BBC Headed to Court to Try to Find 'Doctor Who' Footage Leaker

The BBC is headed to court in the United States in pursuit of whoever leaked footage from the next season of Doctor Who online months before the premiere.

A 53-second clip of the Thirteenth Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, as well as two still images, were shared via the California-based website Tapatalk last week.

The BBC has filed an application with the California Federal Court, saying that it takes "theft and illegal distribution of our content extremely seriously".

Tapatalk itself is not accused of any wrongdoing. Any user who uploads copyrighted materials onto the website is in violation of the site's terms and conditions of service.

A spokesperson for BBC Studios added that the BBC "will strive to protect our programme-makers, audiences and license fee payers from any breaches of security - ensuring Doctor Who fans enjoy the final and fully completed version of the episode when it premieres".

BBC studios began an investigation as soon as it became aware of the leak. The footage was uploaded with a placeholder score (Doctor Who only just announced its new composer) prior to going through the full post-production process. The investigators are now trying to narrow down at what specific point in the post-production process the leak occurred.

Another interesting point is that users of the online chat program Discord were discussing the nearly a week before it leaked publicly, suggesting it may have been passed around privately before being uploaded to Tapatalk.

Fans are now speculating that this scene, in its finished form, was meant to debut during the upcoming Doctor Who panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Whittaker herself, the first woman to play the Doctor in the franchise's more than 50-year history, will make her convention debut during the panel She will be joined by co-stars Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill, who will play Ryan and Yasmin in the new season, as well as new showrunner Chris Chibnall and executive producer Matt Stevens.

What do you think about the Doctor Who leak? Are you excited to possibly see the new footage at San Diego Comic-Con? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Doctor Who returns for its eleventh season this fall.

Source: BBC News