Why isn’t there a Doctor Who panel at San Diego Comic-Con?
Sadly, we’ll have to wait a little longer to see Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor in action again
While there’s an awful lot of exciting movies and TV shows coming to San Diego Comic-Con this year there’s a few notable absences, one of which is BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who.
Last year, ahead of Jodie Whittaker’s first series, the time-travel drama had a big presence at the convention and unveiled all sorts of new details during their panel, but this year they’ve given it a miss.
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The reason? Well, last time Doctor Who was only a few months away from an October 2018 start date, whereas this time production is at an earlier stage ahead of an expected early 2020 release – in other words, it’s a bit too early for them to be showing stuff off from the series.
RadioTimes.com understands that the BBC also decided that the filming of the new episodes took precedence over any promotional opportunities at this stage, preferring to hold their powder until closer to transmission and debuting new footage or images this autumn instead.
Still, Doctor Who hasn’t forgotten San Diego Comic-Con already, with Jodie Whittaker herself recording a special Twitter message to attendees.
“Hi San Diego Comic-Con!” Whittaker says in the clip. “We’re currently filming the next season of Doctor Who, coming soon to BBC America. But we wanted to wish you all a very happy 50th birthday.
“You’re six years younger than our show is, and we’re both growing older VERY gracefully.”
And with plenty of Doctor Who and other BBC merchandise very much a presence at the event, it’s fair to say that Whovians will still have plenty to enjoy this year.
Doctor Who returns to BBC1 in early 2020
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
