Though this season of Doctor Who isn’t over for several weeks, there are three episodes left to go – there’s been much discussion over when the next run of the classic BBC sf show will begin. After all, for one of the Beeb’s most popular shows, its scheduling has been nothing less than erratic over the last decade.
While there’s no official date for broadcast – and likely wouldn’t be for a considerable time yet – a panel at this weekend’s Gallifrey One convention in Los Angeles, seems to have the production crew revealing a September start for the filming. Given the lengthy turnaround for each season (often close to eleven/twelve months – the current run began shooting in the first few months of 2019) it would seem to confirm that the very earliest we’ll see the next series would be in the Autumn/Fall of 2021… essentially fitting in to the rumoured pattern of one series every eighteen months, rather than every twelve.
At this point the number of episodes (one rumour indicated a number of specials rather than a ‘series’) or who will be returning (other than Jodie Whittaker and show-runner Chris Chibnall) remains unclear. Both Mandip Gill (who plays Yasmin Khan) and Tosin Cole ( who plays Ryan Sinclair) are apparently already lining up other roles for later this year, though a later start might mean they would still be available.
One thing we do know is that a ‘special’ was filmed as part of the shooting block for the current series – with the return of the daleks – and that is expected to be a holiday special scheduled for either Christmas or New Year.
