Doctor Who is celebrating its 60th anniversary by bringing back some classic Doctors.
Over 800 episodes of classic Doctor Who are being made available on BBC iPlayer, including several Doctor Who spin-offs such as The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, and Class.
“I’d like to thank the BBC for all the hard work, to get this massive back catalogue under one roof, at long last,” said current showrunner Russell T Davies. “I'm so excited for new viewers - imagine being 8 years old, spending winter afternoons exploring the 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond. And we’re determined this won't be a dusty museum - we have exciting plans to bring the back catalogue to life, with much more to be revealed!”
Celebrating 60 years of Doctor Who, over 800 episodes of #DoctorWho programming are coming to @BBCiPlayer on the 1st November! ?
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) October 10, 2023
Find out more here ➡️ https://t.co/f3St08CGnh pic.twitter.com/TPdXqvZRax
Many of the classic episodes from before the show’s 2005 revival will appear online for the very first time.
Alongside the back catalog, the BBC is also launching a Doctor Who archive exploring the show’s rich, 60-year history. This will include interviews with cast members, written documents, and even a look at hand-written notes from former BBC Head of Drama, Sydney Newman.
It’s perfect timing, too – Doctor Who’s upcoming 60th anniversary will see David Tenant return for a trio of special episodes that also see Ncuti Gatwa take over as the new Doctor.
Gatwa will then star in the upcoming Christmas special before leading his debut season as the Doctor sometime in 2024.
“Doctor Who has captivated countless millions of viewers on the BBC for 60 years and in celebration of this special moment we are bringing classic series to BBC iPlayer for the first time,” said the director of BBC iPlayer, Dan McGolpin. “Fans will be able to enjoy many of the Doctor’s earliest adventures with William Hartnell right through to the very latest series and the soon to be released and tremendously exciting new anniversary specials with David Tennant. We want everyone to be able to enjoy this breathtaking back catalogue, so we are making each episode on iPlayer as accessible as possible, with subtitles, audio description, and sign language all available for the first time.”
These classic Doctor Who episodes will head to BBC iPlayer in the UK on November 1. It’s unclear whether the episodes will be released internationally.
Want to read more about Doctor Who? Check out the complete Doctor Who Blu-ray set as well as which iconic Doctor Who villain is heading to Magic the Gathering.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
