Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, Preview, TV | Tagged: bbc, david tennant, doctor who, Ncuti Gatwa, preview, russell t davies

Doctor Who: #WhoSpy Teaser Image: Plans Are Forming (But Whose Plans?)

The BBC's Doctor Who #WhoSpy posted a preview image, teasing with the caption that "Plans are forming..." - but what plans? And whose?

We're now down to only about two months to go until BBC, Disney+, and Showrunner Russell T. Davies prepare for a new era of the long-running series with a three-episode 60th-anniversary special event. And by the time the final credits roll this November, we will have been treated to the return of David Tennant (but as the Fourteenth Doctor?) & Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), and an appearance from our Fifteenth Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa. From there, it's a Christmas Special before Davies, Gatwa, and Millie Gibson (Ruby Sunday) begin a new series of adventures in 2024. With that in mind, it appears the BBC is looking to get into the business of dropping teasers for us to pick over with our magnifying glasses – and they're calling it #WhoSpy. After getting a heads-up last week, #WhoSpy checked in earlier today with the following images – along with the following tease: "Plans are forming…" Is it from the anniversary specials or Series 14? Could those plans signal that someone is trying to figure out how a certain "blue box" can be bigger on the inside? Maybe Gatwa is playing a character who keeps having dreams/visions of boxes? Here's a look – and let us know what you think in the comments section below…

Joining Tennant & Tate for the anniversary episodes are Neil Patrick Harris in a big bad role (The Toymaker/The Celestial Toymaker?) and Yasmin Finney as Rose – the daughter of Donna Noble and Shaun Temple (Karl Collins), with Jacqueline King returning as Sylvia Noble. In addition, Ruth Madeley is set to appear as Shirley Anne Bingham, and Bernard Cribbins is set to posthumously appear, reprising his role as Wilfred Mott. Fans of the comics can expect to see Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors play a major part, and – as if all of that wasn't enough – Ncuti Gatwa is expected to debut as the Fifteenth Doctor. With all three episodes written by Davies, we learned the episode titles during this weekend's Eurovision 2023 broadcast: Special One: "The Star Beast" (directed by Rachel Talalay), Special Two: "Wild Blue Yonder" (directed by Tom Kingsley), and Special Three': "The Giggle" (directed by Chanya Button). Here's a look at the announcement video that was released to confirm the episode titles:

Button, Kingsley & Talalay on Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Episodes

Directors Button, Kingsley & Talalay shared their reactions to first reading Davies's scripts with Doctor Who Magazine. "Each special has a really different flavour. It feels like Russell [T. Davies] flexing his muscles and showing all the different things 'Doctor Who' can do," Kingsley shared – a sentiment shared by all three directors. Here's a look at some of the highlights:

Kingsley Discusses "Absolute Nightmare" Episode, Teases "Aliens" & "The Thing" Comparison: "I opened mine and just tore through it. Even as a reading experience, it was so exciting. But I kind of got to the end of it and thought, 'Well, I pity whoever has to direct that cos it's an absolute nightmare!' I was planning to email my agent the next day and say, "It's amazing, but… no way." But when I woke up the next morning, I was still thinking about it, and I started to figure out: 'Well, how could you actually do this?' Because a lot of my episode is quite weird. Even at the readthrough, Rachel, your episode went down so well, and I was really jealous of you getting to direct it. Because there are so many complicated stage directions in mine, the reaction in the room was a bit like, 'Um, sorry, what?' Which made me think it was going to be a disaster. But of course, when you come to film it, it's actually really cool. It's got a lot of similarities with two of my favourite films, 'Aliens' and 'The Thing.' It's a little bit of the DNA of those mixed in with 'Doctor Who.'"

Talalay Read All Three & Outlines Some Key Differences Between Them: "I read all three, and my first reaction was, 'Wow!' The first one is classic family 'Who.' It's bringing back that world that Russell left [in 2010] with David and Catherine. And then after that, it becomes much more expansive, with Russell really throwing his massive imagination at it while also being thoughtful about setting up the next series.

Talalay's Episode Allowed Director a Chance to Embrace "The Stuff That Scares You": "My episode features lots of people in lots of scenes. There's soldiers, there's battles, and I thought, 'I haven't always succeeded in doing the action stuff, with loads of extras, that well in the past. This is really scary for me.' So I was determined to do that part really, really well. It's all about embracing the stuff that scares you."

Button's Episode "Was Just the Most Expansive Thing" That the Director Has Ever Read: "It was just the most expansive thing I've ever read. Every page I turned, it was a different world and a different idea and a different sort of bonkers and inspiring adventure. It was just the ultimate luxury to read it and go, 'This is a writer at the very peak of his abilities, completely unbound and confident in what he's putting on the page.' Which, as a director, is really empowering. It's challenging, in the most positive way possible, for someone to go: 'Here's a big idea; let's see how you do it.'"

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