‘Doctor Who’ Series 12 Set to Debut in 2020 with Brand New Companions?

Series 11 of Doctor Who has gone down relatively well with the huge fanbase. From a shiny new TARDIS to being part of history when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, we’ve had all kinds of adventures so far, and there’s still more to come. Jodie Whittaker, who replaced Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, has been travelling through space and time with not one, not two, but three companions—Graham (Bradley Walsh), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Ryan (Tosin Cole).

The charisma between Jodie (the show’s first ever female Doctor) and companions has been somewhat interesting to watch. Their characters are yet to fully show themselves; however, fans are becoming emotionally attached to them, especially with Graham [O’Brien] following episode three, “Rosa.” But don’t get too attached as it’s rumoured the trio of companions are only sticking around for one series.

This week hasn’t been good for Doctor Who fans as a batch of unwelcoming news didn’t go down well with the fans. Firstly, it is reported that Chris Chibnall, the new Doctor Who showrunner, will be breaking the usual Christmas tradition and ditching the annual Christmas Special, which has been a massive tradition for Doctor Who since the revival in 2005. But the good news to this is that [Chris] Chibnall has plans to move the festive special to New Year’s Day for an hour long special, tying in with events as the world welcomes 2019. In a statement reportedly from the BBC, the comment read:

“The decision to shift the special from Christmas to New Year came from showrunner and writer, Chris Chibnall, who confirmed this summer that an “11th episode” was being made for the BBC while attending Comic Con in San Diego.”

The statement continued on by saying:

“BBC bosses have already made the bold move of shifting the entire series from Saturday to Sunday nights, so they won’t be scared about moving the festive special from Christmas to New Year.”

That’s the first lot of bad news. The second is that Doctor Who is rumoured to be taking another gap year in 2019 ahead of Series 12’s debut in 2020. In the same rumour and source [The Mirror], it is stated that Doctor Who is expected to come off air for the year, making the New Year’s special the only episode of 2019. The delay to 2020 is currently reported to be caused because of filming delays. This statement reads:

“Doctor Who fans are facing a ‘gap year’ with no series to watch during 2019, after filming was pushed back by more than three months. While writer, Chris Chibnall, has penned most of series [twelve], filming for the BBC One show is not due to restart until the New Year. It looks far more likely that the next run will air in winter or spring 2020. There simply isn’t enough time to finish filming an get all the editing done before next October. It’s too tight. We’re facing a gap year.”

This rumour is yet to be confirmed or denied by the BBC and we eagerly await a comment from BBC bosses.

Finally, this third lot of bad news—the loss of the current three companions. It’s been reported on Twitter that all three: Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill, and Tosin Cole will all be departing the show at the end of Series 11 or during the special, whether it’s at Christmas or New Year. The start of the thread reads:

“Now that Series 12 is close to filming, it’s pretty clear that Bradley and Tosin will not be in this series, but no news on Mandip! Might just be them two for series 12.” - @TardisNew

He continued to say, “Bradley is filming a new show, Tosin is in theatre, Jodie is back in Cardiff, and no news on Mandip.” This continues to remain a pure rumour, so for now, take it with a pinch of salt until we know further. For now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of the current series.

Doctor Who airs on Sunday’s on BBC One and BBC America.