Series 10 (Doctor Who)

The first confirmation of plans for Series 10 of Doctor Who were revealed in the BBC Worldwide Annual Review on 14 July 2015: "During the year matters under review included ... investments in The Musketeers S3 and Doctor Who S10." On 6 November 2015, in interview with the Radio Times, Steven Moffat elaborated: "We're making a full series. I can confirm that I am making a full series of 12 episodes, plus a Christmas special. I don't know when it goes out. That is up to someone else." This series will be the last for both Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor, and Steven Moffat as head writer and executive producer of the show.

Fathom Events hosted special screenings of the premiere of series 10, on 17 and 19 April 2017, throughout the US only. The theatrical release of The Pilot also included a screening of the first episode of Class, For Tonight We Might Die.

Moffat also said that "Peter Capaldi is going nowhere". On 23 April 2016, it was announced via a short trailer titled "Friend From the Future" that the Doctor's new companion will be "Bill", played by Pearl Mackie. Mackie described her character as "wicked" and "cool, strong, sharp, a little bit vulnerable with a bit of geekiness thrown in".

Only a Christmas special aired in all of 2016, with the rest of the series beginning broadcast starting in April 2017. With this tenth series marking the end of Moffat's show runner tenure, Chris Chibnall has been chosen to take on the role following his exit.

Moffat confirmed an extra episode to the Daily Record on 4 February 2016: "I have fourteen Doctor Whos and three Sherlock films." Later on 7 October 2016, Moffat re-confirmed the Christmas special for 2017 at New York Comic Con, saying: "I've got so much more time left on 'Doctor Who', I'm not just doing this Christmas, I'm doing next Christmas as well." He told that he plans to sit down with Chibnall and "figure out where he wants it parked and how to get it there" and says, "But to be honest, it's a very short conversation, I've had it before with Russell saying, 'Could you crash the TARDIS?' And that was it, really."

In May 2016 at a convention, Michelle Gomez confirmed she would be returning as in series 10.

In an interview with BBC Newsbeat on 6 September 2016, Steven Moffat revealed about the 2016 Christmas special: "We've just started working on the Christmas episode", further revealing that "It's got a lot of heart, but it's got a lot of brain too. Figure that one out."

On 12 September 2016, Mark Gatiss told the audience at a Victoria & Albert Museum members' talk, "I think the Christmas special... which is the only one this year...I think is one of Steve[n Moffat]'s best ever scripts, absolutely beautiful." and "It made me cry.".

Speaking at New York Comic Con on 7 October 2016, Steven Moffat told that series 10 would feel completely new, like episode 1 of series 1, saying: "The tone is very different. The last series with Clara — that relationship had got tortured and dark and went to odd places. It was one of my favourite series to work on, I was delighted with it. But it had become darker. It just had. That's where we were in that relationship. If I gave you one tone word for this series it's 'new'. It's brand new. You're getting to see the Doctor all over again through a very different pair of eyes. In fact, we went to particular pains to make sure that episode one is really episode one. It could be the first episode you ever see. It explains the entire mythos of Doctor Who — in the two minutes it takes — and you can start there. Brand new is the tone."

On joining the Doctor Who team for The Return of Doctor Mysterio, Justin Chatwin said: "Working with the amazing people at Doctor Who has been one of the most fun and rewarding projects I've ever had the pleasure of being involved with.", Moffat also said: "I've always loved superheroes and this Christmas Doctor Who dives into that world. My favourite superhero is Clark Kent. Not Superman, Clark Kent."

On October 17, 2016, Michelle Gomez confirmed to The Music that she will return as in series 10, saying: "Weirdly, this is the sort of crunch week where I get to find out exactly what I'm going to be doing next", and added: "I can officially say that I will be starting back on Doctor Who soon, so that's one thing." She then told: "I am an actor for hire, so if I'm free and it seems like the right thing to do at the time I'd grab it with both hands."

Steven Moffat suggested that fans shouldn't expect a multi-Doctor story in the near future, saying: "We can't do it all the time. Not in my time on the show will that happen again, I wouldn't think." He then added: "I don't think we're going to do that again until whatever the next anniversary is, the 100th anniversary, which I've already told them I'm not going to do because I'm planning on having been dead for a while!"

The Return of Doctor Mysterio was previously rumoured to be a sequel to The Husbands of River Song. This turned out to be largely true, with the return of the Shoal of the Winter Harmony, Nardole, and mentions of Hydroflax, River Song, and the Doctor's 24 years spent with her.

On 30 January 2017, Peter Capaldi announced on BBC Radio 2 that series 10 and the 2017 Christmas special would be his last, remarking that "[he feels] it's time to move on". It was also revealed that the series would begin on 15 April 2017. However, Steven Moffat revealed that Capaldi "came close" to staying for series 11. On 23 March 2017, Capaldi revealed his real reason for leaving was to keep the show fresh and even though part of him wanted to stay while he also wanted different challenges.

