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Is It 13 O’Clock Yet?: Counting the Days Between Announcements

Gosh! I am writing shortly after Peter Capaldi has filmed his last scenes as the Twelfth Doctor at the Roath Lock studios in Cardiff. At times such as this, when we know that he’s leaving and that he made the announcement he was leaving nearly 7 months ago, we get ever more impatient for news of his replacement. Not that we want him to go, but we must always look to the future and we NEED to start criticising the replacement choice as soon as possible so we can get maximum moaning done. Not really! We’re just excited and keen for news!
So the BBC has sat down and researched just how long the interminable gap has been between one incumbent announcing their departure and the next one being announced for all his previous regenerations (bar the War Doctor because that’s a bit too tricky to fathom). It’s a well-researched piece with some assumptions having to be made at times – such as Paul McGann being replaced by Christopher Eccleston. McGann never actually got the chance to quit the role, so they took the time from the announcement of the show’s return to the naming of Eccleston as their timeframe for this one (178 days).
The longest gap in the show’s history that matches the circumstances now (that is, with the show currently active and not on a hiatus of any sort) would be from the Second to the Third Doctor. Patrick Troughton announced his departure on 7th January 1969, but when his regeneration story aired at the end of Season 6, there was still no news on his replacement and we didn’t see Jon Pertwee on screen until the start of Season 7, although his appointment was announced on 17th June 1969. That makes it 161 days between announcements.
We are now on day 163 after Capaldi’s announcement. Time is ticking, Mr Chibnall! The regeneration must have been filmed now so tell us who’s Who! Okay, so maybe only half the regeneration has been shot, ie. the bit with Capaldi. I’m still quite keen on either Kris Marshall (who I’ve seen described as a “safe choice”) or Andrew Lee Potts (an experienced time traveller, having served time on ITV’s epoch-hopping Primeval series). Here, in this picture, we see Andrew as The Doctor outside a revamped TARDIS with his new companion…

… Maybe?
I’m assuming it’ll be Chibbers making the announcement as I believe it is he who is in charge of said scene. The news is expected to break very soon now with filming wrapped. Furthermore, August 2013 was when Capaldi was revealed in a rather shonky special broadcast which roped in a totally unrelated and uninterested boy band whose name I forget and have no desire to look up. Will we get another special show like that? I hope not. Let’s just have a news brief with some publicity shots, like in the good old days!
I think I used the word “announcement” far too much now!
So, fellow companions, what do you think? Who and when???

Simon Mills

Is It 13 O’Clock Yet?: Counting the Days Between Announcements

by Simon Mills time to read: 2 min
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