Next Doctor announcement in special 4am ABC broadcast
The ABC is to carry 4am live coverage of the BBC’s announcement of the next person to play Doctor Who.
The actor will replace 11th Doctor Matt Smith who steps down after the sci-fi show’s 50th anniversary special later this year.
Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor will air on ABC1 on Monday at 4am Eastern.
Doctor Who is one of the ABC’s most watched BBC imports. Earlier this year, the show was celebrated in a light show at Sydney’s Circular Quay as part of the Vivid Festival. And the ABC will shortly open a Doctor Who exhibition at its Sydney headquarters.
The announcement:
ABC1 is set to simulcast LIVE to Australia the one-off BBC television special Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor, in which the next Doctor will be exclusively revealed to the world, this Monday August 5 at 4am EST.
Following the ABC1 broadcast the half-hour show will be available to watch on iview throughout Monday, and replayed at 8.30pm Monday evening on ABC2.
Brendan Dahill, Controller ABC1 says: “We are extremely excited to be able to reveal the highly anticipated next Doctor to Australia as the breaking news happens live, direct from the UK – a first for the ABC.”Regarded as one of the most hotly contested roles in British television, the 12th Doctor will be unveiled during their first ever interview, in front of a live studio audience set against the backdrop of a swirling vortex, amongst Daleks and the TARDIS.
The special will also include live special guests, Doctors old and new, as well as companions and celebrity fans, and will feature clips and moments from across the show’s 50 year history.
Current Doctor Matt Smith and lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat will both give interviews about one of the biggest roles in TV and set out just what it takes to be the Doctor.
Steven Moffat said: “The decision is made and the time has come to reveal who’s taking over the TARDIS. For the last of the Time Lords, the clock is striking twelve.”
Keep up to date with all the latest news about the show and special guests by following facebook.com/ABCTV and twitter.com/ABCTV #doctorwho
August 5 update: The new Doctor is Peter Capaldi
Peter Capaldi exclusively revealed to the nation as the Twelfth Doctor live on @BBCOne. #DoctorWho. Photo: Rankin. pic.twitter.com/gnaEMczt1w
— BBC One (@BBCOne) August 4, 2013
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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That looks awesome
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Doctor ***ing Who
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MSScBIopM8&feature=youtu.be&t=2m47s
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I’m curious what the ratings were (nationally/internationally)? I was up watching it, as were a few of my friends (that I knew of – we were texting/tweeting each other as it unfolded).
Very excited for Series 8 now 😀
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Hi Paula,
Because it aired after 2am, the ratings won’t be available until tomorrow morning.
I’d be interested to hear the experiences of anybody who watched it on iView this morning. I noticed that as of about 6am, it didn’t seem to be available.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
I tried watching it when I got up at around 6.30am in Brisbane and it wasn’t available – I’ll admit I was disappointed, especially as the BBC had been able to get it up on their iPlayer.
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Aah thanks Tim. Re: iView, the episode is up and running now – perhaps too many people were trying to watch it?
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It probably took a while for the ABC to upload the announcement to iView because of all that Vote Compass traffic… 🙂
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The news was spoilered online at midnight last night (when I googled to check what time the ABC was doing the live broadcast) by the likes of the Port Macquarie News and the Ballarat Courier! Due to a story from the UK that bookmaker William Hill had suspended betting on Capaldi due to odds hitting 5/6 – there had clearly been a leak.
Of course it was still only speculation, but it turned out I could have saved myself an hour of lost sleep this morning as the story proved to be entirely correct!
Disappointing to find out that way though I must admit. While I was happy with the choice I was disappointed that the story wasn’t wrong and that the cone of silence had failed on the BBC.
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