Doctor Who Christmas Special: No Thirteenth Doctor scenes yet

Just in case you were wondering if the Thirteenth Doctor had secretly been cast for Doctor Who, the answer seems to be a clear “no.”

In answering some questions in a post on Twitter, Rachel Talalay, who directed the upcoming Christmas Special (which has otherwise been filmed), suggested that she had “no knowledge” of Thirteen and also “no idea” about what the future holds in season 11. She’s also (sadly) not going to be a part of the San Diego Comic-Con panel this year.

Given that Rachel is responsible for the final episode of the Steven Moffat era, you do have to think that she would be more aware than anyone if there were some scenes being filmed featuring Thirteen. It’s possible she would direct those, unless new showrunner Chris Chibnall is bringing in someone else for those scenes (which would seem somewhat strange for continuity purposes within the story). We do know that Chibnall has complete control over Thirteen’s lines, and that is something that Moffat has no interest in touching.

With all of this in mind, the general consensus seems to be that the character hasn’t been cast yet, and that filming may occur with them over the coming months. Whenever this is confirmed, we anticipate the BBC turning it into a rather-big deal much in the way that they do such things … not that anyone out there should be all that surprised. They’ve got a lot to celebrate! The revived series has been on the air now for more than a decade, and the fact that they continue to do so well with a wide array of different people within the title role is impressive. As a result of that, it does deserve a little bit of a celebration.

How much of Thirteen will we see?

If history is any indication, the majority of the special will be about Twelve and saying farewell to Capaldi after all of his time in the role. There will probably be a minute or two of new Doctor footage, with it serving mostly as a teaser to whatever the new season will hold. There’s no real need for the series to give you more, since the idea of a new Doctor alone should be enough to convince people to check out the new show, especially if this said Doctor turns out to be someone really beloved by the majority of fans out there. (This is a show that could benefit from a small ratings bump, given that the most-recent numbers for the show do leave a little bit to be desired — they’re not terrible, but we’ve absolutely seen better numbers in the future.)

What do you want to see on Doctor Who both in the Christmas Special and season 11 from the new Doctor? Be sure to share below!

Once there is further news to report, we’ll have it for you over at the link here. Be sure to check back soon for more of the latest!