According to numerous sources on Twitter, it looks likely that filming has wrapped on this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special. The currently untitled episode is hugely notable as it will be the final instalment helmed by showrunner Steven Moffat and, more importantly (sorry, Moff), the last to star Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. As such, the end of production was celebrated by a ‘golden wrap’ party.
The tweets below are from various Doctor Who personnel. Namely, brand manager Edward Russell, casting director Andy Pryor and Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury.
The Doctor Who 'Golden Wrap' party was lovely! Marvellous to see so many good friends – and to congratulate everyone who has worked so hard.
— Tom Spilsbury (@TomSpilsbury) July 8, 2017
#DoctorWho Golden wrap done. Bittersweet, as these things tend to be. Farewell & thank you #PeterCapaldi & I doff my cap to @Pearlie_mack
— Andy Pryor C.D.G. (@pryorandy) July 8, 2017
Most amazing part of last night's #DoctorWho wrap party was a video message for Steven from none other than Christopher Eccleston!
— Edward Russell (@edwardrussell) July 8, 2017
Whoah, hold on a sec! Former Doctor Christopher Eccleston sent Steven Moffat a video message? That’s a lovely and very promising gesture from the actor, who has been notoriously keen to distance himself from the show since he exited the lead role back in 2005.
One Tweet also implies that Pearl Mackie attended the wrap party. This could suggest that she’ll be in the Christmas special, even though her character Bill seemingly left the Doctor’s life when she went to explore the universe with her sort-of girlfriend Heather in the season finale.
There’s one other big, important deduction we can make here, too. If filming has completely wrapped on the Christmas special, that must mean that the next Doctor has already filmed their first scenes, right? Typically, the old Doctor will bow out a few moments before the end of their final episode. The new Doctor will then get to introduce themselves to the audience for a few minutes, basically serving as a tease for when the show returns with them in the lead.
Still, we don’t yet know who the next Doctor will be, and it would be surprising if they were able to sneak the actor (or actress) in to film their scenes without it leaking. Maybe this Christmas special will handle things differently, then? Could the episode end with the Doctor still mid-regeneration? Leaving us to find out his next face at a later date?
Right now, the mystery of the next regeneration is all up in the air. What we do know is that the Doctor Who special will pair the Twelfth Doctor with the First (played by Harry Potter‘s David Bradley), and if any more developments come to light, we’ll be sure to let you know.
