BBC iPlayer brings back all of new Doctor Who
David Farnor | On 04, Jun 2018
BBC iPlayer is bringing back all of modern Doctor Who to stream as a bumper free box set ths summer.
Ahead of Jodie Whittaker taking up the mantle of the Thirteenth Doctor this autumn, the BBC is taking a special voyage back through the archives of the rebooted series, with every episode since the 2005 revival available, as fans prepare for another new era of the sci-fi show.
All 10 seasons will be available as box sets, including every special from the past 13 years of the Doctor’s adventures, even mini-episode The Night Of The Doctor. Whovians can take the TARDIS back to 2005 to enjoy every moment, from Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor first meeting Rose right up to Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor’s final moments in 2017’s Twice Upon A Time.
The series has been one of the BBC’s biggest successes since returning in 2005, and has seen an extraordinary number of big names appear on the show. In addition to Eccleston and Capaldi, David Tennant and Matt Smith both had star-making turns as the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor respectively, and big-name guest stars have included Carey Mulligan, Simon Pegg, Derek Jacobi, Kylie Minogue, Andrew Garfield, Felicity Jones and Bill Nighy.
It marks a growing focus on box sets from the Beeb, as it uses the BBC’s wealth of archive programmes to bolster its already comprehensive BBC iPlayer line-up. Previous series of Our Girl and The Bridge were recently brought back to BBC iPlayer before the new series aired, providing fans with a chance to remind themselves where things left off and for new viewers to see what all the fuss was about. The decision to do the same with Doctor Who follows a similar retrospective currently unfolding on Twitch, where 500 classic episodes from the first seven Doctors is currently underway. (For more on that, click here.)
Dan McGolpin, controller of programming for the BBC, says: “We’re reinventing the BBC for a new generation, and BBC iPlayer is key to that. Bringing back these series of Doctor Who is just part of our offer this summer, giving viewers the chance to uncover or rediscover the Doctor’s previous adventures. You can also watch the World Cup live in UHD, catch-up on the latest stories unfolding in Albert Square and binge-watch boxset drama like Our Girl, or comedy like This Country. BBC iPlayer will have something for everyone.”
All 10 seasons of new Who will be available on BBC iPlayer from Monday 4th June.