List of BBC Blu-ray releases

The following is a list of Blu-ray disc releases by the BBC, broken down by year of release. It includes the catalogue number for each release, as used on the UK version of each Blu-ray Disc (BD).

While the BD format is primarily designed for content produced to high definition standards, upscaled standard definition content can also be distrubed using this medium. By taking advantage of the larger disk sizes and bitrates available, the overall picture and audio quality of such an upscale is usually better than DVD.

Spinoff series Torchwood was one of the first BBC productions to be produced and broadcast to HD television standards (1080i50 in the UK) in 2006, and has been released on BD since 2008. The BD releases for first and second series were significantly later than their corresponding DVD releases.

The first series of Torchwood was also released at the same time in 2008 on HD DVD, a rival format to Blu-ray. At this time, the HD format war was already drawing to a close, and as a result there were no further Doctor Who franchise releases on the failed format.

Doctor Who has been released on BD since 2009. Planet of the Dead was the first Doctor Who episode to be produced and broadcast in HD, and thus it became the first Doctor Who BD release. The entirety of BBC Wales-era Doctor Who (save the animated specials) has since been made available on Blu-ray, with the first four series upscaled from their original standard definition masters.

As for classic-era Doctor Who, the only stories that can be released in this medium with a true 1080p transfer are Spearhead from Space, and the version of Shada compiled in 2017. Both of these stories were affected by studio technician strikes, meaning that only the on-location scenes (recorded using a film camera) were shot. The entirety of Spearhead from Space was shot on location to produce a completed story, while Shada was abandoned (and completed in 2017 using animation). The 16mm film negatives from these shoots were re-scanned especially for their high definition BD releases.

Other classic series stories have been released on BD as upscales of their original standard definition recordings. On-location footage for these upscaled stories have not been re-scanned.

Where serials have been entirely or partially recreated through animation, such as The Power of the Daleks (entire serial missing) and Shada (the unshot studio scenes), the animation has been rendered at 1080p.

The Sarah Jane Adventures was produced and broadcast in HD from its third series onwards, though only the fourth and fifth series have been released on BD. The short-lived Class was also released on this format.

The Day of the Doctor was shot using 3D cameras, and produced in 3D for cinema release. The standalone BD release of this story includes both the 3D and 2D versions on a single disc, and is compatible with both 3D and 2D BD players. A standalone version of Dark Water / Death in Heaven was also released in this way, though the story was shot in 2D and converted to 3D in post-production.

BD has also become the medium for Ultra high definition (UHD) content, taking advantage of even higher capacity discs to fit video that has four-times the resolution of standard HD content. UHD video also has additional features such as High Dynamic Range (HDR), and requires a compatible UHD BD player to be able to read the discs. The first UHD Doctor Who release was Twice Upon a Time in 2018.

2010
A limited edition Steelbook of Doctor Who - The Complete Fifth Series (BBCBD0130), with three exclusive art cards, was released alongside the regular release.

2011
The first and second series of Torchwood were repackaged (BBCBD0198 and BBCBD0199 respectively) with standard Blu-ray cases as part of the Torchwood - Series 1-4 box set. The original releases of these series used cardboard 'Digipak' packaging.

The Complete Sixth Series was also released as a limited edition (BBCBD0193) featuring a raised Silent head slip case and four 3-D art cards, alongside the regular release.

2012
The Series Seven Part One box set was also released in a limited edition Weeping Angel case (BBCBD???), with an exclusive documentary, The Science of Doctor Who, alongside the regular release. In the UK, both versions included a redeemable Ultraviolet copy of the first five episodes of the series.

2013
In the UK, the Series Seven Part Two box set included a redeemable Ultraviolet copy of the last nine episodes of the series.

The Complete Series Seven box set was released as a limited edition book case with a raised TARDIS cover (BBCBD0251) alongside the regular release. In the UK, both versions included a redeemable Ultraviolet copy of all episodes in the series.

A Steelbook version of Spearhead from Space (BBCBD0344) was released in 2016.

Steelbook versions of the Complete Series One (BBCBD0343) and Complete Series Two (BBCBD0393) were released in 2017, followed by Complete Series Three (BBCBD0436) in 2018.

2014
The Complete Series Eight was also released as a special edition (BBCBD0289) with a foil embellished slipcase and a button press sound chip containing the TARDIS dematerialisation sound effect, and four art cards, alongside the regular release.

2016
The Complete Series Nine was also released as a Steelbook edition (BBCBD0357).

2017
Shada (BBCBD0431) and the Complete Series 10 (BBCBD421) were also released as a Steelbook editions.

Blu-ray covers

 * The covers for all BBC Blu-ray releases include Doctor Who Blu-ray covers, SJA Blu-ray covers and Torchwood Blu-ray covers.