The Thirteenth Doctor is in her TARDIS on her way back to our screens! A thrilling 10-part series will land on New Year’s Day 2020, with subsequent episodes airing on Sundays.

Starting with a blockbuster action packed two-part episode entitled Spyfall, written by Chris Chibnall, the Thirteenth Doctor is well and truly back with a bang.

As Jodie Whittaker takes charge of the TARDIS once again, the Doctor will be joined by her friends Ryan (Tosin Cole), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Graham (Bradley Walsh). Series Twelve will also welcome a host of famous faces including Stephen Fry, Sir Lenny Henry CBE, Robert Glenister and Goran Višnjić to name just a few.

Add to that some familiar faces including the Judoon and the Cybermen, Series Twelve is set to be an epic action-packed rollercoaster for everyone, just don’t stray too far from behind the sofa…

Doctor Who will be airing on BBC One 6:55pm and BBC America 8pm from New Year’s Day, starring Jodie Whittaker, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill and Bradley Walsh. Stay tuned for further details!

With the countdown well and truly underway, television and film stars Goran Višnjić and Robert Glenister are set to appear in an episode of series 12!

After previously starring in Doctor Who over three decades ago, Robert Glenister is no stranger to the TARDIS and as he takes on a new character, it’s safe to say emotions will be charged as he meets the Doctor and her friends.

He said:

“I first appeared in Doctor Who in The Caves of Androzani at the tender age of 24 in 1984. Thirty five years later I got to be in it again at the not so tender age of nearly 60. How time flies!”

Making his Doctor Who debut, Goran Višnjić has plenty of experience around doctors after playing Luka Kovač on the television series ER, but how will he fare when he comes face to face with the Time Lord?

Speaking ahead of his debut Doctor Who appearance, he said:

"I’ve always been a huge fan of Doctor Who, so when the offer to play one of my favourite people in history came, it made me so happy to be part of the show and it turned into this awesome, dream job!"

Matt Strevens, Executive Producer said:

“One of the great joys of Doctor Who are the legendary actors who want to come and join in the Doctor’s adventures. We were thrilled to welcome Goran and Robert, whose worked we’ve loved and admired for years. They create two iconic characters who are going to delight and entertain.”

Doctor Who returns in early 2020!

With the TARDIS hurtling full throttle on its way back to BBC One, it is only right that two TV legends will be making their Doctor Who debut.

TV icons Stephen Fry and Sir Lenny Henry CBE will both appear in the series opener when the TARDIS lands once more, with Jodie Whittaker reprising her role as the Thirteenth Doctor. Armed with a wealth of acting, comedy and writing credentials both are more than equipped to come face to face with the Time Lord and her friends, but will they be friend or foe remains to be seen…

Speaking ahead of his Doctor Who appearance Stephen Fry said

“Short of being picked for a British space exploration programme and I readily concede that I’m past the age where I’d be considered (if I was ever the right age for such a posting) – then being in an episode of Doctor Who will certainly do as a very sweet second-place excitement.”

Sir Lenny Henry CBE added

“It was absolutely brilliant to be welcomed into the fantastical world of Doctor Who. The nearest I have been to the TARDIS was when I played the Caribbean Doctor in the Lenny Henry Show , so as a life-long (hiding behind the sofa type) Doctor Who fan this is a very special moment for me.”

Chris Chibnall, Showrunner said

“Doctor Who is coming back with a bang - with two great British icons in major roles. One of the great joys of Doctor Who is getting to work with actors from your wish list. Stephen and Lenny are two of my absolute favourite actors - and to be able to bring them into Doctor Who, in one of our biggest ever stories to kick off the new series, is an absolute thrill.”

With the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends well on their way to landing back on our screens, the next series is set to welcome an exciting host of new directors and both new and returning writers.

Three new writers have jumped on board the TARDIS for series 12:

Nina Metivier

Maxine Alderton

Charlene James

Also making their debut in 2020 and joining the fam, are four new directors ready to travel through space and time:

Nida Manzoor

Emma Sullivan

Jamie Magnus Stone

Lee Haven Jones

In addition, three writers return from series 11:

Vinay Patel (Demons of The Punjab)

Ed Hime (It Takes You Away)

Pete McTighe (Kerblam!)

Chris Chibnall says:

"We’re thrilled that Doctor Who continues to attract some of the most exciting and dynamic talent working in television. Along with our returning faces, we’re excited to welcome new members to the Doctor Who family. The Doctor Who team is crammed with British television’s brightest writers and directors: we’ve adored working with them, and can’t wait to show you the explosive stuff they’ve created!”

Doctor Who returns in early 2020 when Doctor Who makes an explosive return to screens for another action-packed series of thrilling adventure.

54 years after the original BBC television broadcast, BBC Studios will premiere a new production of Mission to the Unknown, a missing Doctor Who episode that has been faithfully recreated by a team of students, graduates and staff of the University of Central Lancashire.

Mission to the Unknown will be premiered on the Doctor Who YouTube channel at exactly 5.50pm BST on the 9th October to mark the anniversary of the original broadcast of the episode, which was first aired on BBC One in 1965.

The project was master-minded by Andrew Ireland, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Digital and Creative Industries at the university, and brought together a dedicated group of students from a wide range of disciplines including film and television, acting, fashion, music, design and dance to recreate the episode from the original script as authentically as possible, carefully researching and reproducing as faithfully as possible the original 1960s production techniques to re-create the classic look of the series.

The recreation caught the imagination of several Doctor Who luminaries including Nicholas Briggs, who has provided the Dalek voices for the recreated episode, and stars including Peter Purves, who played 1960s companion Steven Taylor, and Edward de Souza, who played Marc Cory in the original episode, visiting the new set to lend their support.

The episode will be followed by a making-of documentary short created by YouTuber Josh Snares featuring the cast and crew of Mission to the Unknown with voice of the Daleks, Nicholas Briggs, original cast member Edward de Souza and the classic Doctor Who companion Peter Purves (Steven Taylor) who played the companion to the First Doctor in the 1960s.

Luke Spillane, Digital Publishing Manager for Doctor Who at BBC Studios, said:

“I’m delighted that we will be bringing the story of Space Security agent Marc Cory to our 1.3 million subscribers on the Doctor Who YouTube channel as it is such a fantastic recreation, made lovingly with real craft and expertise by everyone at the University of Central Lancashire. I hope audiences around the world can imagine that it’s tea time on the 9th October 1965 as they rather excitingly watch a black and white episode of Doctor Who premiere on their television sets, mobile phones and tablets.”

Andrew Ireland, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Digital and Creative Industries at the University of Central Lancashire, said:

“It is such a loss to our cultural heritage that so many episodes of 1960s Doctor Who are missing from the BBC archives. This project presented us with an exciting opportunity to address that, to explore a new way of bringing these missing slices of TV history to life, and in the process, help students learn their craft by comparing contemporary production methods with historical approaches. The project gave so many people great experiences, and it is wonderful to see the Daleks menacing a black and white jungle once more.”

Click here to watch Mission to the Unknown on the Doctor Who YouTube channel at exactly 5.50pm BST on the 9th October.