A Letter from the Doctor (series)

A Letter from the Doctor were short, in-universe letters "written" by DWU characters, typically, but not limited to, the Doctor. The stories often (but not always) treated Doctor Who Magazine as an in-universe periodical, showing the characters interact with the meta-fictional magazine.

Beginning in the first issue of Doctor Who Weekly, A Letter from the Doctor remained a recurring feature for the first dozen or so issues, eventually being devolved into an occasional feature thereafter being reserved for celebrating milestones in the publication's history. These original stories were actaully written by Dez Skinn, but he kept it a secret to keep the illusion that "the Doctor" had actaully written them. DWM 311 notably features A letter from the Master, putting the Master in the limelight.

More recently, A Letter from the Doctor was revived for the Annual-style publication, the Doctor Who Storybook. Most of the letters to date have been written by the show's producer and lead writer, Russell T Davies, with the exception of the Doctor Who Storybook 2009, when the letter was written by newly appointed showrunner Steven Moffat.

The letter in the Doctor Who Storybook 2010 — written again by Davies — was different in format from the others, appearing to be the transcription of a garbled transmission from the Doctor. It includes snippets of dialogue from Tenth Doctor television episodes going back to the incarnation's very first words. Because of this format, it was believed the first words of the letter, "Don't forget me", might have been the last words of the Tenth Doctor in The End of Time; instead, these were his final words to Sarah Jane Smith in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.

Since then, A Letter from the Doctor has made occasional reappearances in DWM.