Series 10: A “Closed off” Doctor, New Companion & Later Filming

Series 10 has been discussed in press interviews over the past few days. First up, Peter Capaldi has hinted that events in the final few episodes of Series 9 will leave the Doctor in a way that may lead him back to being a more “cynical and closed-off” Doctor next year.

Capaldi told press [via]: “It’s been nice to see him more cheerful, but of course as the whole [of Series 9] develops, more terrible things happen. So in fact, I think by the end, he’s going, ‘Oh man, I was right, I should’ve remained cynical and closed off and suspicious’.

“If you’ve been following this Doctor, you’ve seen him go through all those different colours and all those different places. So where he goes now – in series 10 – I don’t know, but he’s been put through the mill.”

Capaldi also revealed his hopes for the next companion, hoping for someone more ‘earthy’: “It’s one of the things I loved about Billie Piper. That was a very new thing in Doctor Who – to have somebody who lived on an estate, and had a much earthier sound to their voice. I mean, I love Jenna – I’m really sad that she’s gone, and I feel quite bad discussing the possibility of somebody else. So it’s no reflection on her. But I think it might be interesting to have somebody who’s a little more earthy!”

Steven Moffat, meanwhile, had bad news for fans who were hoping Osgood would take the role: “She’s a great character and we love her, but whether you really get a relaunch out of bringing someone on board the TARDIS who’s already been there, I don’t know. It did work very well with Catherine Tate [as Donna], but that’s not the direction we’re currently going in. I quite like where we’ve got Osgood at the moment.”

He adds: “I’m not making any promises, but that’s my genuine belief at the moment. Because I think to throw away the chance to say ‘You can start here’ is foolish. If you say, ‘You could start here, but [the companion is] somebody you have to know all about’ then you’ve lost that. I think every time we get a new companion – even more so than a new Doctor – you are sort of saying, ‘This is the beginning. This is where it starts. You can join in here’.”

Despite last week’s comments about Clara being gone forever, Moffat also added: “You can never say that someone can never come back. They always can, because it’s a show about time travel. So it’s entirely possible.”

Finally, Doctor Who’s production designer Michael Pickwoad indicated that filming of next year’s run will not begin until around April/May 2016 (from its usual January start). This would mean there is no way they will have time to film a full series and air it in its entirety in 2016.