Doctor Who Series 8: 10 Exciting Details And Rumours (February Update)

9. The Writers

Also announced in the last month, Phil Ford is to return to Doctor Who, in his first episode since co-writing the hugely acclaimed 'The Waters Of Mars' in 2009. He'll pen the second episode after Steven Moffat's opener; 'The Lodger' and 'Closing Time' writer Gareth Roberts is also a fixture for the series, probably alongside regulars Mark Gatiss ('Cold War', 'The Crimson Horror' etc.) and Stephen Thompson ('Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS', 'The Curse of the Black Spot') from Sherlock and Luther's Neil Cross ('Hide', 'The Rings of Akhaten'), who have all expressed interest to return. Doc Martin writer Jack Lothian - who was rumoured to be appearing in Series 7 - is rumoured to be appearing in Series 8 again, Chris Chibnall hasn't alluded to whether he'll enough time or not yet, and Neil Gaiman has said he'll probably be too busy this year. Tom McRae, Toby Whithouse and 24 Hour Party People writer Frank Cottrell Boyce are all names touted for the forthcoming seasons, but will Moffat pull any surprises out of the bag, like he did with Neil Gaiman and Richard Curtis in previous years? Could we see a return for Russell T Davies? He's written for Nine, Ten and Eleven in The Sarah Jane Adventures, it would be nice to see him pen a Capaldi episode.