Doctor Who is now in its 56th year since its first broadcast and despite being originally intended as an educational programme, it quickly became one of the most popular entertainment shows on British television. The show recently celebrated the arrival of its first female incarnation of the Doctor, played by Yorkshire-born actor Jodie Whittaker, following 12 ‘canon’ incarnations portrayed by male actors.

Whittaker’s portrayal of the Doctor has been described as a good engineering model for women by Princess Anne; the Doctor is said to have specialised in thermodynamics while studying on her home planet of Gallifrey and is depicted as thoroughly tech-savvy and possessing a superhuman knowledge of the workings of the universe.

Now, the BBC has announced that the next addition to the series will be a short, animated VR film, Doctor Who: The Runaway, which allows viewers to interact with the Doctor as she faces a “deadly threat”.

“Fans will experience the Tardis like never before in this thrilling new interactive story,” said Jo Pearce, creative director of the BBC’s digital drama team. “As ever, the Doctor is full of warmth, wit and charm, helped by a wonderful performance from Jodie, which puts fans at the heart of the story as they immerse themselves in this beautifully animated world.”

The 12-minute story will be produced by the BBC in collaboration with Passion Animation Studies. It will become available on selected VR headsets in the coming months. The story will feature a vocal performance from Whittaker and music by current series composer Segun Akinola. It will be written by Victoria Asare-Archer and directed by Mathias Chelebourg, who has worked previously with VR productions.

“Our team at the BBC VR Hub has been creating new experiences with the goal of helping to usher virtual reality into the mainstream, and Doctor Who is exactly the sort of series that can help more people to try this new technology,” said Zillah Watson, head of the BBC VR Hub. “The show has been pushing boundaries for over 55 years and VR enables Doctor Who to explore a whole new dimension of storytelling.”

The eleventh series of the rebooted Doctor Who ended in December 2018, followed by a New Year Day’s special, and will return to the small screen for a full series in 2020.

Doctor Who is now in its 56th year since its first broadcast and despite being originally intended as an educational programme, it quickly became one of the most popular entertainment shows on British television. The show recently celebrated the arrival of its first female incarnation of the Doctor, played by Yorkshire-born actor Jodie Whittaker, following 12 ‘canon’ incarnations portrayed by male actors.

Whittaker’s portrayal of the Doctor has been described as a good engineering model for women by Princess Anne; the Doctor is said to have specialised in thermodynamics while studying on her home planet of Gallifrey and is depicted as thoroughly tech-savvy and possessing a superhuman knowledge of the workings of the universe.

Now, the BBC has announced that the next addition to the series will be a short, animated VR film, Doctor Who: The Runaway, which allows viewers to interact with the Doctor as she faces a “deadly threat”.

“Fans will experience the Tardis like never before in this thrilling new interactive story,” said Jo Pearce, creative director of the BBC’s digital drama team. “As ever, the Doctor is full of warmth, wit and charm, helped by a wonderful performance from Jodie, which puts fans at the heart of the story as they immerse themselves in this beautifully animated world.”

The 12-minute story will be produced by the BBC in collaboration with Passion Animation Studies. It will become available on selected VR headsets in the coming months. The story will feature a vocal performance from Whittaker and music by current series composer Segun Akinola. It will be written by Victoria Asare-Archer and directed by Mathias Chelebourg, who has worked previously with VR productions.

“Our team at the BBC VR Hub has been creating new experiences with the goal of helping to usher virtual reality into the mainstream, and Doctor Who is exactly the sort of series that can help more people to try this new technology,” said Zillah Watson, head of the BBC VR Hub. “The show has been pushing boundaries for over 55 years and VR enables Doctor Who to explore a whole new dimension of storytelling.”

The eleventh series of the rebooted Doctor Who ended in December 2018, followed by a New Year Day’s special, and will return to the small screen for a full series in 2020.