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WIDWWA News
Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers Confirmed for BBC Three
It has been announced that, the Ronald D. Moore created, BBC Three ‘Doctor Who’ Sitcom, which will air in 2023, will be titled ‘Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers’ and will star Jo Brand as the Monk.
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The series, which was officially announced in January, was created by Ronald D. Moore, who was approached in October 2021, during the production of ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ about creating a ‘Doctor Who’ series for the newly relaunched BBC Three channel. BBC Three is a channel aimed at 18-34 year olds, in the UK, which focuses on comedy and drama, and is often less mainstream than its sister channels.
Creator Ronald D. Moore said in January: “Jane [Espenson] approached me with the idea of setting up a new Doctor Who series when our work on ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ was just beginning. BBC Three approached about a tentpole show for 18–34-year-olds, around October time, and luckily I had just the thing under my sleeve.”
While Ronald D. Moore created the show, he turned down the offer to showrun it, past the pilot, with it being announced in March that, former script editor, and comedy writer, Steven Moffat will instead be taking up the job. Steven Moffat said, in March: “Jane [Espenson] approached me, earlier this year, to take the reins of this very exciting show, and I just couldn’t turn down the opportunity. We’re aiming for young people, just before the watershed, who want to watch a science-fiction comedy series, also set in the confines of the Doctor Who universe.”
While BBC Three runs mainly during the night, with postwatershed and more adult content, it begins broadcasting at 7pm, for two hours before the watershed, and one of the shows occupying those two familyfriendly hours will be ‘Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers’. The first series will consist of 6x30 minute episodes, and will be shot in front of a live studio audience, of 200 people, at WhoStudios in Greater Manchester, during June and July, this year. Tickets for fans to attend the live studio recordings are available to book on doctorwho.com now. This show will also be the first that Mal Young’s, newly formed, WhoStudios will be producing.
The main star of the show, has now been announced as Jo Brand, who will be playing the Monk, a role she stepped into, last month, during ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’. Brand is an actor and comedian, much like her predecessors in the role, and heralds from Clapham. Brand says: “First they offer me a role in Doctor Who, and then they give me the keys to my own show, written by the wonderful Steven Moffat, no less! What a joy! See you all next year...”
‘Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers’ will launch in 2023 on BBC Three, and on Paramount+ internationally, running for 6 episodes, each 30 minutes in length. Episode 1 will be written by Ronald D. Moore, with the remaining 5 episodes by Steven Moffat. It will be Doctor Who’s first venture into a dedicated comedy series!
Full Main Cast of Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers
In even more exclusive news, we can reveal the full main cast of ‘Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers’, ahead of the studio recordings this month.
Not only will the show feature Jo Brand as the Monk, but additionally Ray Fearon as Eric; Sally Bretton as Astrid; Adrian Lukis as Glala and Nina Wadia as Ruksana.
The resumes of these six actors stretch far and wide, with work such as Absolutley Fabulous, Fleabag, Not Going Out, Death in Paradise, The Office, The Bill, Peak Practice, Red Dwarf, Goodness Gracious Me, Still Open All Hours, The Outlaws, Citizen Khan, and soaps, EastEnders and Coronation Street...
Foreign Adaptations to Stream on Paramount+
It has been announced that Doctor Who’s foreign adaptations, which already stream on Paramount+, internationally, will be finding a home on the service, when it launches in the UK, this month.
They will still exclusively air on BBC Four, but following their availability on BBC iPlayer, for 12 months after broadcast, they will arrive on Paramount+, for their exclusive streaming home.
On 22 June, Dokter Wie S1&2; Doctor Misterio S1; Doctor Who: Through Time and Space S1&2 and Mysteriet Doktorn S1, will be available on the service.
Mysteriet Doktorn S2; Doctor Who: Through Time and Space’s ‘Eve’ and Dokter Wie: Eindpsel will follow once they leave BBC iPlayer, 12 months after broadcast. Apart from the movies, no other Doctor Who content will feature in the UK.
