Doctor Who: Unleashed | |
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Genre | Documentary |
Based on | |
Directed by | Jonathon Aiken |
Presented by | Steffan Powell |
Theme music composer | Ron Grainer |
Opening theme | Doctor Who theme music |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 13 (+1 supplemental) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Jo Pearce |
Running time | 28–29 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | |
Release | 17 November 2023 – present |
Related | |
Doctor Who: Unleashed is a documentary series created by the BBC to complement the 60th anniversary specials of Doctor Who and its following series. It is hosted by former Newsbeat presenter Steffan Powell, and is seen as a spiritual successor to the former documentary series Doctor Who Confidential (2005–11).
In April 2023, it was reported that a series similar to Doctor Who Confidential would premiere alongside the 60th anniversary specials of the main show. Following this at a GalaxyCon event, David Tennant made references to a behind-the-scenes crew on the set of the specials, stating that "it was all filmed by all the various Doctor Who Confidential-style people, so you'll see all that. But it was very exciting for us, for them to visit us on set." [1]
On 27 September 2023, Unleashed was officially announced, and was set to air on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer in 30 minute episodes, presented on set by former Newsbeat presenter Steffan Powell in contrast to the fly on the wall style of Confidential. [2]
On 22 June 2024, it was announced that Unleashed is set to return in 2025 for the fifteenth series of Doctor Who. [3]
Series | Episodes | Originally released | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | |||
Specials | Supp. | 17 November 2023 | ||
3 | 25 November 2023 | 9 December 2023 | ||
14 | Special | 25 December 2023 | ||
9 | 11 May 2024 | 22 June 2024 | ||
15 | Special | 25 December 2024 |
No. in UNL | No. special | Episode(s) discussed | Interviewees | Original air date | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Supplemental | ||||||||||||
– | – | "Destination: Skaro" [a] | David Tennant, Russell T Davies, Mawaan Rizwan, Vicki Delow, Scott Handcock, Barnaby Edwards | 17 November 2023 | ||||||||
Specials | ||||||||||||
1 | 1 | "The Star Beast" | David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Russell T Davies, Yasmin Finney, Dave Gibbons, Pat Mills, Cecily Fay, Paul Kasey, Loren Clark, Elaine Morris, Gerard Moore, Brian Herring, Miriam Margolyes, Angharad Evans | 25 November 2023 | ||||||||
2 | 2 | "Wild Blue Yonder" | David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Russell T Davies | 2 December 2023 | ||||||||
3 | 3 | "The Giggle" | David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Russell T Davies, Ruth Madeley, Neil Patrick Harris, Ncuti Gatwa | 9 December 2023 |
No. in UNL | No. in series | Episode(s) discussed | Interviewees | Original air date | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Special | ||||||||||||
4 | – | "The Church on Ruby Road" | Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Davina McCall | 25 December 2023 | ||||||||
Series | ||||||||||||
5 | 1 | "Space Babies" | Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Robert Strange, Ellen Marsh | 11 May 2024 | ||||||||
6 | 2 | "The Devil's Chord" | Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Jinkx Monsoon, Murray Gold, Ben Chessell | 11 May 2024 | ||||||||
7 | 3 | "Boom" | Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Varada Sethu | 18 May 2024 | ||||||||
8 | 4 | "73 Yards" | Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Aneurin Barnard, Vicki Delow, Dylan Holmes Williams | 25 May 2024 | ||||||||
9 | 5 | "Dot and Bubble" | Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Callie Cooke, Vicki Delow, Dylan Holmes Williams | 1 June 2024 | ||||||||
10 | 6 | "Rogue" | Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Kate Herron, Briony Redman, Jonathan Groff, Indira Varma, Pam Downe | 8 June 2024 | ||||||||
11 | 7 | "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" | Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Yasmin Finney, Jemma Redgrave, Genesis Lynea, Lenny Rush, Susan Twist, Aidan Cook, Phil Sims, Jamie Donoughue | 15 June 2024 | ||||||||
12 | 8 | "Empire of Death" | Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Jamie Donoughue, Bonnie Langford, Anita Dobson, Angela Wynter, Gabriel Woolf, Joel Collins, Sebastian Barker | 22 June 2024 | ||||||||
13 | 9 | Series 14 [b] | Scott Handcock, Phil Collinson, Julie Anne Robinson, Paul Joseph, Jessica Barfoot, Amol Rajan, Iwan Roberts, Shuaib Said, Kitty Carin-Boyd, Jackie Saundercock, Juliet Ireland | 22 June 2024 |
No. in UNL | No. in series | Episode(s) discussed | Interviewees | Original air date | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Special | ||||||||||||
14 | – | "Joy to the World" | TBA | 25 December 2024 [4] |
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor often travels with companions.
