The entertainment landscape has been changed drastically due to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Production on film and television shows have been halted, effecting the release of new shows and movies seemingly through the rest of the year. There is one thing for Doctor Who fans to look forward to though after series 12 of the show concluded in March, this year’s holiday special has already been shot and is on track to be released after Christmas of this year. Star Mandip Gill confirmed the news to EW, revealing that “Revolution of the Daleks” has been shot, saying: “There is a festive episode. We happened to be quite lucky and fit it in, so that will be exciting.”
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Series showrunner Chris Chibnall previously confirmed to Radio Times that the holiday special is on the way and promised what fans can expect in the episode. “Rest assured, the Doctor and her friends will be back for a one-off extended Special around Christmas and New Year. (I don’t know when they’re going to put it on yet, otherwise we’d tell you!). There will be Daleks. There will be exterminations. Thrills, laughter, tears. You know. The usual. See you at the end of the year.”
Chibnall confirmed at the end of April that work on the special was being finished remotely, writing in the “Production Notes” section of Doctor Who Magazine: “Post-production continues on Revolution of the Daleks. Our brilliant teams are working remotely on the visual effects shots and sending them in.Nothing brightens a day like a new FX shot in your inbox, no matter how early the stage it’s at.”
He also confirmed that work on series 13 of the show is also underway as well, adding “Stories are forming, writers are writing, conversations keep going, plans continue to be hatched.” As fans of the long running sci-fi series are well aware, the most recent batch of episodes ended on a cliffhanger with Jodie Whittaker‘s version of the character now imprisoned in space by the Judoon and serving a life sentence in a maximum security facility. How she’ll get out of that pickle remains to be seen.
The good news for Doctor Who, and other productions in the UK, is that restrictions barring further production on film and television shows have begun to be lifted across the pond. Safety plans are required by producers in order to gain approval however, with larger productions facing more hurdles than smaller ones (with Doctor Who no doubt falling into the former once it’s in a place to start production).
