Doctor Who: Unleashed
| Doctor Who: Unleashed | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Based on | |
| Directed by | Jonathon Aiken |
| Presented by | Steffan Powell |
| Theme music composer | Ron Grainer |
| Opening theme | Doctor Who theme music |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Jo Pearce |
| Running time | 28–29 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 17 November 2023 – present |
| Related | |
Doctor Who: Unleashed is a documentary series created by the BBC to complement episodes of Doctor Who from 2023 onwards. It is hosted by former Newsbeat presenter Steffan Powell, and is seen as a spiritual successor to the former documentary series Doctor Who Confidential (2005–2011).
Unleashed first accompanied the 60th anniversary specials, as well as following specials and episodes of the fourteenth and fifteenth series. Episodes of Unleashed, each spanning 30 minutes, are released after the initial release of each Doctor Who episode.
Production
[edit]In April 2023, it was reported that a series similar to Doctor Who Confidential would premiere alongside the 60th anniversary specials of the main show. Following this at a GalaxyCon event, David Tennant made references to a behind-the-scenes crew on the set of the specials, stating that "it was all filmed by all the various Doctor Who Confidential-style people, so you'll see all that. But it was very exciting for us, for them to visit us on set."[1]
On 27 September 2023, Unleashed was officially announced, and was set to air on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer in 30 minute episodes, presented on set by former Newsbeat presenter Steffan Powell in contrast to the fly on the wall style of Confidential.[2]
On 22 June 2024, it was announced that Unleashed would return in 2025 for the fifteenth series of Doctor Who.[3] Beginning with series 15, episodes were simultaneously released on the Doctor Who YouTube channel for international audiences alongside their iPlayer release.[4] A special hour-long episode of Unleashed documenting the 2005 revival process of Doctor Who is currently in production to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the revival. It is set to be released in June 2025 on BBC iPlayer and YouTube.[5][6]
Episodes
[edit]| Series | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | |||
| Specials | Supp. | 17 November 2023 | BBC iPlayer / BBC Three | ||
| 3 | 25 November 2023 | 9 December 2023 | |||
| 1 | Special | 25 December 2023 | |||
| 9 | 11 May 2024 | 22 June 2024 | |||
| 2[7] | Special | 25 December 2024 | |||
| 8 | 12 April 2025 | 31 May 2025 | BBC iPlayer / BBC Three / YouTube | ||
| Special | 7 June 2025 | ||||
Specials (2023)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Episode discussed | Original release date | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supplemental | ||||||||||||
| 1 | – | "Children in Need" | "Destination: Skaro" | 17 November 2023 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : David Tennant, Russell T Davies, Mawaan Rizwan, Vicki Delow, Scott Handcock, Barnaby Edwards | ||||||||||||
| Specials | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | "The Star Beast" | "The Star Beast" | 25 November 2023 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Russell T Davies, Yasmin Finney, Dave Gibbons, Pat Mills, Cecily Fay, Paul Kasey, Loren Clark, Elaine Morris, Gerard Moore, Brian Herring, Miriam Margolyes, Angharad Evans | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 2 | "Wild Blue Yonder" | "Wild Blue Yonder" | 2 December 2023 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Russell T Davies | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 3 | "The Giggle" | "The Giggle" | 9 December 2023 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Russell T Davies, Ruth Madeley, Neil Patrick Harris, Ncuti Gatwa | ||||||||||||
Series 1 (2024)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Episode discussed | Original release date | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special | ||||||||||||
| 5 | – | "The Church on Ruby Road" | "The Church on Ruby Road" | 25 December 2023 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Davina McCall | ||||||||||||
| Series | ||||||||||||
| 6 | 1 | "Space Babies" | "Space Babies" | 11 May 2024 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Robert Strange, Ellen Marsh | ||||||||||||
| 7 | 2 | "The Devil's Chord" | "The Devil's Chord" | 11 May 2024 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Jinkx Monsoon, Murray Gold, Ben Chessell | ||||||||||||
| 8 | 3 | "Boom" | "Boom" | 18 May 2024 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Varada Sethu | ||||||||||||
| 9 | 4 | "73 Yards" | "73 Yards" | 25 May 2024 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Aneurin Barnard, Vicki Delow, Dylan Holmes Williams | ||||||||||||
| 10 | 5 | "Dot and Bubble" | "Dot and Bubble" | 1 June 2024 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Callie Cooke, Vicki Delow, Dylan Holmes Williams | ||||||||||||
| 11 | 6 | "Rogue" | "Rogue" | 8 June 2024 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Kate Herron, Briony Redman, Jonathan Groff, Indira Varma, Pam Downe | ||||||||||||
| 12 | 7 | "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" | "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" | 15 June 2024 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Yasmin Finney, Jemma Redgrave, Genesis Lynea, Lenny Rush, Susan Twist, Aidan Cook, Phil Sims, Jamie Donoughue | ||||||||||||
| 13 | 8 | "Empire of Death" | "Empire of Death" | 22 June 2024 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Jamie Donoughue, Bonnie Langford, Anita Dobson, Angela Wynter, Gabriel Woolf, Joel Collins, Sebastian Barker | ||||||||||||