Doctor Who is a British television science fiction series, produced and screened by the BBC on the BBC TV channel from 1963 to 1964, and on BBC1 from 1964 to 1989 and since 2005. A one-off television film, co-produced with Universal Pictures was screened on the Fox Network in the United States in 1996.
Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly television episode on BBC One. The first and second series episodes ran 30 minutes each; third series instalments ran 45 minutes. BBC Three also broadcast a cut-down edition of the programme, lasting 15 minutes, shown after the repeats on Sundays and Fridays and after the weekday evening repeats of earlier seasons. Confidential received its own version of the Doctor Who theme tune, at least three different versions of the theme appeared in the series.
David John Tennant is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the sci-fi series Doctor Who. In 2022, he returned to the show as the fourteenth incarnation. His other notable screen roles include DI Alec Hardy in the crime drama series Broadchurch (2013–2017) and its 2014 remake, Kilgrave in the superhero series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Crowley in the fantasy series Good Omens (2019–present) and various fictionalised versions of himself in the comedy series Staged (2020–2022).
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant in three series and nine specials. The character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs. In 2023, Tennant returned to the role, this time as the fourteenth incarnation of the Doctor.
Totally Doctor Who is a children's television series produced by the BBC that was originally broadcast between 13 April 2006 and 29 June 2007, accompanying the second and third revived series of Doctor Who. At the time of its original broadcast, Doctor Who, a science fiction programme aimed at a family audience, had no existing children's spin-off; The Sarah Jane Adventures, of which the pilot episode was broadcast on New Year's Day, 2007, would replace the series as the only children's show based on Doctor Who until 2009 when K-9 aired.
"Time Crash" is a mini-episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on 16 November 2007, as part of the BBC One telethon for the children's charity Children in Need. Written by Steven Moffat, it starred David Tennant and brought back Peter Davison as the Doctor.
"Midnight" is the tenth episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 June 2008. The episode placed emphasis on the Tenth Doctor, with his companion, Donna Noble playing a minimal role. As a result, this episode has been described as being "companion-lite", in contrast to the usual "Doctor-lite" episodes.
Donna Noble is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a companion of the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors.
"The Waters of Mars" is the third of five specials of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, all serving as David Tennant's final episodes as the Tenth Doctor. As with the previous special, "Planet of the Dead", it was simultaneously broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 15 November 2009.
"The End of Time" is a two-part story of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 25 December 2009 and 1 January 2010. It is the fifth Doctor Who Christmas special and the last entry in a series of specials aired from 2008 to 2010. It marks the final regular appearance of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and introduces Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. At the time, it was the last Doctor Who story written and produced by Russell T Davies, who shepherded the series' return to British television in 2005 and served as the series's executive producer and chief writer, until he returned to the position in 2022 for the 60th anniversary specials onwards.
The 2013 specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who are two additional episodes following the programme's seventh series. In addition to the traditional Christmas episode broadcast on 25 December 2013, a feature of the revived series since 2005, there was also a special celebrating the 50th anniversary of the programme broadcast on 23 November 2013, both airing on BBC One.
The fourteenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who premiered on 11 May 2024, and aired through to 22 June. The marketing for the series refers to it as "Season One", following the production changes and the acquisition of Doctor Who's international broadcasting rights by Disney+. It is the fifth series led by Russell T Davies as head writer and executive producer and the first since his return to the show, having previously worked on it from 2005 to 2010. This series is the fourteenth to air since the programme's revival in 2005, and the fortieth season overall. The fourteenth series was announced with Davies' return for its 60th anniversary in 2023 and beyond, with Bad Wolf becoming a co-producer.
The Fifteenth Doctor is the current incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa. His first series companion is Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson.
The 2023 specials of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who are three special episodes that aired between 25 November and 9 December 2023, to celebrate the programme's 60th anniversary. They were written by Russell T Davies and marked the start of his second tenure as showrunner, having served in the role from the start of Doctor Who's revival in 2005 until leaving in 2010. The specials were broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and on Disney+ internationally.
The Fourteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor and the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who for the 2023 specials. He is portrayed by Scottish actor David Tennant, who previously portrayed the Tenth Doctor and was last seen on the programme in that role in 2013.
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"Destination: Skaro", also known as "Doctor Who Children in Need Special 2023", is a 5-minute mini-episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 17 November 2023, on BBC One as part of the 2023 Children in Need special. "Destination: Skaro" is the second television appearance of David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and preceded Doctor Who's sixtieth anniversary specials. In the episode, a newly regenerated incarnation of the Doctor mistakenly lands on Skaro at the time Davros is creating the Daleks. It was written by Russell T Davies, the Doctor Who showrunner, and directed by Jamie Donoughue. The special received positive reviews but was met with criticism from some fans for the changes made to Davros.