News about the Centenary Special has been practically non-existent since the images released at Easter to coincide with the teaser which followed Legend of the Sea Devils.
Soon after, everyone was talking about the 60th Anniversary, thanks to the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate, followed almost immediately with news about the casting of Ncuti Gatwa as the next full-time Doctor.
The Chibnall-Whittaker swan-song was in danger of being totally overlooked - just a bump on the way to the 60th. He gave what seemed to be his last interview to DWM, and a month or so ago we learned that the producer isn't even involved in the editing of the episode, having already moved on to other things. There were rumours that the BBC weren't impressed and it was having to be re-edited.
There are people on Twitter getting worked up about the lack of air-date - despite the fact that the Special is date-specific. It's the BBC Centenary episode - so it's going to be screened either side of the BBC's 100th birthday, which falls on 18th October. If they stick to a Sunday broadcast, then it ought to be shown on either the 16th or the 23rd October.
In the last few days we had word that the Doctor would be seen wearing items of costume belonging to her predecessors, and that some other ex-companions might feature other than the ones we definitely know about - Ace, Tegan, Vinder, Kate Stewart and Graham.
(Some earlier Doctors have also been mooted - Colin Baker and McCoy have been mentioned, as well as David Bradley. The trio were photographed at a Cardiff hotel last summer, around the time that this was being filmed, but someone has claimed they were taking part in a documentary about the series. Would you go all the way to Cardiff for that?...).
Today, the TV Zone website has now stated that we will be getting a story title and poster image this coming weekend. It is a Bank Holiday in the UK, so the sort of occasion when this could be released - perhaps even another trailer with new scenes. With only 7 or 8 weeks remaining before it is due to be shown, this would make sense. It is also due to be previewed in the next issue of DWM, which comes out on 15th September.
The BBC haven't commented, so it's just rumour for now.
Another rumour while we're here concerns the 60th. Actress Rose Ayling-Ellis has just left EastEnders, and when asked what she was going to do next she claimed it was a big secret she wasn't allowed to talk about, which would be revealed at the end of the month. Ayling-Ellis is deaf and a sign language user. In the recent DWM Guest Star Special Andy Pryor mentioned that the next series would be actively promoting actors with disabilities. People are now thinking of her as a strong contender to be the companion to Ncuti's Doctor, as Yasmin Finney appears to be only doing the anniversary episodes.
It would be funny if the temporary Rose was replaced with a full-time one.
(UPDATE 27/08: She has since revealed that she is writing her own series focussing on disabled characters and is not joining Doctor Who).
Meanwhile, at a convention in the US, David Tennant would not be drawn on whether or not he would be using his Scottish accent for the 60th. This would have given away whether or not he was the Tenth reincarnated, or a 14th who just happens to look like Ten. He also stressed that a lot of the stuff he and Tate filmed took place behind closed doors - so we only know a fraction of what might be in store. This has led some to hope that there will be appearances from previous Doctors / companions (as also speculated above for the Centenary). There are three episodes, but so far we only know of two possible storylines (Beep the Meep and the Toymaker) thanks to location filming.
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