Season 59 - 2026

 

Following the bold and daring storytelling of Season 58, anticipation was high for what Chris Clenshaw and his team had planned next. The Christmas Special had left fans both emotional and excited for the future, especially with the departure of Anya Chalotra as Ellie Sinclair in the finale and the return of Nick Berry’s Ninth Doctor for one final farewell.

Season 59 would now consist of ten episodes, along with a Christmas Special at the end of the year. Clenshaw described this season as one that would "push the Doctor to his limits like never before," 

With Ellie’s departure, the question of who would step aboard the TARDIS next loomed over the fandom, and in late 2025, the BBC confirmed that James Bye would join the cast as the Doctor’s new companion, Denver Russell. Denver was described as tough, loyal and willing to help the Doctor in any situation.

As for the writing team, the show continued to attract top-tier talent. Returning writers included Pete McTighe, Sharma Angel-Walfall, Scott Handcock and Charlie Brooker, who, after his successful Christmas Special, was given the opportunity to pen the season finale. New writers included Kate Herron, Alex Kurtzman, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, Jack Thorne, James Graham and the writing duo of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith.

Guest stars for the season included Keeley Hawes, Matthew Macfayden, Sam Riley, Jack Lowden, Ewan Mitchell, Alex Jennings, Timothy Dalton, Eddie Marsan, Anna Friel, Jonathan Groff, Kyle MacLachlan and Derek Thompson with Rupert Graves, Annabel Scholey and Ruth Madeley returning from the previous seasons.

There was also a Christmas Special which was kept secret and a lot of it was filmed in studio, with the trailers showing many shots of the Doctor and old archive footage alongside a few vfx shots.

At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Doctor Who showrunner Chris Clenshaw had an unplanned meeting with Akiva Goldsman, one of the key creative figures behind Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Their casual conversation about shared sci-fi influences quickly turned into a speculative “what if?” discussion about a crossover. Neither expected it to go further, but the connection opened a door.

Later in 2024, Sony Pictures Television and CBS Studios quietly explored whether a limited collaboration between Doctor Who and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was legally and logistically possible. Early talks were informal and low-pressure, focusing on a single episode rather than a full co-production. This kept expectations realistic and allowed both sides to consider the idea seriously.

In January–March 2025, formal negotiations began. Because Doctor Who is produced by BBC Studios and Sony and Star Trek by CBS Studios, all three companies had to approve character rights, asset usage and marketing terms. Bad Wolf, as Doctor Who’s production company, provided early assessments on how Starfleet sets and actors could be integrated into their Cardiff-based workflow. By mid-March 2025, a deal for one crossover episode was officially signed.

Writing began immediately in April 2025, with Kate Herron and Alex Kurtzman writing the story, with the script being finished by June. 

Season 59 began filming in February 2025 and the crossover episode was scheduled early enough to be shot in June–July 2025. During that period, key Star Trek cast members travelled to Cardiff for a two-week shooting block, while a second unit in Toronto recorded additional bridge footage. 

New Frontiers

By James Graham

The Doctor looks over the sea on a hillside, he’s calm as he watches the waves and the sound of the sea puts him at ease. The Man walks next to him, he asks the Doctor why he comes back here and the Doctor says that it’s peaceful and it gives him a chance to ask about his impending doom. The Man says that it will come soon when the sands blow over the wastelands of time and space and the devourer has killed all, but there’s someone else who's waiting and he will pose a threat before the Devourer wakes. The Doctor asks who he is and the Man says “You,” the Doctor is puzzled but the Man says specifically his darker side in between his 12th and 13th Incarnation, the body at the bottom of the cliff on Gallifrey. The Doctor’s eyes widen as the penny drops “The Valeyard?!” The Man says “one of the three” before he walks away smiling as the Doctor runs back to the TARDIS as he defiantly pulls the lever. 

Denver Russell wakes up and gets ready for work and he drives to UNIT HQ, where he meets with Wilson as he’s been given a post at UNIT. Wilson mentions that his father worked at UNIT many years ago, Denver confirms this and his father disappeared in the 90s and he’s never heard from him since.

He’s then shown to his office as Wilson gives him some good luck and the door closes, as the door’s sign reads “Head of Scientific Research”. A personnel officer arrives and Denver receives a briefing, the officer updates him on various government contacts and UNIT contracts. He nods absently as the personnel details the numerous funding that goes into the researches and other such things. 

