Doctor Who Series 14: BBC One and Disney+ release date, trailer, and cast with Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson

The next full series of Doctor Who – which is set to star Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor – will arrive on BBC One and Disney+ in early 2023.

The series, which will also star Millie Gibson as companion Ruby Sunday, will be helmed by returning showrunner Russell T Davies.

Here’s everything you need to know about Doctor Who Series 14, ahead of its release in 2024.

Who will star in Doctor Who Series 14?

Ncuti Gatwa is playing the Fifteenth Doctor, taking over the part from Jodie Whittaker (amongst others). Gatwa is best known for playing Eric Effiong in Netflix’s young adult drama Sex Education, but his star is very much on the rise anyway – before Gatwa makes his Doctor Who debut, you’ll have had a chance to see him in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Tom Hanks’ WWII drama Masters of the Air.

Millie Gibson is playing Ruby Sunday, companion to the Fifteenth Doctor. Gibson is best known for playing Kelly Neenan on Coronation Street, but you might also recognise her from appearances in Butterfly and Love, Lies, and Records. Gibson also starred in the CBBC drama Jamie Johnson prior to joining Coronation Street.

A number of guest stars and supporting actors joining the series have also been announced. Ruth Madeley, best known for starring in Years and Years and Then Barbara Met Alan, will play Shirley Anne Bingham in the Doctor Who 60^th anniversary. While we don’t know much about Bingham, producer Phil Collinson has revealed the character will play an important ongoing role in Doctor Who – suggesting it’s likely that Madeley will return for Series 14 and star alongside Gatwa and Gibson.

In January 2023, it was confirmed that Jemma Redgrave (Casualty) would return to Doctor Who once again to play Kate Stewart – a recurring character and ally of the Doctor that Redgrave first portrayed in 2012, going on to appear alongside Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker. Meanwhile, Aneurin Barnard (Thirteen, The White Queen, 1899) will play the mysterious – and, per fan speculation, villainous – Roger ap Gwilliam. (“Ap” is an affectation that means “son of” in Welsh.) It’s also been announced that Anita Dobson (Eastenders) and Michelle Greenidge (It’s A Sin) will star alongside Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson in Series 14. In April 2023, it was announced that Jinkx Monsoon - twice winner of Ru Paul's Drag Race - would be joining the series in a "major role", though little is known beyond this.

In May 2023, it was revealed that Jonathan Groff - best known for appearing in Glee, Frozen, and Mindhunter - would also appear in Doctor Who Series 14. Given his background in musical theatre - Groff also appeared in Hamilton on Broadway - is it perhaps reasonable to assume that Doctor Who S14 will feature a musical episode? Some weeks later, it was announced that Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Obsession) had also joined the cast as a character called "the Duchess".

At the start of June 2023, it was revealed that - as had been rumoured previously but never officially confirmed - Bonnie Langford would be reprising her role as Mel Bush. Langford previously appeared in the series during the 1980s, as companion to both Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor and Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor.

Who is writing and directing Doctor Who Series 14?

At the moment, the only writer confirmed to be working on Doctor Who Series 14 is executive producer and showrunner Russell T Davies (though it’s generally understood that he’ll be joined by some individual guest writers). Davies is best known as the creator of shows like Queer as Folk and It’s A Sin, and of course was previously in charge of Doctor Who during the Eccleston and Tennant years.

It’s believed that the first two production blocks on Series 14 will be helmed by directors Dylan Holmes Williams (Servant) and Mark Tonderai (House at the End of the Street, Daybreak). Williams is new to the series, while Tonderai has previously directed two episodes of Doctor Who with Jodie Whittaker (The Ghost Monument and Rosa, both in her first series).

Is there a trailer?

Not quite yet, no – but you might want to check out this video of Ncuti Gatwa explaining what Doctor Who is, which is just quite neat.

When and how can I watch Doctor Who series 14?

Ncuti Gatwa is currently expected to appear in at least a small capacity in the 60^th anniversary specials in November 2023, but otherwise he’ll make his full debut during the 2023/24 festive period – the prevailing assumption is that that’ll be a Christmas special, but it could be a New Year’s Day special potentially.

After that, Series 14 is expected to begin in early 2024 – beyond that, though, we don’t know much else. Could it air in early January, with the festive special acting as a first episode (a bit like Call the Midwife or Death in Paradise)? Or will the series air in the spring, as it used to with David Tennant?

In the UK, Doctor Who Series 14 will broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer. Internationally, the series will be available exclusively on Disney+ (with Disney as a new producing partner on the show).

How many episodes will there be?

Writing in Doctor Who Magazine, Russell T Davies confirmed that Doctor Who Series 14 would be comprised of eight episodes and a festive special (meaning nine episodes altogether).

There’s been no official word either way as to the length of those episodes, but it seems a reasonable assumption that they’ll be within the standard 45 minutes to an hour.

Are there going to be any Doctor Who spin-offs?

Yes, there will! Speaking to GQ ahead of the release of Nolly, Davies confirmed plans for Doctor Who to “enter its next stage”.

“I thought the streaming platforms are ready, the spin-offs are ready; I always believed in spin-offs when I was there. I did Torchwood as a spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures as a spin-off,” said Davies. “I thought – with no criticism whatsoever towards the people who were running it at the time, because they were running it within the BBC’s measures – it was time for the next stage for Doctor Who.”

Even before that, it was something Davies had alluded to on more than one occasion. In January 2021 – before, as we now know, he’d entered formal negotiations to take over Doctor Who again – Davies suggested in an interview that the show should be the centre of a Marvel style cinematic universe, specifically comparing Doctor Who to the multiple Star Trek spinoffs currently airing. (Later in the same GQ interview, Davies notes there’s 52 new episodes of Star Trek a year - suggesting, perhaps, similar plans for Doctor Who spinoffs...)

Since then, there have been heavy tabloid rumours - though no official confirmation - of a Torchwood-esque spinoff following UNIT, and an animated series for younger viewers following different monsters.

And what’s going on with David Tennant again…?

David Tennant is going to star in the upcoming Doctor Who 60th anniversary, headlining three specials… as the Fourteenth Doctor. In an unexpected (ish) twist, Jodie Whittaker’s final episode saw her regenerate not into Ncuti Gatwa but into David Tennant again – and the reason why the Fourteenth Doctor shares the same face as the Tenth will be the big mystery the Doctor has to solve next year.

Tennant will be joined by Catherine Tate, back once again as Donna, as well as Neil Patrick Harris and Heartstopper’s Yasmine Finney. The 60^th anniversary will take place in November 2023, with the three episodes expected to air around 23 November (though probably not on 23 November, because it’s a Thursday).