Doctor Who approaching mid-point of shooting

The BBC has revealed some limited news about Episodes 5 and 9 of Doctor Who shooting in Cardiff during November.

The writer for Episode 5 is Jamie Mathieson, who has previously written three episodes, Mummy on the Orient Express (2014), Flatline (2014) and (with Steven Moffat) The Girl Who Died (2015).

“I’m back baby, and beyond stoked to be once again putting words in the mouths of the TARDIS crew,” he said. “So what can I tell you? Well, my episode this year is very, very scary. Like, seriously so. ‘Let’s go behind the sofa and just stay there until it’s over’ scary. It’s got more shocks and tense scenes than anything I’ve ever written. And that’s coming from a man who once wrote an episode of My Parents Are Aliens. It’s also a taut thrill ride, a gag fest, a pitch black satire and, for the first time – [notices Steven Moffat approaching with cosh marked ‘no spoilers’] – I’m writing for Bill and Nardole!”

The guest cast includes Kieran Bew, Justin Salinger, Peter Caulfield, Mimi Ndiweni and Karen Brayben.

Episode 9 is written by Rona Munro, author of the very last story of the show’s original 26-year run – the highly acclaimed 1989 Seventh Doctor adventure Survival.

“Writing Survival was my dream job, but it was a mournful time in the show’s history,” she explained. “This has been a very different experience. There’s more of everything; people, resources, confidence, success… but the same constantly renewing and indefinable wonder that is Doctor Who. When I was very small and watching the First Doctor, I had a special cushion known as ‘Rona’s Doctor Whocushion’. I would hide my face in it when the Daleks or other monsters appeared on screen! The Eaters of Light is my version of other stories that have haunted me for almost as long.”

The cast includes Rebecca Benson, Daniel Kerr, Juwon Adedokun, Brian Vernel, Ben Hunter, Aaron Phagura, Sam Adewunmi and Billy Matthews.

Once these episodes are in the can, the series reaches the mid-point of shooting, with Episodes 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 still to go before the cameras.

A sneak peek of this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special will drop on Saturday, Australian time, during the UK’s Children in Need charity event.