Doctor Who Series 9: Even More News

Steven Moffat has been chatting about Doctor Who at a swanky press event in America. Naturally, we were at home with our biscuits at the time. Thankfully, what he said has now filtered down to us through the magic of the internet. Specifically, Moffat was talking about Maisie Williams’ role, which you’ll undoubtedly remember uttering the words ‘what to took you so long, old man?’ in the series 9 trailer. She looked like this…Remember that? Good. Well, now Mr Moffat has spoken out against the rumours that the Game Of Thrones star could be playing a returning face from Doctor Who lore (the Doctor’s daughter, River, Susan and the Rani were naturally among the predictions).“Once you see what she’s up to you’ll appreciate what a clever idea [the role] was,” said Moffat modestly. “It’s a significant role, we’re not just throwing her away. It’s a great part and she’s terrific in it.”He added: “One thing I think is worth saying, because it keeps coming up as an issue, is that she is not playing a returning character. She’s a new character, she’s not a character from the Doctor’s past.” Doctor Who TV

We’ve a few nuggets of Doctor Who series 9 news to share today, all of which pertain to links between the new series and previous Nu-Who adventures.First up, Peter Capaldi has been hinting that we might find out how his Doctor came to appear in The Day Of The Doctor’s climactic scene, where his eyebrows famously debuted. Here’s a refresher…

YouTuber Erik Nagel asked Capaldi about the possibility of linking into this scene directly. Capaldi responded saying “I know stuff that is unfolding in Episode 11 and I know certain things that are happening in Episode 12. I don’t know exactly what’s going on there, but … You’ll have to wait and see!”Um, we did warn you that it was tease… there’s clearly nothing concrete there, but it certainly isn’t a flat-out ‘no’ either.Capaldi has also been openly teasing the possibility that we may return to his former Doctor Who character from Pompeii. “my Roman alter-ego […] he may appear again,” he has recently said , keeping that old rumour bubbling away nicely.Another nugget of news comes from Michelle Gomez, who has hinted at a significant returning location from series 8. She’s referring to the garden from Deep Breath, which also appeared in 2011’s The Girl Who Waited. Are these two locations in the Who-universe linked, then? Or is it merely a coincidence?”Yes, there’s a connection yet to be revealed,” Gomez told Erik Nagel . “Oh, there’s no coincidence in Doctor Who. Everything’s connected, that’s what makes it really spooky in a way.”So, it looks like series 9 could have some hefty links to former Nu-Who adventures. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more.Speaking to Youtuber Yal Tygiel at San Diego Comic-Con, Jenna Coleman revealed that Danny Pink’s demise will have a knock-on effect on series 9. There will ‘absolutely not’ be a new love interest for Clara, she said.She added: “I think what [Danny’s death] has done to Clara is kind of changed her whole perspective on life. She’s no longer got the ties to Earth that she had before. She just wants to be in the TARDIS and just wants to hang out with the Doctor and just wants that to be her world and makes it so.”Asked if Danny would return in any way, Jenna Coleman simply told the reporter to ‘watch it’ and find out.The entire San Diego Comic Con 2015 Doctor Who panel has been made available for those of us who spent SDCC weekend eating biscuits in Dudley instead of taking selfies with Peter Capaldi. Fill your boots below:

An interesting quote has dripped down to us from San Diego Comic-Con, with Jenna Coleman using the world ‘political’ to describe Doctor Who series 9. Speaking to The Mary Sue, she said this:“I wouldn’t say [series 9 is] rompy, but a lot more seizing the moment and adrenaline-fueled. I think rompy is… cause you know, the nature of some of the episodes are not, [there are] some darker ones.”“There’s some really provoking episodes, actually,” she added. “I suppose something that has a relevance to some stuff kind of happening today, really interesting … makes you think … provoking.””It feels like a new kind of episode for Doctor Who; I mean maybe more political.” You can start placing your bets now, then – how will series 9 be ‘political’? Will Capaldi’s Doctor lobby for an independent Scotland? Um, probably not, but we’ll keep you posted.

