It very probably won’t air until 2024, but we already know who is directing the first block of Doctor Who Series 14.
Dylan Holmes Williams will helm the first block of the next series, significant for being the first full season starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor (although, as we’ve already seen him in the teaser trailer at the end of The Power of the Doctor, we expect him to debut in the 60th anniversary specials which are fronted by David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate returning as Donna Noble).
Holmes Williams was revealed in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, and while he’s a new face to Doctor Who, his previous credits might hint that the new iteration of Doctor Who will embrace the horror side of things.
His first major TV work was Servant, M Night Shyamalan’s Apple TV+ show, which stars Lauren Ambrose, aka Jilly Kitzinger in Torchwood: Miracle Day. His other horror projects include The Nightmare on Deskteeth Street and Stilts.
Holmes Williams’ 2019 short, The Devil’s Harmony, won the Jury Prize for International Fiction at Sundance 2020 and was nominated for Best British Short at the British Independent Film Awards 2019. So this definitely bodes well for Doctor Who.
What’s more, Dylan is also a screenwriter — so wouldn’t it be cool if he’s the first person to direct and write an episode of the programme?!
Series 14 will also be the first full run of episodes with showrunner, Russell T Davies, since Series 4 — which also starred Tennant and Tate! Of course, just after Series 4, there were a series of specials in 2009, and before Series 14, there will be three specials in November 2023.
