Series 7 (Doctor Who)

Series 7 of Doctor Who, sometimes known as Season 33 to avoid confusion with the original Season 7, will air on BBC One between 2012 and 2013. Like Series 6, it will be split into two parts. The BBC first announced the new series, which will contain fourteen episodes, on the official Doctor Who site on 8 June 2011.

Series 7 began its run on 1 September 2012 with five regular, stand-alone episodes and a Christmas Special. These will 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 played Amy Pond, returned for the series, as did Arthur Darvill as Amy's husband Rory Williams. This series saw their departure in episode five, which also featured Alex Kingston reprising her role as River Song.

A new companion portrayed by Jenna-Louise Coleman will be introduced in the 2012 Christmas special.

Primary cast

 * The Eleventh Doctor - Matt Smith

Secondary cast

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

Guest cast

 * Madge Arwell - Claire Skinner
 * Droxil - Bill Bailey
 * Reg Arwell - Alexander Armstrong
 * Billis - Arabella Weir
 * Queen Nefertiti - Riann Steele
 * Brian Williams - Mark Williams
 * Solomon - David Bradley
 * John Riddell - Rupert Graves
 * Kahler-Jex - Adrian Scarborough
 * The Gunslinger - Andrew Brooke
 * Isaac - Ben Browder
 * Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
 * Shakri - Steven Berkoff
 * River Song - Alex Kingston
 * King Henry VIII - Stephen Blything
 * Jenny - Catrin Stewart
 * Madame Vastra - Neve McIntosh
 * Strax - Dan Starkey
 * Edmund - Brendan Patricks
 * TBA - Ruthie Henshall
 * TBA - David Warner
 * TBA - Liam Cunningham
 * TBA - Dougray Scott
 * TBA - Jessica Raine
 * TBA - Diana Rigg
 * TBA - Rachael Stirling
 * TBA - Richard E. Grant
 * TBA - Tom Ward
 * TBA - Warwick Davies
 * TBA - Tamzin Outhwaite
 * TBA - Jason Watkins

Casting notes

 * Steven Moffat has stated that we will not learn anything about the new companion until "Christmas".
 * John Simm has denied rumours that he is returning for the series.

Producers
Before the airing of Series 7, it was announced that both Beth Willis and Piers Wenger would step down as executive producers. Willis' last credit was on The Wedding of River Song; however, Piers Wenger stayed for one episode longer, and produced The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.

A new executive producer named Caroline Skinner joined Steven Moffat to produce The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe onwards.

Writers
Head writer Steven Moffat will write six episodes. Three of these are The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, Asylum of the Daleks and The Angels Take Manhattan. He will also write the 2012 Christmas special along with two other episodes.

Chris Chibnall and Toby Whithouse, who had both written episodes for multiple previous series of Doctor Who, returned to contribute scripts for the Autumn run. Chibnall wrote episodes two and four, while Whithouse wrote episode three.

Fantasy author Neil Gaiman (who previously wrote The Doctor's Wife), will write an episode featuring the Cybermen.

Luther creator Neil Cross is set to write an episode for the second half of the series, making his Doctor Who debut.

Directors
Both Nick Hurran and Douglas Mackinnon returned to direct.

New director Farren Blackburn directed the 2011 Christmas special.

Saul Metzstein, another director new to Doctor Who, directed episodes two and three. He will also direct the 2012 Christmas special.

Another new director, Jamie Payne, will direct at least one episode in the second half of the series.

Filming
Filming for series 7 began on 20 February 2012.

Episode three was filmed in Spain.

Filming for episode five saw the crew return to America. This time, they were filming in New York.

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

Episode notes

 * There will be no two-parters in this series.
 * The 2012 Christmas special will air, as usual, on Christmas Day.
 * A prequel to the 2012 Christmas special will be shown during Children in Need. It is said to star Matt Smith and a 'number of familiar faces'. A trailer for the Christmas special will also be shown.

Aliens and enemies

 * Daleks
 * Dalek puppets
 * Dalek Prime Minister
 * Solomon
 * Robot 1 and Robot 2
 * Dinosaurs
 * Silurians
 * Kahler-Tek
 * Kahler-Jex
 * Shakri
 * Weeping Angels

Rumours

 * The new companion will be called Clara.
 * Episode 7 will be titled The Bells of Saint John.
 * Episode 12 will be titled The Crimson Horror.
 * The Ice Warriors will return.
 * In an interview with SFX, Caroline Skinner hinted at the return of the Zygons.