Doctor Who Series 9 Trailer and return date!

Ahead of its panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the BBC has released the first full trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who series 9 – and there’s lots to feast your eyes on. Missy, Peter Capadli, a Zygon, Daleks, corridors and Clara for a start.Also, a handy hint: keep watching this one to the very, very end. There’s a hint of real intrigue ahead…

As you can also see, we’ve got a return date for Doctor Who too. Doctor Who series 9 will kick off in the UK a little later than last year, on September 19th 2015. Mark your diaries.Also announced: Mark Gatiss is writing episode nine of the new series.Previously: Understandably it doesn’t give much away, but here’s a short vid from the BBC featuring director Rachel Talalay (Dark Water, Death In Heaven) talking about how the series nine finale two-parter is “completely different” to last year’s closer, calling episode eleven “one of the most complicated and different episodes that I’ve ever done […] it just has my head in spaghetti”. Mmm, spaghetti…

Chatting to Entertainment Weekly, Mr Peter Capaldi has been discussing series 9 of Doctor Who. In the lengthy interview, he mentioned that “[the Doctor is] throwing himself into life with a newfound hunger for adventure” in the new episodes.“He’s in pursuit of joy and grabbing every thrill that he can along the way. But I sense him running from something, that even he does not yet understand,” he added. According to Capaldi, this search for adventure extends to Jenna Coleman’s Clara, too:“They’ve suddenly realized that they are the most fortunate people in all of time and space and are hell-bent on adventure. Jenna continues to deliver a beautifully nuanced, complex, and funny performance that marks her out as one of the best companions ever.” He also described guest star Maisie Williams as “a sharp, talented tornado” who “shifts in cosmic ways.”“There is an epic sweep to this season and I think the villains and monsters reflect that,” Mr Capaldi also mentioned. “Great new ones, brilliant old ones and some very scary creatures looming in stories with real emotional ambition.”Along with these teases, Capaldi also described this new picture from the show. He said that “the photo shows the Doctor about to make a mistake that has cataclysmic repercussions”…

Here’s another image, seemingly a few seconds later, that has surfaced since…The scene is from series opener The Magician’s Familiar, according to Doctor Who: The Fan Show Rachel Talalay, the director of series eight’s Dark Water and Death In Heaven, is back to end series nine with another climactic two-parter. Talalay (read our interview with her from last year, here ) will be directing episodes eleven and twelve of the new series, both from scripts by Steven Moffat. The gossip was that Doctor Who‘s team were keen for the director’s return after her blistering work on the series eight two-part finale, and attempted to slot her in to proceedings before now but scheduling clashes meant it was not to be. That’s worked out well for all involved, we’d say, with another Talalay/Moffat finale to look forward to.On the publicity trail for the brilliant Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell, writer Peter Harness has been discussing the episodes that he has penned for Doctor Who series 9, with CultBox .“[Steven Moffat] wanted to bring back the Zygons and Osgood,” said Harness of his episodes, which will air as numbers 7 and 8 in the series. “He gave me a starting point, basically, and I came up with the story elements around them.”Asked if he fan-boyed out over the chance to write for UNIT, Osgood and the Zygons, Harness said “no, not really. It wasn’t the selling point for me that it had UNIT and Osgood and Zygons in it. That was interesting to do, of course, and I’m sure my five-year-old self would have been apoplectic with excitement if I could have nipped back in time and told him what I was doing. But really, you have to clear the fan-boy out of your mind, and do your job.”“It’s nice to put in a few fannish touches here and there, but they can’t get in the way of the story or distract from the writing of it. It’s exciting to be writing Doctor Who full stop, and I was equally (if not more) excited about writing Kill The Moon.”So, as you may well have guessed from the title of the article you just clicked on, we’ve now seen the first teaser trailer for Doctor Who series 9. It aired on Saturday night, after Orphan Black’s season 3 finale , on BBC America. Now it’s found its way onto Youtube .It gives literally nothing away, but it’s still enough to get us a little excited about the TARDIS returning to our screens. Here it is…

