Ever since Peter Capaldi announced that he would be leaving Doctor Who this Christmas back in January, the question on every fan’s lips has been: who will replace him? Despite many, many rumours making their way into the press in the months since, no official announcement has been made about who will play the next Doctor. Until now, that is.
In a Tweet that’s sending Doctor Who fans everywhere into meltdown, BBC America posted a cryptic video that teases the coming of the Thirteenth Doctor. Check it out up above.
The short promo sees the number 13 plastered on famous landmarks – the white cliffs of Dover, the Statue of Liberty and 10 Downing Street. Intriguingly, there’s also the running image of a TARDIS key placed at the centre of what looks to be an ancient stone circle like Stone Henge. The video ends with the announcement that we’ll “meet the Thirteenth Doctor” on Sunday, July 16th. The reveal will come once the Men’s Final of the Wimbledon tennis tournament airs on BBC One in the UK.
Translated into real time, the Wimbledon final begins at 2pm and is expected to last 2 to 3 hours. So, those in the UK should pay attention around 4-5pm. That’ll be 8am-9am in PST and 11am-12pm in EST.
At the moment, it’s tough to say who might be chosen to take on the iconic role next. One of the most popular choices was Phoebe Waller-Bridge, though the actress’ production company has since confirmed that she’ll not be joining the show. That currently leaves Kris Marshall, known for his parts in Love Actually, Death in Paradise and My Family, as the favourite – though there are many other rumored names floating around, too.
Whoever they are, the Thirteenth Doctor will likely make their brief debut in this year’s Christmas special before properly taking control of the TARDIS when Doctor Who season 11 kicks off in 2018.