Posted in: BBC, Current News, Disney+, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: ai, artificial intelligence, bbc, disney plus, doctor who

Doctor Who Gets AI Promo Work: BBC Has "No Plans to Do This Again"

Though utilizing it recently to promote the long-running show, BBC says that it will no longer use AI to promote Doctor Who moving forward.

Okay, just to be clear? Just because we're excited about Showrunner Russell T. Davies and series stars Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor) & Millie Gibson's (Ruby Sunday) first series of new Doctor Who adventures taking off this May doesn't mean we thought it was going to be a smooth ride getting there. Sure, we had the not-so-surprising good news that Steven Moffat was returning to pen an episode (maybe more?), and let's not forget those trailers – proving that RTD definitely knows how to spend Disney's money. Speaking of Disney… yeah, that whole thing where Disney+ is getting the prime return time over BBC viewers still isn't sitting too well – and it wasn't made any better by the fact that The Mouse's streamer got to drop the trailer an hour before the BBC dropped their trailer.

And now, the BBC is looking to clean up some controversy regarding its use of AI (artificial intelligence) to draft promotional materials (like emails & mobile notifications) for the long-running show. "We followed all BBC editorial compliance processes, and the final text was verified and signed off by a member of the marketing team before it was sent," the BBC shared in a statement. "We have no plans to do this again to promote 'Doctor Who.'" It's not clear how many direct complaints the BBC received, but social media wasn't too thrilled as the rumblings surrounding the matter grew louder.

We've got an upcoming season that runs from the groovy '60s and the Regency era in England to war-torn futures – and a whole lot more! Along with a first look at Indira Varma's (Game of Thrones) The Duchess and the news that Callie Cooke (Henpocalypse!) is making an appearance, we were also treated to looks at Anita Dobson, Yasmin Finney, Michelle Greenidge, Bonnie Langford, Jinkx Monsoon, Jemma Redgrave, Lenny Rush, and Angela Wynter – and maybe a surprise or two? Here's another look at the trailer, with Gatwa offering his thoughts on what hit our screens on Friday:

On Friday, May 10th, Disney+ subscribers can check out the first two episodes beginning at 7 pm ET. Following that, two episodes will premiere on BBC iPlayer at 00:00 on Saturday, May 11th – with the first two episodes airing on BBC One later that day (right before the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final). Now, here's a look back at the teaser trailer that was released on Christmas Day & the date announcement teaser released last week for Season 1:

Doctor Who: Looking Ahead to Season 1 & Season 2

A big update on Christmas Day, with the official teaser & press release for Season 1 confirming Yasmin Finney returning as Rose Noble. Along with Jemma Redgrave (Kate Lethbridge-Stewart), Aneurin Barnard (Roger ap Gwilliam), and Jack Forsyth-Noble (Will), Doctor Who Magazine #589 also confirmed that Bhav Joshi (Wedding Season), Eilidh Loan (Traces), Pete MacHale (Gangs of London), Miles Yekinni (Slow Horses), and Hemi Yeroham (Mamma Mia!) have joined the cast for the new series. In addition, Jinkx Monsoon (RuPaul's Drag Race) was also confirmed to have joined the cast – followed by Jonathan Groff (Glee, Mindhunter) and Indira Varma (Obsession, Game of Thrones) – as The Duchess – in May 2023.

Bonnie Langford was confirmed to be returning as Melanie Bush in June 2023, along with Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable) as Morris. In early August 2023, we also learned that Gemma Arrowsmith (Gemma Arrowsmith Sketched Out) and Mary Malone (Vera, The Prince) had joined the Christmas Special – while Majid Mehdizadeh-Valoujerdy (Hollyoaks) and Billy Brayshaw (Still So Awkward) had joined the Series 14 cast. In November 2023, we also learned that Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls, Bridgerton) was set to guest star in the 2024 Christmas Special. In February 2024, we also learned that Genesis Lysea (Shadow & Bone, A Discovery of Witness) and Gwïon Morris Jones (The Winter King) were on board. On the writing side, we learned late last month that Kate Herron (Loki, Sex Education) & Briony Redman (Pont Brec) had co-written the episode that Groff and Varma are starring in during the upcoming series.

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