Not quite latest: So, by now you probably know that Michelle Gomez’s Missy will be returning for Doctor Who series 9. Recently, she’s been chatting about her role in the show this time around. Speaking to Daily Record, she said that “I can’t tell you much, I’m too much of a fan of the show to spoil the fun, but I can tell you she’s up to no good. Even I was a bit shocked at her level of disdain this year. She has no boundaries, that girl; she is very naughty.”“The doll is on order, I’ve seen the prototype, that was a surreal day,” she said of her new action figure. “She should be in the stores soon. Funny-looking thing – she and me. It’s very exciting to be an action figure, not bad going for a lady of a certain age.”“My son is still a bit young to get the whole Who thing but he does seem determined I should have my own spin-off, he calls me Missy Who. He’s also determined Missy should meet The Queen. Of course, I support both these ideas wholeheartedly,” she added.For more Michelle Gomez fun, check out our recent interview with her, if you like.Even older news: Here’s an interesting one. Rigsy – the graffiti artist from Flatline, who notably helped Clara while the Doctor was stranded in the tiny TARDIS – will be returning to the show in series 9. If you need reminding, he looks like this…

Remember this UNIT scientist with a habit of borrowing style tips from previous Doctors?

“Osgood is back, fresh from her recent murder at the end of last series,” says Moffat in the BBC’s official press release. “We recently confirmed that Osgood was definitely dead and not returning – but in a show about time travel, anything can happen. The brilliant Ingrid Oliver is back in action. This time though, can the Doctor trust his number one fan?

”

Ingrid Oliver will return to the role of Osgood in the Peter Harness-written two-parter currently being filmed in Cardiff. Here’s what she had to say on her characer’s surprise return:

Jemma Redgrave, Jaye Griffiths, Cleopatra Dickens, Sasha Dickens, Abhishek Singh, Todd Kramer, Jill Winternitz, Nicholas Asbury, Jack Parker, Aidan Cook, and a Seventh Doctor tank top, by the looks of things.

Further into the past: We think the technical term to describe how Rufus Hound feels about appearing in

is ‘completely bloody chuffed to bits’. Take a look to see his Cheshire Cat grin in the behind-the-scenes video below:

And here he is back on set with Capaldi and Coleman. The Doctor’s new coat is worth a mention, too…Joivan Wade will reprise the role of Rigsy during episode 10. This episode will be directed by Justin Molotnikov (leading us to believe it will be a two-parter, based on previous news) and written by Sarah Dollard of Being Human and The Game. We don’t know anything else about it at the moment, but seeing as Capaldi’s Doctor dubbed Rigsy ‘barely sentient’ last time around, you can probably expect some more snappy dialogue firing in all directions this time. Now, where’s the petition we need to sign to get Last Christmas’ Shona back, too?Soon to be seen playing a ‘Synth’ in forthcoming Channel 4 sci-fi drama Humans, and with a string of top drawer comedy roles behind her (The Day Today, Big Train, Nighty Night, The Thick Of It, Grandma’s House, Psychobitches), Rebecca Front has been confirmed as Doctor Who series 9’s latest guest star.Front’s role, which remains under wraps for now, sees her reunite with fellow The Thick Of It alum Peter Capaldi (as pictured below), and Jenna Coleman, her on-screen daughter in BBC P.D. James adaptation, Death Comes To Pemberley.Front will appear in the Zygon two-parter written by Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell‘s Peter Harness alongside Ingrid Oliver and Jemma Redgrave.Just a brief update here – Justin Molotnikov has signed up to direct a two-parter for Doctor Who series 9.Mr Molotnikov has a CV full of British televisual treats, ranging from Merlin to My Parents Are Aliens, via Da Vinci’s Demons and Shameless. He directed several episodes of Atlantis season 2, as well.The news broke because he listed the job on his online CV . At the moment, we don’t know whether he will be directing the closing two-parter (penned by Steven Moffat) or episodes 9 and 10 (thought to be a Mark Gatiss-written double bill). As we know more, we’ll pass it on.Of course you do. Who could forget Osgood’s cruel demise at the hands of Missy in series 8 finale, Death In Heaven ?Steven Moffat, that’s who. Or at least, Moffat didn’t forget that Osgood was zapped to dust by Missy and roundly declared dead as a Norwegian Blue in interviews, he merely invoked the mendacity right of the Doctor Who show runner, i.e. the Doctor lies, and so does he.“As every actor who’s worked on Doctor Who will tell you, there’s always the secret hope you’ll get the call asking you to come back. To actually receive that call is both unexpected and brilliant. The word ‘honour’ gets banded about a lot, but it really is, it’s an honour. Especially because I was so sure Osgood was a goner after the last series!”What’s more, Osgood will be back battling her old The Day Of The Doctor shape-shifting foes, the Zygons, as you can see in this behind-the-scenes image below. She’ll be in the company ofWe learnt today via Blogtor Who that Doctor Who series 9 will have a similar structure to series 8, entailing a 12 episode run and a separate Christmas special. The only thing we don’t know is whether the opening episode will have an extended run-time to match Deep Breath. The content and style of the new series has also been discussed , by executive producer Brian Minchin. Here’s his full quote:“As you saw in the finale and the Christmas episode he’s kind of answered his question of ‘Am I a good man?’ and this year he’s having the time of his life, having dangerous and exciting adventures in time and space. These are the glory days of the Doctor and Clara. They’re having the biggest, most dangerous adventures they’ve ever had and they’re having great fun doing it.” “The mission statement we had was bigger adventures, and to go further in space and time. We’ve got a very confident Doctor, we’ve got a very confident companion and they’re both experts at doing this now so we can tell slightly bigger stories.” “We’re doing more two-parters – and not just conventional two parters. We’re doing linked stories where you might not be sure how they’re going to be connected until you see them. We’re pushing the storytelling that way, to give us more scale of adventure.”Remember the first time Peter Capaldi was in Doctor Who? It was before series 8. Before even his cameo in The Day Of The Doctor. Many will remember even further back when he appeared as a supporting character in David Tennant and Catherine Tate adventure The Fires Of Pompeii. He also popped up as a whole different character in Torchwood.It’s been rumoured for a while that Steven Moffat, and even Russell T Davies before him, had a contingency plan to explain things, in the event of Capaldi becoming the Doctor. Will we get that explanation this year? Mr Moffat certainly seems to think so, according to this excerpt from the current issue of Doctor Who Magazine (thanks Blogtor Who for sharing)… Andrea Laford asked: “I really enjoyed the scene in Deep Breath when The Doctor says to the tramp, “Why did I choose this face? It’s like I’m trying to tell myself something…” Will we ever get an explanation of why Caecilius from The Fires of Pompeii has the same face as The Twelfth Doctor?”Steven Moffat replied: “Thank you, I like that scene too. And yes, we’re coming back to that idea. In fact, we’ll be shooting the scene in question really quite shortly…”In other news, the Moff has also been addressing the question of how many regenerations the Doctor has left: “he certainly has a new cycle, so it’s not a problem that’s going to worry us for a long time. In fact, at the current rate of Doctors, I really don’t think I’ll be involved in that discussion [of needing to explain a new regeneration cycle] again.”Doctor Who

