Rumours Suggest 'Doctor Who' Will Crack Down On Spoilers With New Filming Regulations

BBC's long-running sci-fi series, Doctor Who, is one of the longest running programmes in the United Kingdom. The series first broadcast on November 23, 1963, with William Hartnell playing the first incarnation. The show is centred the well-known Time Lord character, The Doctor, who travels through time and space in his iconic blue box, also known as the TARDIS.

Doctor Who was tragically cancelled in 1989. However, the BBC and Russell T. Davies decided to revive the show back in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston portraying the Ninth Doctor. Ever since Doctor Who was revived, fans have seen four actors take on the main lead, and a fifth is about to be welcomed — Jodie Whittaker, the show's first ever female Doctor.

In more recent years, hardcore Doctor Who fans have been joining the cast and crew when they're filming out on location. The fans who find out where the BBC are filming the series go along to spectate and share what they've witnessed via social media.

When Series 10 was filming out on location, spectating fans revealed that the Cybermen would be making an epic comeback by showing pictures of an army of Cybermen marching down the streets of Cardiff. But, a lot of Doctor Who fans see this as spoiling the series for others, and they're right. However, do not fear! New companion, Bradley Walsh, has explained that there are new security measures when Doctor Who go out filming their exterior shots.

When appearing on BBC's The One Show, Walsh let out a few secrets regarding filming the series and how he came about achieving a role in the hit series. It has been announced that Walsh wasn't even asked to audition for Doctor Who because newly appointed showrunner, Chris Chibnall, had a lot of confidence in Walsh that he'll nail the role. Speaking on the magazine show, Walsh said:

“Chris Chibnall, who runs it, asked if I fancy being in the show. Let me tell you how covert it is. It's the most extraordinary show. When I went down to meet them and we had the first script meeting… what's interesting about it, is that it's filmed in Cardiff."

However, that may seem all happy and jolly, but, when attending the script reading, Walsh revealed he wasn't allowed in unless he had some ID on him to prove that he is who he says and that he works for the BBC.

“I walked in. I had to go through a scanner. I had to have my ID with me. Just like an airport, getting into the reading… I'd go through a scanner, then you were taken into this big, big room. Massive like a warehouse room, painted black. There was eight of us sitting round the table, right in the middle with a light on top. We got black envelopes with a script in them, with your name embossed in gold. We had to open them at the same time. You've never seen anything like it.”

With that being said, news emerged on Twitter that you can stand around and watch the new series being filmed if you can prove that you work for the BBC themselves. Chris Chibnall is well-known for keeping the filming of his shows on lockdown so spoilers don't get leaked out, one example being ITV's Broadchurch.

Obviously, the fans that don't even work for the BBC will still attend filming locations to leak as much information as possible, but when sharing their findings on Twitter using the #dwsr (Doctor Who Set Reports) hashtag, they're in for a little surprise. The statement shared on Twitter reads:

"I can confirm that the BBC are taking down DWSR posts and photos from Twitter. Any information, picture, or video from the set is being taken down by the BBC."

This, of course, means Doctor Who fans that hate spoilers can finally let off a big sigh of relief as they're likely to be treated with a new series next autumn which hasn't already been spoilt for them months in advance.

Doctor Who returns to BBC One on Christmas Day, where Peter Capaldi will bow out of the show and pass the TARDIS key to Jodie Whittaker.