Due to lots of fans debating back and forth about the possibility of a female incarnation of the Doctor, with the subject having been given mixed reactions, upcoming showrunner Chris Chibnall told East Anglian Daily Times that: "I can honestly say that nothing has yet been decided, I haven't got my feet under the table yet. I have been working on the play (new comedy Worst Wedding Ever) and I am still finishing the latest series of Broadchurch. Nothing is ruled out but I don't want the casting to be a gimmick and that's all I can say."

While episode 8 writer Toby Whithouse initially referred to episodes 6, 7 and 8 as a three-parter, with Whithouse specifying to Digital Spy that episode 8 was "the third part of a three-parter", Steven Moffat denied this in the June 2017 issue of Doctor Who Magazine, saying that he would "not call [episodes 5-8] a four-parter, or even [episodes 6, 7 and 8] a three-parter, because they're not, really. They're all still separate stories. But I thought we'd have a nice 'To Be Continued' run in the middle of the series..." Whithouse again referred to episode 8 as "the third part of this three-parter" in DWM's July 2017 issue. Additionally, in a video introduction for episode 8, actor Pearl Mackie called episode 8 "the last in the trilogy of the Monks and their evil plan".

Just as Steven Moffat wrote the Eleventh Doctor's introductory scene in The End of Time: Part 2, Chibnall will be writing the first appearance of the Thirteenth Doctor in the 2017 Christmas special.

Bill Potts has been widely reported as the first openly gay companion (despite the precedent set by Jack Harkness being omnisexual), with Pearl Mackie saying that "it shouldn't be a big deal in the 21st century. It's about time isn't it?" and that "that representation is important, especially on a mainstream show."

For the first time ever in the medium of television, there will be a multi-Master story, with John Simm returning as alongside Michelle Gomez's Missy. Simm said of his return that "I can confirm that it's true, thanks to the power of time travel I'm back." His return was originally to be a secret, but Moffat said of the reveal (first given on The Sun) that "Nothing stays secret for long on Doctor Who but you'll have to wait a little bit longer to see exactly what the Master is up to and how he makes his return to face the Doctor."

A new show called Whovians will air on Sundays on ABC2 and iView after the weekly screening of series 10.

The fourth episode of series 10, Knock Knock, was the first episode of the franchise to receive a 3D surround sound effect on BBC iPlayer, allowing the viewers to experience the story all around them.

Michelle Gomez has revealed that she will be stepping down from the role as at the end of the series, having said "it's the end of a chapter."

Recurring

 * The Twelfth Doctor - Peter Capaldi
 * Bill Potts - Pearl Mackie
 * Nardole - Matt Lucas
 * - Michelle Gomez
 * - John Simm
 * Moira - Jennifer Hennessy

Guest

 * Grant Gordon/The Ghost - Justin Chatwin
 * Lucy Fletcher - Charity Wakefield
 * Mr Brock - Tomiwa Edun
 * Dr Sim - Aleksandar Jovanovic
 * Young Grant Gordon - Logan Hoffman
 * The Landlord - David Suchet
 * Heather - Stephanie Hyam
 * Kezzia - Kiran L Dadlani
 * Goodthing - Mina Anwar
 * Steadfast - Ralf Little
 * Nate - Kalungi Ssebandeke
 * Sutcliffe - Nicholas Burns
 * Kitty - Asiatu Koroma
 * Pie-Man - Peter Singh
 * Overseer - Simon Ludders
 * Dowell - Tomi May
 * Spider - Austin Taylor
 * Dot - Ellie Shenker
 * Harriet - Kishaina Thiruselvan
 * Perry - Badger Skelton
 * Ivan - Kieran Bew
 * Tasker - Justin Salinger
 * Dahh-Ren - Peter Caulfield
 * Abby - Mimi Ndiweni
 * TBA - Fady Elsayed
 * TBA - Rebecca Benson
 * TBA - Daniel Kerr
 * TBA - Samantha Spiro
 * TBA - Juwon Adedokun
 * TBA - Brian Vernel
 * TBA - Ben Hunter
 * TBA - Aaron Phagura
 * TBA - Sam Adewunmi
 * TBA - Billy Matthews
 * TBA - Karen Brayben
 * Nicolas - Laurent Maurel
 * The Thirteenth Doctor - TBA

Production
The first readthrough began on 14 June 2016, with filming beginning on 20 June.

On 23 August 2016, it was rumoured that filming on series 10 would continue to 31 March 2017. This proved not to be true, as filming wrapped on 7 April 2017.

Producers
to be added

Writers
The Radio Times reported Mark Gatiss was writing an episode for series 10, possibly a sequel to his series 9 episode, Sleep No More. On 4 June 2016, Gatiss himself confirmed that he was writing an episode. However, on 6 December, Gatiss told on Twitter, due to recent edits of fake titles (among them, "The Sandmen Return"), that he has not made a sequel to his 2015 episode. According to Doctor Who Magazine, this was the ninth episode in the series.

On 30 November 2015, Steven Moffat revealed Jamie Mathieson had "just been in and pitched a brilliant idea, a brilliant new monster." On 16 November 2016, the BBC revealed that Mathieson wrote episode 5.