The BBC released said video trailing Hound’s appearance as Sam Swift in the two period adventures currently scheduled as episodes five and six in series nine, The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived. Hound is guest-starring opposite Maisie Williams in the episodes, written by Jamie Mathieson and Catherine Tregenna.Even further in the past: Steven Moffat has been talking a lot about Doctor Who this week. Of Peter Capaldi’s return, he said: “[Peter Capaldi] is on amazing form at the moment. I was looking at some of his first series stuff and thinking ‘it’s magnificent, but it’s nothing compared to what he’s doing now’.”And of Clara’s arc: “[it] is very pronounced. I can’t say too much about it. She continues to complicate and that relationship between the two of them is incredibly strong.”He had a few words to say about Missy’s return too: “I was thinking of the story of the first two-parter and I was thinking that she fits, she should be there. That character, if you get it right, does put a different light on the Doctor.”Elaborating a bit, he added: “I was looking back at the old Jon Pertwee/Roger Delgado ones and what’s fascinating about that is that they only ever play it as friends. They never, ever play it as enemies at all. They’re just two gentlemen having fun with each other. The Doctor’s best friend is a murdering psychopath, that’s actually quite fun.”Also this week: Speaking to the Radio Times at the recent Bafta nominations party, Steven Moffat had a few things to say about the structure of series nine, which appears to feature more than the usual number of two-part stories (see Episode Titles And Synopses, below).It’s been done to “change up the rhythm a bit”, according to Moffat. “That 45-and-out rhythm has served us incredibly well for ten years but there is a slight sense sometimes – about 35 minutes into the episode, you expect the hero music.”The goal of the shift, he explained to the RT, was keeping the audience on its toes, “It’s just making you slightly unsure you’ll get through the story by the time the music comes up.”You won’t hear any complaints from us on that count. The return of cliff-hangers and longer stories was on our wishlist back before series 8.Nine won’t be an entire series of two-parters though, Moffat clarified, “Sometimes they’re just linked episodes”. To add to the gloomy, shadowy first image of a new monster facing the Doctor and Clara in series 9 comes this bright-as-a-button photo of Poldark director Ed Bazalgette (see below) with said armoured beast in a rural location. Makes a change from Cornish clifftops and fragrant redheads, we suppose…Take a look at the latest image below:

“What’s that in the shadows?” That’s how the BBC is teasing a new monster set to meet Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman in Doctor Who series 9.The first official photo of said beast is below. It’s deliberately obscured in the half-light, but we see bumps, we see antennae, we see a red brain-shaped glowing light. It could be robotic or it could be wearing armour, and it appears to be housed in some kind of wooden shed, or even barn…Earlier this week: Here’s an interesting one – Merlin and Da Vinci’s Demons actor David Schofield will play the role of Odin in two series 9 Doctor Who episodes (thanks to Blogtor Who for the heads up).Here’s a look at him in a crown, from Merlin…Odin, of course, is the God-king from Norse mythology, played recently by Anthony Hopkins in the Thor movies. Interestingly, Brian Blessed was linked to the role too (but was ruled out by illness).It’s unclear whether this Who version of Odin will be an imposter, an alien or the real deal (a la the use of Robin Hood last year). Doctor Who has dabbled with ancient and mythical beings many times, of course, with one of the most successful attempts in recent years coming in the form of David Tennant adventure The Satan Pit.What we do know about this Odin-starring double bill is that the episodes will be called The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived, the latter of which seems to be emitting Harry Potter vibes in its title.Could these episodes be set in Viking times? It would certainly be new territory for Nu-Who, and quite far removed from the standard-issue Victorian trappings. Interstingly, this episode (confirmed as a ‘period adventure’) also stars Maisie Williams of Game of Thrones and comedian Rufus Hound.Jamie Mathieson and Steven Moffat wrote The Girl Who Died, and The Woman Who Lived was written by Catherine Tregenna. Ed Bazalgette of Poldark directed both. Colour us very intrigued by how these episodes are shaping up.Last week: Were you a fan of Doctor Who series 8? We hope so, because Mr Moffat has confirmed that we’ll be seeing a similar tone this time. “As ever, Doctor Who is a combination of complete daft silliness and loads of people getting slaughtered in the early evening. Tonally, [Season 9] very much the same [as Season 8]. Peter is getting stronger and more confident in the role,” The Moff told EW .He also mentioned the comedy angle of the show: “I told the [show’s] writers, don’t just write him mean, write him funny – because he’ll make any joke fly.” In that same article, he also ruled out a Who-Lock crossover and a big screen outing for The Doctor.What else has been going on? Well, over the weekend, Maisie Williams was discussing her Doctor Who role on the radio. Listen to her chat about it here (thanks Blogtor Who for the upload)…

Last week: It would seem we’re getting a new variation on Peter Capaldi’s Doctor Who costume sooner than you might have expected.A Twitter user took this snap on-set, revealing some snazzy tartan trousers and a pair of Ray-bans (which are probably Capaldi’s own, to be honest).The Last Christmas hoodie idea seems to have remained, too…

Recently, as noted over on the wonderful

, musical stage star Gina Beck recently

the photo below accompanied by the words, “

Very jealous that

was filming right next to Doctor Who yesterday!! Wahhhhhh!!!!”. (It’s a four exclamation mark kind of jealousy).

