back of Flux which has been quite an intense series, it’s a little bit different for people.

We’ve got Aisling Bea and Adjani Salmon joining the cast for this one. What it was like working with them and can you tell us anything about their characters?
For this episode we worked with Aisling Bea and Adjani Salmon. We had a really good time. Essentially it was just me, Jodie, John, Aisling and Adjani together for a couple of weeks in the same set as it’s we’re stuck in a time loop. We just had such fun. There was a time where Jodie, Aisling and I really convinced ourselves that it would be a good idea to do a music video because there was a big silver gate and it reminded us of Girls Aloud’s ‘Sound of the Underground’.

We practiced it, then we had to go to set, then we practiced it again and in my head I really thought Adjani was actually our tour manager. John kept going in and out and I think we said he could be the director but really we knew we didn’t need direction! In my head we were really going to do this music video and then it didn’t happen. Aisling was a bit like the director, she gave us our lines. I was like, “Can I be Kimberley because she’s really northern?” and she let me do that bit which was really nice of her!

How are the central trio managing off the back of Flux?
The trio have been through a lot, and they’ve been separated for quite a long time. Weirdly we sort of forget about the emotional turmoil that we’ve all been through, to some degree. What happens in this world is you get thrown into another challenge and adventure, you meet new people, and you dust yourself off and you’re back in it again.

There’s no time to sort of reflect on everything that has gone on. However, we do, I’ve been on a really long journey with Dan in which he’s seen things and emotions, a side to me he probably wouldn’t have seen if we hadn’t been separated from the Doctor. He starts to question my actions, he makes me think about my actions and my feelings so we do remember to a degree what we’ve been through and what happened when we were separated so we do touch upon that, we don’t just forget about the distance and the years that we spent apart. At the same time, they are just thrown into a new adventure and they don’t have time to think about the gravitas of the Flux at that point.

How was it working with the Daleks this time around and what makes them so fun as a villain?
The Daleks have been around quite a few times since I’ve been in Doctor Who but every time you become more familiar with them. In the beginning I didn’t really speak to the actors and questioned whether there was anyone in there, but we’ve become so familiar with the actors playing the Daleks that we have chats in between scenes. John was like, “Can I get in?” and I was like, “He’s so brave, I’ve been here for years, and I’ve not asked to get in, but I wish I was more that person!”

They’re just brilliant aren’t they? They don’t look like the scariest of creatures but they are so dangerous, so I can only assume that’s why people like them. Every time they come in they create chaos and turmoil, sometimes we beat them and sometimes we haven’t. I’m not saying audience want us to be exterminated, perhaps they do, but I just think that’s what you tune in for, the trepidation and you know when these things come something is about to go down.

Were there any other stand out moments from filming this special in particular?
It was really fun to be working with Aisling and Adjani. They’re very funny people. It was just us five in this wet tunnel and we get on so well with the crew but you’re in a storage unit, there’s only so much space and they’ve got shelves up. Aisling created these characters from my life and played them for me, just for me, it was like having a one woman show every time we cut camera.

We’d be acting, then we’d cut and I’d turn around to Aisling every time we cut and ask “what else have you got for me then?” and she’d turn it on, start doing this performance, I’d be laughing my head off thinking “how has she thought of this, where has this come from, how does she have so much energy?” And then at action we’d go again and then at cut I’d basically look for her to entertain me the whole time!

This episode is all about time loops. If you could go back in time and relive any one event in your life, what would it be?
That’s a very deep question. I’m thinking “could I go back and do something better?” The answer is probably no. We went to Canada as a family when I was 7 or 8 and you have those performances where someone gets up and starts performing and I for some reason said I’d be Elvis Presley, and I absolutely loved it. I was in my element and my family thought it was the best thing that ever happened. They were cheering me on. There was no other audience, just my family, and I remember thinking “I am absolutely brilliant!” For me if I could go back and relive that moment, those are the moments where I probably realised I loved performing. I had a guitar and everything. Very random because I definitely wasn’t listening to his music.

What would Yaz’s New Year’s resolution be at this point in the story?
I think Yaz’s New Year’s resolution at this point should be to talk about her emotions a little bit more with people in the TARDIS and people back in Sheffield. She’s a very emotionally intelligent character and she always bangs on to the Doctor to talk about what she went through and open up but all the while she’s been hiding this turmoil she went through when she was younger. She’s got mixed emotions and is toying with things at the time of this episode and yet really when someone confronts her, she doesn’t answer so I think I’d say to Yaz to take her own advice.

What will your own resolution be, do you believe in them?
I think resolutions are brilliant. It doesn’t matter if you don’t stick to them. Also, I tend to make resolutions throughout the year. I think it’s really nice to give yourself a goal because prior to me giving myself goals, I used to say I have no willpower and I have to eat all the cakes and cookies I see! I’m going to make a resolution I think, I don’t know what it is but it’s definitely going to be along the lines of exercise or something. Make time to move, even if it’s just to walk. I’m always too busy but this year I’m actually going to do it as a New Year’s resolution and see how long it goes.

(CONTINUED BELOW)