Jamie Stone will direct the first recording block of Doctor Who Series 12, and while that name may be unfamiliar to you, he’s already worked in the Who universe – in fact, in part of the 50th anniversary celebrations!

Stone – grandson of former Mastermind host, Magnus Magnusson – previously directed a couple of short specials – The Last Day, the prelude to The Day of the Doctor, which saw the fall of Arcadia, Gallifrey’s second city on the final day of the Time War; and Clara and the TARDIS, released as part of the Series 7 boxset, in which Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald finds herself once more at odds with the Doctor’s Space-Time Ship.

According to two further crew members, the script supervisor and a camera operator, the episodes shot in South Africa – helmed by Stone – form episodes 1 and 5 of Series 12. The former of these is presumably written by current showrunner, Chris Chibnall. Both are due to feature the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and her companions, Graham O’Brien (Bradley Walsh), Yaz Khan (Mandip Gill), and Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole).

Stone has worked on Tripped, The Village, and Queens of Mystery, and was nominated for a BAFTA for his short film, Orbit Ever After. He’s also worked as a writer, producer, and editor, so we’d say that Doctor Who is very safe in his hands.

Doctor Who Series 12 will air in 2020.