Filming for series nine is currently taking place in the Teide National Park in Tenerife, home to a volcanic landscape and the third largest volcano in the world. This snap of Freeman with Capaldi and Coleman over there has prompted some to ask what the deal is with the charred-looking red-eyed chap on the left. Is he a new Doctor Who volcano-related alien or just a passer-by in dire need of an exfoliating facial?

On the more official side of things, the Doctor Who Instagram page has treated to some cryptic production snaps.While there’s been some images of cakes and cameras that aren’t particularly content related (or are they?!), there’s also been some snaps of the TARDIS in a desolate landscape, what could be a modern revamp of the Chameleon Arch pocket watch, a particularly prominent wall, and, um, Capaldi with a yo-yo. Make of these what you will…Also this week, the BBC has announced that Maisie Williams, of Game Of Thrones fame, is joining Doctor Who series 9. The official announcement quotes here as saying “I’m so excited to be working on Doctor Who as it’s such a big and important part of British Culture. I can’t wait to meet the cast and crew and start filming, especially as we’ll be shooting not too far from my home town”. Not that we know much about who she will be playing. Steven Moffat has said that “we’re thrilled to have Maisie Williams joining us on Doctor Who. It’s not possible to say too much about who or what she’s playing, but she is going to challenge the Doctor in very unexpected ways. This time he might just be out of his depth, and we know Maisie is going to give him exactly the right sort of hell.”Also: two stories have been confirmed, both of them period adventures. Jamie Mathieson (Flatline, Mummy On The Orient Express) is back to pen The Girl Who Died, whilst Torchwood‘s Catherine Tregenna has written The Woman Who Lived. Ed Bazalgette (Poldark) is directing.Here’s a picture of Maisie Williams in the TARDIS, that was also released…In other news? There’s the expected and very welcome news that Mark Gatiss (The Crimson Horror, Cold War, The Unquiet Dead) will be writing an episode for Doctor Who series 9. Picked up by Blogtor Who from an interview Gatiss gave to The Telegraph is this brief mention of his autumn episode:“I’m in the midst of that right now – I broke off to come here today, in fact, but I’m hoping to finish the script tonight. It has been a tough nut to crack, but I’m delighted with how scary it is. I can’t say any more than that.”It looks as though Gatiss’ Who has returned to the dark side after the light-hearted fun of series eight’s Robot Of Sherwood.Mr Steven Moffat has given us the latest morsel of Doctor Who info, discussing the continuing development of Peter Capaldi’s Doctor with Doctor Who magazine (issue 484 is on shelves now).“We’re not bringing him back exactly the same as we left him, at all. I think that was already evident at Christmas,” he explained. “He’s left some of the burden of being the superhero of the universe behind.”“Also, Peter magnifies anything that is dark. So I’m pushing him – I’m writing quite funny this year – I’m pushing him the other way. He’s also got a Scottish gloom about him. If you gave him a Matt Smith script, it would come out very, very differently. I think it was great fun to do for a year. But no, that’s not how we’re going to play the rest of him.”He concluded: “What I’ve been saying to him is ‘You’re the stern Doctor. You’re not the rude Doctor. You’re not a brusque Doctor. You’re kind of the don’t-give-a-damn Doctor! You actually don’t give a damn what you say to people.’”So he doesn’t give a damn, quite frankly, but will also be funnier. An interesting blend, for sure.The Gomez has landed.We’d been led to believe as much, but now the BBC has officially confirmed that Michelle Gomez as Missy has returned to Doctor Who series 9. Gomez is currently filming the new series in Cardiff, and had this to say on The Master’s imminent return: “Things have been a little beige since I left Missy behind, so I’m delighted to be putting my Lippie back on. I’m positively dying to see the Doctor again!”Steven Moffat followed up with, “Everybody hide – Michelle Gomez as Missy was an instant hit last year, so she’s straight back to plague the Doctor and Clara in the series opener. But what brings her back into their lives is the last thing they’d expect.”Watch Michelle Gomez eat an apple and celebrate her return, here:

