There will be no bad wolf this year. Matt Streven’s has confirmed that the recurring theme of series 11 will be…nothing. Nada. Zip. Instead, Jodie Whittaker’s first series aboard the TARDIS will swap the linked theme threading its way through a series for something a little different.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Streven said that the recurring theme or arc, which has been ever present since the show returned in 2005, won’t be recurring this time around – with the focus switching to something a little more organic.
He said:
“I’d say the only series arc is the growing relationship between the Doctor and her new friends, and how that team builds across the series.
“In terms of a story arc, there’s a few little treats in there if you watch every episode, there’s a few little things, but no – mainly it’s standalone. The ‘serial’, if you like, is the growing relationship between the companions.”
The switch is very much in keeping with showrunner Chris Chibnall’s desire to strip everything back to basics – dropping the emphasis on continuity that weighed down the last few series of Steven Moffat’s tenure for something more inclusive and welcoming for new viewers.
As Chibnall said at this years San Diego Comic Con:
“What we want is for people to feel like we’ve got the range and variety of Doctor Who this year. So if you’ve never seen it before, you’re gonna fall in love with it, and if you have seen it, you’re gonna get those things that you love about the show across the 10 episodes.”
Doctor Who returns Sunday 7th October with The Woman Who Fell to Earth on BBC One at 6:45 pm.
