Series 7 (Doctor Who)

Series 7 of Doctor Who will air on BBC One throughout 2012 and 2013 and like the series before, it will be split into two parts. The BBC announced the news of the new series, which will contain fourteen episodes, on the official Doctor Who site on 8 June 2011

Series 7 will begin its run in the Autumn of 2012 with five regular stand-alone episodes and a Christmas Special. It will then be followed by the remaining eight episodes in 2013.

Cast
It has been announced that the Eleventh Doctor, played by Matt Smith will return for the full series. Karen Gillan, who plays Amy Pond, will return for the series, as will Arthur Darvill as Amy's husband Rory Williams. This series will see their departure in episode five.

A new companion portrayed by Jenna-Louise Coleman will be introduced in the Christmas Special.

Primary cast

 * The Eleventh Doctor - Matt Smith

Secondary cast

 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
 * TBA - Jenna-Louise Coleman

Guest cast

 * Madge Arwell - Claire Skinner
 * Droxil - Bill Bailey
 * Reg Arwell - Alexander Armstrong
 * Billis - Arabella Weir
 * Walter - Rob Cavazos
 * Kahlet Jex - Adrian Scarborough
 * Kahler-Mas - Dominic Kemp
 * Brian Williams - Mark Williams
 * The Reckoner - Andrew Brooke
 * TBA - Ben Browder
 * TBA - David Bradley
 * TBA - Rupert Graves
 * TBA - Garrick Hagon

Producers
It has been announced that Beth Willis will step down as executive producer, as will Piers Wenger. However, Piers Wenger produced The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.

A new executive producer named Caroline Skinner will join Steven Moffat. She will produce The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe onwards.

Writers
Steven Moffat, head writer, will be writing five episodes. One of these is the The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe. Torchwood writer John Fay will be writing an episode. Mark Gatiss will return to write an episode. He has already written four Doctor Who stories, including two for the Eleventh Doctor, Victory of the Daleks and Night Terrors. Chris Chibnall and Toby Whithouse, who have both already written Doctor Who episodes are also returning. They will each write one episode. Chris is to write episode episode two. Toby will be writing episode three.

Directors
New director Farren Blackburn, directed the 2011 Christmas special. Saul Metzstein, another director new to Doctor Who, will direct episodes two and three. Nick Hurran will return to direct.

Filming
Filming for series 7 began on 20 February 2012. Filming for 2012 Christmas Special, which will see the appearance of the new companion, will begin in May.

Episode three will be filmed in Spain.

Filming for episode five will see the crew return to America. This time, they will be filming in New York.

Television stories
The BBC have announced that Series 7 will consist of fourteen episodes, starting with the 2011 Christmas special.

Spring 2013
The remaining eight episodes of Series 7 will air during spring 2013.

Episode notes

 * There will be no two-parters in this series.
 * Episode three will have a Wild West theme.

Aliens and enemies

 * The Daleks and The Weeping Angels will return in the first half of the series.

Rumours

 * Mark Williams may play Rory's father.
 * In an interview with SFX, Caroline Skinner hinted at the return of the Zygons.
 * The Sun have reported that episode three will be set in a "Victorian-era western town" and feature a "half-human half-robot Terminator-style beast"