Also confirmed by the BBC as appearing in series 9 will be Jemma Redgrave as UNIT’s Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, newcomer Kelly Hunter, Claire Higgins and Jaye Griffiths. Other guest stars confirmed for the new series include Daniel Hoffmann-Gill, Jami Reid-Quarrell, Aaron Neil, India Ria Amarteifio, Joey Price, Dasharn Anderson, Harki Bhambra, and Demi Papaminas.The ninth series of Doctor Who since its 2005 reboot is currently filming in Cardiff, and due to return to the BBC in Autumn 2015. All the info that’s been released (or inferred) about the series so far is collected below.BBC One’s official Twitter account posted the following photo on Thursday the 12th of February, announcing that filming on block two of series nine was in full swing. Note one of the names on that clapperboard, a certain returning Blink director, Hettie Macdonald, who has recently been working on episodes of crime mysteries Fortitude and The Tunnel. The question is, what can we glean from that swish-looking world map interface in the background? Is UNIT back in play in this part of series nine?

Doctor Who Series 9 Airdate and structure

More updates to follow as they’re sniffed out.

While we don’t have an official premiere date yet, it has been confirmed that Doctor Who will return in Autumn 2015. As is no huge surprise, the new series will consist of 12 episodes. We’d expect a Christmas special on top of that.Also, going off a year-old statement from Moffat, it is believed that there will be no mid-series breaks this time around. “We’re not going to do splits [in Season 8],” he said this time last year, “and the same format will repeat exactly [for Season 9] the following year [2015] like that. So it will be the traditional form.”

Doctor Who Series 9 Cast and Guest Stars

Reece Shearsmith (see Latest News) is to appear in a Mark Gatiss-written series nine episode.Rebecca Front is joining UNIT guest stars Jemma Redgrave and Ingrid Oliver in Peter Harness’ two-parter.Maisie Williams is the most recent guest star confirmed to be arriving in series 9. We’ve no word as yet on who the Game Of Thrones star will be playing, only Steven Moffat’s assurances that “Maisie is going to give the Doctor exactly the right sort of hell.”So far confirmed as appearing are (of course) Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman. Joining them in a two-parter written by Toby Whithouse will be Game Of Thrones’ Paul Kaye as a character named Prentis, it was revealed on an online CV. Kaye had this to say about his appearance in the show, “As a kid of the 1970s, the two shows you always watched were Top of the Pops and Doctor Who, they were unmissable. I actually wrote a song called ‘Looking for Davros’ in my first punk band and I sang it like a demented Dalek. I got to present TOTP back in the mid 90’s and landing this role in Doctor Who completes the dream double. Peter is a perfect Doctor and I’m loving every minute of the experience, even the five hours in make-up. What a treat, best 50th birthday present ever!”Joining Kaye in the two-parter directed by Daniel O’Hara will be Morven Christie, Archer Ali, Colin McFarlane, Sophie Stone, Zaqi Ismail, Steven Robertson and Neil Fingleton.Additionally, Michelle Gomez and Steven Moffat have both said publicly that Gomez is expected to return to the role of Missy in future, but details are thin on the ground at present.We await news that series regulars the Paternoster Gang aka Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax (Neve McIntosh, Caitlin Stewart, Dan Starkey) will also be making a return.