The Doctor dashes around the TARDIS as he tries to get to Earth, fearing something may have happened. He arrives in the HQ and is greeted by Wilson, Hannah and Shirley. The Doctor says hello to them and says it was a false alarm, Wilson asks if everything’s ok and the Doctor says that it is. Wilson then says that the Doctor can stay for a while if he likes and the Doctor eventually agrees to do so.

The Doctor remained at UNIT HQ, but his mind lingered on the ominous warning about the Valeyard. While he dismissed the immediate threat, he remained vigilant, knowing dangers often lurked in his past. Meanwhile, Denver Russell adjusted to his role as Head of Scientific Research, uncovering classified files on extraterrestrial encounters and anomalous signals. One file in particular stood out: an intercepted signal of unknown origin, resembling a beacon rather than a message.

UNIT analysts struggled to decode the signal, and Denver found himself drawn deeper into the mystery. The Doctor, reviewing satellite feeds, identified a rhythmic energy pattern in low orbit, recognising it as an ancient distress call or an invitation to something far worse. Before he could investigate further, alarms blared across UNIT HQ, signaling the arrival of unidentified aircraft breaching Earth's atmosphere.

As large black warships descended, bearing symbols of the long-forgotten Varathane Dominion, it became clear that Earth was under siege. Explosions rocked the city, and UNIT forces mobilised to respond. The Doctor, Denver, and the UNIT team worked quickly to assess the threat, realising the Varathane Dominion, a lost empire wiped from history, had returned.

With UNIT scrambling to defend against the invasion, the Doctor formulated a plan. He suspected the beacon signal had acted as a summoning device, reawakening the Dominion. To counter the threat, UNIT needed to shut down the transmission at its source. Denver and a team of scientists worked to locate the origin of the signal while the Doctor prepared to confront the Varathane forces directly.

As the battle spread across the city, UNIT’s defenses struggled against the overwhelming power of the invaders. The Doctor, determined to uncover the truth behind the Dominion’s return, ventured to a hidden facility beneath UNIT HQ, where he believed the answers lay. Denver and his team discovered that the signal had originated from deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean, suggesting an ancient structure buried beneath the seabed.

With time running out, the Doctor led an expedition to the oceanic site, using a specialised UNIT submersible to reach the depths. There, they discovered a massive ancient construct, pulsing with the same energy signature as the beacon. As they explored the facility, they encountered dormant Varathane technology, suggesting the Dominion had never truly been destroyed but merely placed in stasis, waiting for a signal to awaken them.

Realising the signal must be deactivated before the Dominion’s full forces arrived, the Doctor and Denver worked against time to shut it down. Meanwhile, UNIT engaged the invading forces in a desperate battle on the surface. As the Doctor navigated the ancient technology, he uncovered a shocking revelation, the Varathane Dominion had not reawakened on its own. Someone had activated the beacon intentionally.

With this new knowledge, the Doctor faced an even greater mystery. Who had triggered the return of the Dominion, and for what purpose? As he worked to disable the signal, an unknown presence watched from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

The Doctor and Denver fought through the corridors of the ancient facility, evading automated defenses and collapsing structures. With the Dominion warships continuing their assault on Earth, UNIT’s forces waged a desperate fight to hold them back. Finally, the Doctor and Denver reached the beacon’s core, a pulsating energy sphere connected to a control console of alien origin.

As the Doctor deciphered the controls, he realised that shutting down the beacon alone would not be enough, it had already transmitted its signal into the depths of space. Instead, he devised a plan to reverse the signal’s polarity, creating an energy feedback loop that would overload the Dominion’s technology. Denver assisted in reconfiguring the power conduits, ensuring the plan would succeed.

With only moments to spare, the Doctor activated the sequence, causing the ancient construct to tremble violently. Across the planet, Dominion warships lost power, their systems failing as the feedback loop spread through their fleet. One by one, the ships fell from the sky, crashing harmlessly into the ocean or vanishing into hyperspace as their emergency protocols activated. The invasion had been stopped.

As UNIT celebrated their hard-earned victory, Denver stood alongside the Doctor, watching the remaining Dominion vessels retreat into the void. The realisation of what he had accomplished struck him deeply, he had helped save the world, but more than that, he had glimpsed something greater.

With UNIT stabilising the situation, the Doctor prepared to leave, but Denver hesitated. He had spent years searching for meaning in his father’s disappearance, looking for something beyond the ordinary. Here, with the Doctor, he had found it. Seeing his determination, the Doctor offered him a place aboard the TARDIS. Without hesitation, Denver accepted.

As the TARDIS doors closed behind them, UNIT watched as the blue box faded into the vortex, carrying Denver Russell into the adventure of a lifetime.