TV news: New screenwriters board the TARDIS for Doctor Who Season 2
Doctor Who is a television marvel, science fiction’s longest-running show and a staple of British culture.
In 2025, the show will return with Season 2 on the BBC and Disney+.
Film News Blitz’s David Bason reports on the new writers joining showrunner Russell T Davies for the upcoming season.
New writers for new Who
A fresh batch of voices are penning screenplays for Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor and Varada Sethu’s Belinda Chandra to enjoy across time and space.
These are Juno Dawson, Inua Ellams, Pete McTighe and Sharma Angel-Walfall.
Dawson is a number one Sunday Times best-selling novelist, screenwriter and journalist and creator of the the first official Doctor Who scripted podcast, Doctor Who: Redacted.
Upon joining the Doctor Who writing team, Dawson said: “I started watching Doctor Who with my grandma when I was 10 years old in the 1990s.
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“From writing fan-fiction for an audience of one, to scripting the best TV show of all time is truly a dream come true,” Dawson added.
“I can't wait for fans and newcomers to see the new season.”
Ellams is a writer and curator and his first play, The 14th Tale, was awarded a Fringe First at the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival and he has since gone on to have his work play at The National Theatre.
“For as long as I can remember television, I've been a Doctor Who fan,” said Ellams.
“I started watching when I was 10 in Nigeria.
“The show invited me to dream, to live beyond my reality.
“Getting to write for the show felt like touching God; it was blasphemously humbling and exciting, and I can’t wait to share my story with the world.”
Doctor Who spin-off writer joins the main show
McTighe joins the Doctor Who writing team having already earned a pivotal role in the show’s universe as a writer and Executive Producer on the forthcoming spin-off The War Between The Land And The Sea.
His credits include The Pact (BBC), The Rising (Sky), A Discovery Of Witches (HBO), and Wentworth (Fox).
“The TARDIS is my home away from home, so it's been a joy to step back inside, with Russell at the console and the incredible team at Bad Wolf hanging on for dear life,” McTighe said.
“I love this show with all my heart, and am really proud of what we've been able to achieve with my next episode.”
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Angel-Walfall completes the new quarter of Doctor Who writers with a career that launched after winning the inaugural Channel 4 New Writing Award.
Her career has traversed several writers' rooms including Rapman’s Supacell (Netflix), Sally Wainwright's The Ballad of Renegade Nell (Disney+), A Town Called Malice (Sky) and Noughts & Crosses (BBC).
Further credits include being a writing consultant on Paul Abbott’s Wolfe (Sky) and writing an episode of Sharon Hogan’s Dreamland for Sky (starring Lilly Allen and Freema Agyeman).
“I am buzzing to be a part of such an iconic show! I am a massive Russell T Davies fan, so it is a dream come true to be able to work alongside him, especially on a show that I love,” said Angel-Walfall.
“It’s a real privilege to be a part of the Doctor Who family. I have loved every minute!”
New Doctor Who season the ‘most wild and exciting yet - Davies
Doctor Who showrunner Davies hailed the diverse talents of his new writing colleagues.
With their help, the Welshman has created in his own words, “the most wild and exciting season of Doctor Who yet”.
Davies said: “Doctor Who takes its talent from a glittering galaxy of names, and these extraordinary writers span the skies.
“We’ve got old hands, new stars, voices from theatre, radio and literature, the whole works!
“It’s the most wild and exciting season of Doctor Who yet, and I can’t wait to unleash their brilliant work,” he concluded.
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