What we know about the Doctor Who series 14 premiere

Doctor Who will soon return for its fourteenth season, marking Ncuti Gatwa's first full outing as The Doctor alongside Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday.

The BBC has revealed new details about the show's return, including episode titles and new casting information, so that fans can prepare themselves for a new adventure in the TARDIS. In a first for the series, and news that is no doubt exciting for fans, the show will return with a double bill.

Here is everything that you need to know about the show's return.

When will Doctor Who's series 14 premiere air on TV?

Doctor Who will be made available on BBC iPlayer at midnight on Saturday, 11 May, and it will then air on BBC One later that day.

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The show's new release time marks a change for the franchise, which normally premieres directly onto BBC One before coming out on BBC iPlayer. This is because the series will also be available on Disney+ globally, and the deal between the channel and the streaming service means that it will be available to stream first rather than air on TV.

What to know about Doctor Who series 14's premiere

Doctor Who series 14 is set to begin with the episode Space Babies, which will see Ruby venture out on her first expedition alongside The Doctor. Series 14 is also being called season 1, in a move that would describe the new season as a soft reboot of the franchise.

Written by Russell T Davies and directed by Julie Anne Robinson, the episode Space Babies will be set on a spaceship and will see Ruby and The Doctor face a mysterious monster. The episode will also star Golda Rosheuvel, who takes on the role of Jocelyn.

Read more: Every Doctor Who companion to leave after one season as Millie Gibson 'exits'

It is not yet known what Jocelyn's part in The Doctor and Ruby's story is, but it appears she is a member of the crew on the spaceship bing terrorised by a monster. Showrunner Russell T Davies said of Rosheuvel's casting: "It’s been amazing to see the whole world appreciate Golda’s talents, because of Bridgerton, and it’s been an absolute joy to invite her to Cardiff to help launch Ncuti and Millie’s first season."

This episode will be closely followed by The Devil's Chord, which is set in the 1960s and will see the Doctor and Ruby meet The Beatles. It will star RuPaul's Drag Race icon Jinkx Monsoon as an unnamed villain, who is described as being "the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet" — it has not yet been revealed who will portray the iconic musicians

When speaking about the new series ahead of the release of the 2023 Christmas special, Davies teased that The Devil's Chord is "nuts".

Davies explained: "The next episode is so completely different, and the one after that is The Beatles, it's nuts. It keeps changing and so it's always beyond your reach, actually. One of the things about it that makes it is the team, they all have to work hard and I think it helps very much that everybody on the show knows that children are watching it.

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"It's not a children's show but that's a different atmosphere when you come into work with grips whose kids or their neighbours kids, or their nephews and nieces, are all watching it, and that's very different to working on most shows that's just about a murder in a cottage. It's a lovely show."

Doctor Who series 14 premieres on BBC iPlayer in the UK at midnight on 11 May, and it will then air on BBC One later that day. The series will also be available on Disney+ globally.

Watch the trailer for Doctor Who series 14: