The 2 recently recovered episodes will be available on iplayer on Good Friday.

Watched the episodes yesterday on iplayer including the other existing three. I thought they were very good
and one of the best Hartnell stores. it was nice to see more of Katarina, a pity she was killed off i think she
would made a great companion. And good to see Nicholas Courtney as Bret Vyon. Of course sadly we didn't see Bret's death due to Episode 4 still being missing, Katarina's death exists though as a stand-alone clip.
Kevin Stoney put in a good performance as Mavic Chen.

10 hours ago, Mark said:

Watched the episodes yesterday on iplayer including the other existing three. I thought they were very good
and one of the best Hartnell stores. it was nice to see more of Katarina, a pity she was killed off i think she
would made a great companion. And good to see Nicholas Courtney as Bret Vyon. Of course sadly we didn't see Bret's death due to Episode 4 still being missing, Katarina's death exists though as a stand-alone clip.
Kevin Stoney put in a good performance as Mavic Chen.

Yeah the eps were great! I watched them yesterday but also went to a screening of them at Riverside studios today. Both eps are amazing! And yeah Katarina was a bit of a stand-out, particularly in Episode 3 when she is looking out at the stars in awe. Adrienne Hill gives such a good performance. The direction of the eps is amazing too... also Hartnell's wig seems to have a mind of its own in both the recovered eps 🤣

Hopefully more missing eps are recovered soon - seems more hopeful now with FIF and how they're operating.

New Doctor Who announcement coming within weeks

Daily Mirror

Doctor Who boss teases show announcement will come very soon

Doctor Who boss Russell T Davies teases show announcement is on the cards after speculation about Christmas special for 2026

I was beginning to lose hope of anything coming

The fact the Billie Piper reveal is clearly going to amount to absolutely nothing is enough to make me consider tuning out tbf

It's hard to know what's happening right now but as much as I'm generally more positive towards RTD2 than the vocal consensus, I'm craving a fresh start for the show right now. New showrunner with a back to basics vision for the show in the same vein as series 5 or series 11 (but better than that one please x). No reliance on past lore, keep returning villains to a minimum (and keep it to the Daleks and Cybermen first as I think we've really been missing them). Let Christmas tie up the loose ends with Billie (and Susan please??) and then let's get going on a fresh vision of the show (almost definitely in 2028 😭) with new showrunner, Doctor and companion.

I wouldn't be opposed to a bit of a hiatus if I'm being honest, and I'm saying that as someone that did generally like RTD2 despite the poor conclusions to each season (although the second one wasn't entirely his fault given the circumstances we now knew happened), I think it just needs a chance for people to miss it again rather than relying on fan favourites (Although saying that, I am really missing Daleks/Cybermen/The Master, I'm not sure why BBC/Disney thought obscure past villains would be ratings winners for the big revamp) and having people be so angry about it over and over, and I think it has generally struggled to adapt to the streaming era which is quite overcrowded for sci-fi in particular. A small break and reset would go on to show that it can always bounce back.

3 hours ago, JosephStyles said:

It's hard to know what's happening right now but as much as I'm generally more positive towards RTD2 than the vocal consensus, I'm craving a fresh start for the show right now. New showrunner with a back to basics vision for the show in the same vein as series 5 or series 11 (but better than that one please x). No reliance on past lore, keep returning villains to a minimum (and keep it to the Daleks and Cybermen first as I think we've really been missing them). Let Christmas tie up the loose ends with Billie (and Susan please??) and then let's get going on a fresh vision of the show (almost definitely in 2028 😭) with new showrunner, Doctor and companion.

100% agree. Go back to basics with a smaller budget and simple stories. Focus on the relationship between doctor and companion which was severely lacking during 13 and 15. I miss the consistency with the show too, how there used to be a season every year with around 13 eps, including regular 2 parters and a Xmas special. RTD needs to go.

I think what we the show is in desperate need of now is a clear break away from RTD (which is becoming increasingly likely) and writers similar to him that no matter what the stories are always give the same vibe. McTighe seems like the most likely successor but I'm just not convinced we wouldn't get more of the same, or at least something Chibnall-esque given his love for the Classic era.

We really do need the Daleks and/or Cybermen back, but the Master on the other hand should be rested for quite a while in my opinion. The Master has dominated quite a big chunk of NuWho, appearing in series 3, the 2008-9 specials, series 8, 9, 10, 12, The Power of the Doctor, and then alluded to in RTD2. It's just far too much.

Ellie littlechild from whoculture said it best, back to basic, low budget contained stories seem to be the best

An update on the future of Docto...

An update on the future of Doctor Who | Doctor Who

Today we’re announcing an update on plans for the future of Doctor Who.

As part of securing the next phase of the show for future generations, and in line with the BBC’s Charter and Agreement requirements, the BBC will put Doctor Who out to competitive tender this year. Doctor Who remains an important part of the BBC and this tender underpins the BBC’s continued commitment to Doctor Who ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come.

After careful consideration, the BBC, Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf have collectively decided not to go ahead with the previously announced Doctor Who Christmas episode. This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans, but in order to set the show up for future series, it was decided that rather than bridge the gap with a one off special, we are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show which ensures that when the TARDIS lands once more, it does so in all its glory.

The previously announced new Doctor Who animation series for CBeebies is currently in production.

Details of the tender will be announced in due course.

So are they basically going to ignore the billie piper elephant in the room then 😮😮

Also doesnt sound promising that we will get anything before late 27/ early 28 from that

In in two minds about todays news;

On one hand I think the break is welcomed, despite me actually liking RTD2 I could also see why others did not and hopefully a break and a new show runner would give the show a chance to breath and regroup to the basics of what the show is. Of course, I will struggle with my favourite show not being on for a few years maybe even 10 who actually knows how long it will be, but I think as a fan we all expected this to happen, I just thought it would be after a xmas special.

On the other hand, linking to the last point, I wish we got that cliffhanger resolved, Russell T Davies could have easily ignored the timeless child stuff but expanded on it and made it a key part of this doctor/the effects of the flux weighing on the doctor. So I don't think this should be swept under the rug if it comes back, I would like an explanation why we got billie in the ending. I'd have rather it be a bit of a ambiguous or a closed of ending to series 15 that didn't cause the fans such as myself to speculate and have engagement post series finale as we now won't get answers because the special was cancelled.

Good news! It needs a few years off with a complete refresh like 2005.

Ignore Rose for now like the 8th Doctor back then, it's a pain that it ended that way though.

Just now, WhoOdyssey said:

Good news! It needs a few years off with a complete refresh like 2005.

Ignore Rose for now like the 8th Doctor back then, it's a pain that it ended that way though.

Just hopefully not another 16 year wait lol. I don't think they can ignore Billie appearing in whatever character that is but they can definitely explain it away in the opening episode of its return.

On a positive note, Christopher Eccleston might be coming back now that RTD and his team have left!

Christmas special cancelled, never one planned and no new Doctor either.

Russell T Davies has quit

BBC News

Doctor Who: BBC cancels Christmas special and Russell T D...

The BBC said the decision was made "after careful consideration" and had "not been taken lightly".

4 minutes ago, lewistgreen said:

Just hopefully not another 16 year wait lol. I don't think they can ignore Billie appearing in whatever character that is but they can definitely explain it away in the opening episode of its return.

I doubt it'll be that long, I'm sure the BBC will be keen to get it back in the next 5 years max - if not sooner. My guess is 2029/2030.

And yeah, I guess I meant I hope they don't make a big thing out of Rose. Just a reference or something.

It's a shame I guess Susan's "story" in the last series will never get a proper ending now :(