10 Times Doctor Who Lied To Your Face
5. The Thirteenth Doctor Will Be Male
Though speculation was rife that Peter Capaldi's successor would be a woman, the BBC were still keen to keep this from production staff working on Doctor Who.
During a talk at the 2018 VFX Festival, Visual Effects Producer Louise Hastings revealed that special measures were taken to hide the fact that Peter Capaldi's successor would be Jodie Whittaker.
Firstly, production staff on Doctor Who were explicitly told that the Thirteenth Doctor would be played by a man, to avoid news of the historic casting leaking to the press. The reason for this was that filming on Twice Upon A Time had wrapped on 10 July, and wouldn't resume for Jodie's regeneration until 19 July.
In the middle of that period, Whittaker's casting was set to be announced on 16 July. As the VFX team worked on the regeneration, Hastings revealed that the set was blocked for the transition as if a male actor would be walking on to set. Storyboards were also drawn with a male actor, to further conceal the surprise.
It's not quite an example of Doctor Who straight-up lying to the general public, but it shows the lengths the BBC will go to when it has a secret it wants to keep!