While Digital Spy reported on 17 December 2015 that two new writers would join series 10, the only new writer revealed from Steven Moffat's final list in Doctor Who Magazine was Mike Bartlett.

On 14 June 2016, the BBC announced details of the first and second episodes, revealing that they would be written by Steven Moffat and Frank Cottrell-Boyce respectively. The release also revealed two further writers for the tenth series: Sarah Dollard and Mike Bartlett. According to Doctor Who Magazine, Dollard wrote episode 3.

On 9 October 2016, it was announced by Steven Moffat that a writer of the classic series would be contributing a script for series 10. On 16 November 2016, it was revealed that Rona Munro, known for work in Survival would be writing the ninth episode of series 10, called The Eaters of Light. This was later moved to episode 10. This marks the first time a writer of the original series will contribute to the revived series. Munro told Doctor Who Magazine that: "Writing Survival was my dream job, but it was a mournful time in the show's history. This has been a very different experience. There's more of everything; people, resources, confidence, success… but the same constantly renewing and indefinable wonder that is Doctor Who," and added, "When I was very small and watching the First Doctor, I had a special cushion known as 'Rona's Doctor Whocushion'. I would hide my face in it when the Daleks or other monsters appeared on screen! The Eaters of Light is my version of other stories that have haunted me for almost as long."

On 8 October 2016, it was announced that Mike Bartlett, known for his work on Doctor Foster, wrote an episode called The Haunted Hub. By the time DWM 511 went to print, the episode was known as Knock Knock and was the fourth episode in the series.

According to the March 2017 issue of Doctor Who Magazine, Steven Moffat wrote episodes 6, 11, and 12, Peter Harness wrote episode 7, and Toby Whithouse wrote episode 8. In the magazine's June 2017 issue, Moffat told Doctor Who Magazine that Moffat wrote the final draft of episode 7 close to filming of the episode's production block.

Directors
In a video posted on his Facebook page, Peter Jackson teased that he might be directing an episode.

On 14 June 2016, the BBC announced that the first episode of the series would be directed by Lawrence Gough.

The March 2017 issue of Doctor Who Magazine listed all the directors apart from those in the final two episodes, which at the time of printing had not yet begun shooting. Lawrence Gough directed episodes 1 and 2, Bill Anderson directed episodes 3 and 4, Charles Palmer directed episodes 5 and 10, Daniel Nettheim directed episodes 6 and 7, and Class director Wayne Yip directed episodes 8 and 9.

On 6 March 2017, Rachel Talalay was announced by the BBC as the director of episodes 11 and 12.

Filming
In 2015, production designer Michael Pickwoad said in an interview on the podcast Radio Free Skaro that work on the new series "won't start until well into the New Year", and that he expected to start filming in May. Peter Capaldi said filming would begin "sometime...next year."

Although originally reported as beginning in May 2016, filming commenced on the 20th of June.

To avoid online leaks, the production team used the codeword "Mean Town", an anagram of "Ten Woman", when talking about Bill, casting director Andy Pryor revealed to the Radio Times. This was a reference to the fact that Bill is the companion of series 10.

The working title of The Pilot was A Star In Her Eye.

In the line-up to the beginning of series 10, a bunch of small videos were released with Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor, in which three of these featured a description that Steven Moffat himself used for the Doctor in 2013.

Episode notes

 * On 25 May 2017, the BBC announced the episode The Pyramid at the End of the World experienced a censorship in the form of having a line removed, about terrorism. This is in the wake of the preceding Monday's terrorist bombing in a Manchester arena during an concert.
 * It had previously been believed that there was to be a Casualty crossover and this was speculated to be a Children in Need-special. However it now seems that this was to be part of the episode The Lie of the Land, but was cut from said episode.

Aliens/enemies

 * Shoal of the Winter Harmony
 * Sentient oil
 * Heather (possessed)
 * Movellans
 * Daleks
 * Vardies
 * Emojibots
 * Sea creature
 * Lure fish
 * Lord Sutcliffe
 * The Landlord
 * Dryads
 * Smartsuits
 * Human corpses (controlled)
 * The Monks
 * Ice Warriors
 * Cyberman
 * Cyberman

Rumours

 * The Doctor could face the Valeyard.
 * The Sea Devils could be making a return.
 * Jenna Coleman could be making a cameo appearance as Clara Oswald in the 2017 Christmas special.
 * Osgood may return at some point.
 * The Sycorax and the Axons might return.
 * Pearl Mackie is set to leave the show after just one series due to the change of Doctor and showrunner.
 * Kris Marshall will play the next Doctor.
 * David Bradley will play the First Doctor in the 2017 Christmas special. The Doctors will work together to save Gallifrey by moving it to another dimension. Capaldi's cameo in The Day of the Doctor is the start of the regeneration scene. This sparks the possibility that the rest of the Doctors will also pop up in the special.

DVD / Blu-ray
to be added

Novels

 * The Shining Man
 * Diamond Dogs
 * Plague City

Audiobooks
to be added