Doctor Who Series 9 Episode titles and synopses

The Magician’s Apprentice: The first confirmed episode title of series 9 is The Magician’s Apprentice. Tenerife, perhaps doubling for an alien landscape, is where the production team headed to film parts of this episode (and episode 2).The Witch’s Familiar: will be the second half of the two-parter starting with The Magician’s Apprentice, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Hettie Macdonald (Blink).The Girl Who Died: is a period adventure written by Jamie Mathieson (Mummy On The Orient Express, Flatline)The Woman Who Lived: comes from Torchwood writer Catherine Treganna.We also know that there’s another two-parter in series nine, that’s been written by Being Human‘s Toby Whithouse (School Reunion, The Vampires Of Venice, The God Complex, A Town Called Mercy).That’s your lot so far, but we’ll keep updating this as soon as more titles and story hints arrive.

Doctor Who Series 9 Writers

The writers are all in place for series nine, Executive Producer Brian Minchin assures us, not that we’re being let in on the secret just yet.Toby Whithouse: has written two episodes for series nine, a “brilliantly creepy two-parter”, according to Steven Moffat, who calls the double bill “one of our scariest adventures yet”.Steven Moffat: it’s no surprise that head writer and showrunner Steven Moffat will be providing scripts for series nine. Moving on…Catherine Tregenna: one name was revealed before Christmas, via an online CV that showed screenwriter Catherine Tregenna (Torchwood, Casualty, Inspector Lewis) to be behind at least one episode for Doctor Who series 9. Torchwood fans will be familiar with her terrific episode Out Of Time, as well as the likes of Captain Jack Harkness, Meat and Adam for the Doctor Who spin-off.Sarah Dollard: This Being Human and The Game alum has penned episode 10, which will feature Rigsy from Flatline.Mark Gatiss: is writing a “scary” episode for the autumn series, he confirmed in this Telegraph interview in March 2015. The Sherlock co-creator confirmed last year that he was writing two Doctor Who episodes for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, later clarifying on Twitter “That doesn’t mean they’ll both necessarily be in” the eighth series. Seeing as we’ve only seen one Capaldi ep from Gatiss so far, the light, bright, Robot Of Sherwood, this new series nine episode may well be one from the series eight pile. Neil Gaiman: one name we can strike off the list of potential series nine writers is Neil Gaiman (The Doctor’s Wife, Nightmare In Silver), who told the Radio Times that, “I’m not writing for series nine right now, just because of ridiculous work commitments I’m trying to get out from under.” Gaiman is however, “determined to write for Peter Capaldi. As long as Peter is Doctor Who, I will write for him. And every time I’m in the UK, I go and see the Doctor Who people. I go see [producer] Brian Minchin and Steven Moffat, and none of us are going to let me go off the boil”.Previous Who writers who, in recent months, have expressed out loud an interest in returning to write further episodes are Kill The Moon’s Peter Harness, Mummy On The Orient Express and Flatline’s Jamie Mathieson, Hide and The Rings Of Akhaten’s Neil Cross, and Torchwood‘s Chris Chibnall (though we’d expect Broadchurch to be keeping the latter busy for the foreseeable).

Doctor Who Series 9 Directors

Rachel Talalay (Dark Water, Death In Heaven) will be directing the series nine two-part finale, penned by Steven Moffat.Poldark‘s Ed Bazelgette is confirmed as being on the directors’ list for series nine.Being Human and Wizards Vs Aliens director Daniel O’Hara is directing two episodes of the new series, according to his agent’s online CV. Tantalisingly, Hettie Macdonald – who directed 2007’s much-loved Blink – will be returning. Having directed the definitive Moffat monster episode, many fans will be excited to see her return. We’re told to expect her in block 2 of the series, which could well coincide with some filming time booked in Spain.Justin Molotnikov (Merlin, Atlantis, Da Vinci’s Demons) is believed to be directing a two-parter for Doctor Who series 9. It looks like one of them will be episode 10, featuring the returning character Rigsy, played by Joivan Wade.We’re also still being periodically teased that New Zealand director Peter Jackson will go behind the camera for an episode too, though we’ve heard nothing concrete on that for a while now.

Doctor Who Series 9 Rumours