2005 (production)


 * January - The BBC was made aware that Christopher Eccleston was not taking part in a second series of Doctor Who. According to a 4 April press release, the BBC agreed not to announce this to the public. It was later revealed that Russell T Davies had hoped to keep the actor's departure secret until the regeneration in The Parting of the Ways was broadcast.
 * 16 February - The very first edit was made on this wiki, then known as "Tardis Index File", curiously three whole months after the wiki's founding.
 * March - Promotion for the upcoming return of Doctor Who to television entered high gear.
 * 1 March - As early reviews of the new Doctor Who series began to appear, IGN Filmforce reported the American cable broadcaster Sci-Fi Channel, considered the most likely US broadcast home for the series, had chosen not to purchase it. Although there was talk of a related cable network, Universal HD, picking up the series, for the time being United States viewers would not be able to see the new series, with the exception of those close enough to Canada to receive the CBC broadcasts, which was now the North American première of the series.
 * 8 March - Big Finish Productions announced it had agreed to a deal with Paul Cornell allowing the company to continue its range of Bernice Summerfield books and audio CDs for the next few years.
 * 9 March - BBC Radio 4's Today ran a feature on the new series.
 * 12 March - Whether by coincidence or design (as the impending change of lead actor was already known behind the scenes), this week's cover of Radio Times featured yet-to-be-announced Tenth Doctor actor David Tennant in a very Doctor-like pose promoting the mini-series Casanova - right next to a headline promoting the return of Doctor Who. This was the first of many Radio Times covers for Tennant over the next few years.
 * 23 March - Billie Piper was interviewed on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1.
 * 25 March - Christopher Eccleston was interviewed on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.
 * 26 March - Radio Times featured Doctor Who on its cover. With the arrival of the new series, the Radio Times began featuring the series on a more frequent basis.
 * 30 March - The BBC announced production would proceed on a second series and a Christmas Special.
 * 30 March - A publicity branch of the BBC prematurely announced Christopher Eccleston would not return for a second series as the Ninth Doctor, citing his desire to not be typecast. This reason was denied immediately by Eccleston and the BBC ultimately retracted it. Ecceleston later stated he left because he disliked the working environment. In his 2008 book The Writer's Tale, Russell T Davies confirmed that Eccleston's departure was intended to be kept secret until the final moments of The Parting of the Ways.
 * 4 April - The BBC retracted part of its 30th March announcement of the departure of Christopher Eccleston, indicating it released the information with incorrect attribution and without the actor's consent.
 * 16 April - David Tennant was officially announced as the Tenth Doctor. At this time Tennant was best known for playing the title role in Casanova, a BBC miniseries written and produced by Russell T Davies. He had also recently filmed a role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was released to theatres the same day his first solo performance as the Doctor was broadcast.
 * 21 April - David Tennant spent "a couple of hours" recording his first scene as the Tenth Doctor on the set of the TARDIS, which would be edited into The Parting of the Ways with Billie Piper. (DWMSE 14)
 * May - The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Canada began airing series 1 of Doctor Who, the first time the CBC had aired Doctor Who since the mid-1960s. For the CBC broadcasts, Christopher Eccleston videotaped special introductions and promotions for a contest sponsored by TV Guide, the first prize being a trip to London to visit the set of Doctor Who. These broadcasts were promoted as the North American debut of the series, as no other broadcaster on the continent had yet picked up the revived series.
 * Following the conclusion of the 2005 Doctor Who series, the BBC announced it had commissioned the franchise's first spin-off series, Torchwood, to debut in 2006 and star John Barrowman reprising his role of Jack Harkness.
 * 18 July - Rehearsals for Block One of Doctor Who series 2 began. (DWMSE 14)
 * 19 July - The read-through for The Christmas Invasion took place. (DWMSE 14)
 * 25 July - The BBC announced that Elisabeth Sladen would return to the role of Sarah Jane Smith for an upcoming episode of the revived Doctor Who's second series.
 * 25 July - The first scenes with David Tennant and Billie Piper together, not including the insert of David into The Parting of the Ways, was recorded. (DWMSE 14)
 * 26 July - The first scene featuring principal actors David Tennant, Billie Piper, Noel Clarke and Camille Coduri together was recorded. (DWMSE 14)
 * 28 - Fight rehearsals between David Tennant and Sean Gilder for The Christmas Invasion began. (DWMSE 14)
 * October-November - Post production company The Mill worked on The Christmas Invasion. (DWMSE 14)
 * 14 November - Music written by Murray Gold for The Christmas Invasion was recorded in a six-hour session with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Ben Foster at Studio 1 of the BBC in Cardiff. (DWMSE 14)
 * 28 November - A final edit of The Christmas Invasion was available for viewing. (DWMSE 14)