We only learned of the cast for Mark Gatiss‘ docudrama about the early days of Doctor Who last week, and on Sunday they began filming. In the photos below snapped by Andrew Mark Sewell, you can just make out David Bradley as the First Doctor, William Hartnell, and Jessica Raine as Doctor Who producer, Verity Lambert.

Above photo by  by Jake Humphrey. The top picture is from Ann Marie Stephenson and shows the TARDIS on location at Wimbledon Common. The photos from Joseph Burne (left) and Darcylotr (right) below give you an even better look at the original TARDIS’ rougher yet still so recognizable look,

This docudrama is expected to air around the time of Who’s 50th Anniversary, November 23rd.

Source: Doctor Who TV

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Of all the rumors surrounding Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary the most prevalent is a possible reunion of all past Doctors, but at this point, it’s a pipe dream. (Unless you pick up Big Finish’s celebratory audio drama reuniting Doctors 4-8 with digital wizardry cameos from 1, 2, & 3.) But one Doctor will for sure be back on TV in time for the 50th, the First Doctor, William Hartnell as portrayed by David Bradley in the docudrama, An Adventure in Time and Space. Exploring the turbulent beginnings of the long running sci-fi program, the drama is written by frequent Steven Moffat collaborator, Mark Gatiss, with Moffat and Caro Skinner exec producing.

The casting announcement was made along with the announcement BBC America will also be airing the docudrama when it premieres. Not unlike how Doctor Who airs on the same day, both sides of the pond. Filming for An Adventure in Time and Space begins next month. Joining Bradley are Jessica Raine as producer Verity Lambert and Brian Cox  as Sydney Newman, BBC’s then-Head of Drama. Another case of Doctor Who looking within for casting as Bradley already appeared in the Series 7 Part 1 episode, “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship,” and Raine is set to appear in the premiere of Series 7 Part 2. Playing Waris Hussein, the director of Who‘s first episode, “An Unearthly Child,” will be Sacha Dhawan.

I was always curious who’d they find to bring Hartnell back to life, and Argus Filch would not have been my first choice. Now looking at them side by side, and damn, what a likeness. Plus, when I really think about it, he has the perfect demeanor to play the crotchety yet kind Hartnell. Bradley has said he’s “absolutely thrilled” to play a part in the anniversary, adding,

I first heard about this role from Mark [Gatiss] while watching the Diamond Jubilee flotilla from the roof of the National Theatre. When he asked if I would be interested, I almost bit his hand off! Mark has written such a wonderful script not only about the birth of a cultural phenomenon, but a moment in television’s history. William Hartnell was one of the finest character actors of our time and as a fan I want to make sure that I do him justice. I’m so looking forward to getting started.

With the official anniversary date being November 23rd, expect An Adventure in Time and Space to premiere near then, on both BBC and BBC America. Whovians, what do you think of the casting?

Source: BBC America

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Filming is currently underway for the seventh season of Doctor Who. We’ve had a chance to see a few images that leaked showing cast members running, the usual action for any Who episode, but now thanks to Doctor Who Magazine a few rumors about upcoming episodes have been confirmed.

It all started with a comment left on Bleeding Cool’s forum,

He’s written a Western, a genre not seen since in Doctor Who since 1966. It’s being shot in Alemria in Spain at ‘Mini-Hollywood’, which is a Tourist Attraction that was built around the sets from the Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns. (So expect a joke about Ponchos being cool.)
As they did with Croatia a couple of years back, they’re doing location shooting for two episodes while they’re there and the rumour is that the Tabernas Desert will be standing in for the ruins of Skaro.

At the time this comment treated as complete rumor because what facts are there to go from? None. But now after perusing Doctor Who Magazine, Bleeding Cool thinks there might be something to it. First off, DWM confirms they are currently filming in Spain for what will be a Western-genre episode. This Western episode will also feature Farscape‘s Ben Browder as a guest star and Sal Metzstein will be directing. There’s no talk about an episode set on Skaro, so that bit may or may not turn out to be true.

We also learned the episode we saw them filming earlier, the one with Mark Williams, will have a Chris Chibnall-penned screenplay and more guest appearances from Rupert Graves and David Bradley. Finally, for the last bit of Who news revealed in DWM, we now know season seven will be split into two blocks and the assumption is the split will happen with the Christmas episode. Also, two episodes from this second half will have Nick Hurran for director and will be written by Steven Moffat. Place your bets now for whether or not those episodes will be a two-part finale. I’m gonna say yes.

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Yesterday Doctor Who began filming season seven and we’ve got our first look from the set as well as a few casting announcements. Above is the first official image to be released and below you can see a few shots of the cast on set. Nothing too revealing of course, they’ve only been filming for a day. Though, I do love seeing real, solid evidence Doctor Who is currently happening in Cardiff.

See, not much is really spoiled, but you do have to wonder who Mark Williams, known to many as Mr. Weasley in the Harry Potter films, is playing? Many are guessing Rory’s dad and I think that’s a fair assumption. What do you think?

Also joining the cast is another Harry Potter alum, David Bradley, who played Argus Filch in that series, as well as Rupert Graves who was most recently seen on the BBC’s (and oh-so coincidentally Steven Moffat‘s) Sherlock. No word yet on what roles they’ll be playing, but Huzzah! to more awesome actors joining Doctor Who. I really hope Doctor Who is becoming that TV show Brit stars are all clamoring for a guest spot on.

Filming is expected to continue until late in the year and while we’re hoping new episodes will be airing this fall nothing official has been said. Stay tuned for more filming updates and official announcements on Who‘s return. When we know, you’ll know.

Source: Bleeding Cool (2)

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