Showrunner Chris Chibnall describes what he did last summer…

Photo © Jeff Gilbert

Matt Strevens, Jamie Childs, Sam Heasman and Jo Pearce.

What a difference a year makes. Flash back to July 2017. I’m in a forest with Jo Pearce (Doctor Who’s social and digital genius), Matt Strevens, our soon-to-be new series lead director Jamie Childs and his director of photography Sam Heasman. Before he’s shot a frame of the show, we’ve convinced Jamie to shoot the tiny short film revealing the new Doctor, on his weekend off from another job. He agrees, without knowing who the new Doctor will be.

We’re looking at a beautiful ruin area that Matt and Jo have spotted. What if the Doctor walked through there? Ooh, that’s a nice broken-down wall. What if we had the TARDIS here, and the last shot is the new Doctor walking towards it?

In my mind I’m thinking: Are we really doing this? A secret shoot, with only nine people involved? Will this work? Can we reveal the new Doctor this way? Are the BBC really going to put it out during the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final? Is it crazy? Will people even watch or notice? (Turns out the answer to all those questions is yes.)

Somewhere on a train, Jodie Whittaker is making her way towards us, having told people she’s off to make a low-budget Scandinavian film this weekend.