| 14 | 9 | "Unseen" | Series 14 | 22 June 2024 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Scott Handcock, Phil Collinson, Julie Anne Robinson, Paul Joseph, Jessica Barfoot, Amol Rajan, Iwan Roberts, Shuaib Said, Kitty Carin-Boyd, Jackie Saundercock, Juliet Ireland | ||||||||||||
Series 2 (2025)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Episode discussed | Original release date [7] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special | ||||||||||||
| 15 | – | "Joy to the World" | "Joy to the World" | 25 December 2024 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Steven Moffat, Russell T Davies, Nicola Coughlan, Danny Hargreaves, Michael van Kesteren, Alex Sanjiv Pillai, Jonathan Aris, Neill Gorton | ||||||||||||
| Series | ||||||||||||
| 16 | 1 | "The Robot Revolution" | "The Robot Revolution" | 12 April 2025 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Russell T Davies, Jonny Green, Robert Strange, Stephen Love, Sharon King, Peter Hoar, Phil Sims, Danny Hargreaves | ||||||||||||
| 17 | 2 | "Lux" | "Lux" | 19 April 2025 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Russell T Davies, Varada Sethu, Ian Spendloff, Neil Boyle, Daniella Marsh, Jamie Talbutt, Louise Brown, Linus Roache, Amanda Brotchie, Ifan Lewis, Cassius Hackforth, Shuaib Said, Chris May, Anita Dobson | ||||||||||||
| 18 | 3 | "The Well" | "The Well" | 26 April 2025 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Sarah Lawrence, Jess Gardner, Russell T Davies, Amanda Brotchie, Varada Sethu, Rhys Jones, Bethany Antonia, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Christopher Chung, Derek Lea, Paul Kasey, Chris May, Devante Fleming, Salma Salah, Beyagy Demba | ||||||||||||
| 19 | 4 | "Lucky Day" | "Lucky Day" | 3 May 2025 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies, Ncuti Gatwa, Jonah Hauer-King, Pete McTighe, Peter Hoar, Michelle Victoria McGrath, Alex Moore, Jennifer Day, Ruth Madeley, Jemma Redgrave, Alex Jones, Evangeline Davies, Sarah MacLeod, Neill Gorton, Paul Kasey, Gethin Alderman | ||||||||||||
| 20 | 5 | "The Story & the Engine" | "The Story & the Engine" | 10 May 2025 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Ncuti Gatwa, Inua Ellams, Russell T Davies, Varada Sethu, Sharon King, Taiye Omokore, Ephraim Onyegbule, Ariyon Bakare, Stefan Adegbola, Michael Balogun, Rhys Jones, Devante Fleming, Makalla McPherson, Vicki Delow, Rosey-Pepper Mortley, Jennifer Day, Llion Joshua, Sule Rimi, Jordan Adene, Jo Martin, Michelle Asante | ||||||||||||
| 21 | 6 | "The Interstellar Song Contest" | "The Interstellar Song Contest" | 17 May 2025 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Russell T Davies, Juno Dawson, Graham Norton, Rylan Clark, Miriam-Teak Lee, Abdoul Razak Ceesay, Varada Sethu, Ncuti Gatwa, Ben A Williams, Anita Dobson, Geraint Harvard Jones, Jennifer Day, Carole Ann Ford, Erica McEwan, Kiruna Stamell, Molly Baldwin | ||||||||||||
| 22 | 7 | "Wish World" | "Wish World" | 24 May 2025 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : Russell T Davies, Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Chris May, Phill Bull, Alex Sanjiv Pillai, Beyagy Demba, Steve Rees, Devante Fleming, Atilla Akinci, Brad Perry, Hattie Williams, Ralph Sansum, Sarah MacLeod, Sarah-Hoor Aboubakar, Moses Stringer-Ogundeji, Archie Panjabi, Anita Dobson, Julie Fernandez, Benjamin Black, Ruth Madeley, Molly Baldwin, Jemma Redgrave, Alexander Devrient, Phil Sims, Jennifer Day, Jack Murphy | ||||||||||||
| 23 | 8 | "The Reality War" | "The Reality War" | 31 May 2025 | ||||||||
| Special | ||||||||||||
| 24 | – | "20 Years in Wales" | The revived era's 20th anniversary[6][8] | 7 June 2025 | ||||||||
| Interviewees : David Tennant, Jodie Whittaker, Billie Piper, Pearl Mackie, Mandip Gill, Steven Moffat, Chris Chibnall, Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Russell T Davies, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Edward Thomas, Ray Holman | ||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ Craig, David (12 April 2023). "David Tennant confirms return of Doctor Who Confidential-style show". Radio Times. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Harp, Justin (27 September 2023). "Doctor Who confirms spin-off show return". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Steffan Powell (presenter), Jonathon Aiken (director) (22 June 2024). "Unseen". Doctor Who: Unleashed. Series 14. Episode 9. BBC. BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
- ^ @bbcdoctorwho (11 April 2025). "UNLEASHED on the whole world! 📽️ You can now go further behind-the-scenes than ever before, watch #DoctorWho: Unleashed weekly on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on the Doctor Who YouTube channel in the rest of the world 📺" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 April 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ Whitbrook, James (3 April 2025). "Doctor Who Will Celebrate Its Revival's Big Anniversary With a New Documentary". Gizmodo. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Special episode of Doctor Who: Unleashed announced celebrating 20 years of revival". Doctor Who TV. 16 May 2025. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ a b "BBC One - Doctor Who: Unleashed - Next on". BBC. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
- ^ Hibbs, James (29 May 2025). "Doctor Who favourites Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill confirmed for Unleashed anniversary special". Radio Times. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
External links
[edit]
- Doctor Who: Unleashed at BBC Online
- Doctor Who: Unleashed playlist on YouTube
- Doctor Who: Unleashed at IMDb
- Doctor Who: Unleashed on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki
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