Just a few weeks from the debut of Jodie Whittaker’s first Doctor Who series, the BBC have finally revealed some story details of the first two episodes, including the long-awaited title of the Thirteenth Doctor’s second adventure – The Ghost Monument.

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And while releasing these summaries of series 11’s earliest adventures, new series showrunner Chris Chibnall had a special message for the fans - as well as a snazzy new series image, which you can see above.

“Finally – Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor is about to crash land on to the nation’s screens,” he said in a statement.

“It’s thrilling to think, in the next few weeks and months, there will be children encountering Jodie’s Doctor in the next few weeks who’ve never seen the show before. She’ll be forever their Doctor: you never forget your first.

“Alongside Jodie, we have a delightful ensemble of new characters for the audience to fall in love with, led by the incomparable Bradley Walsh.

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“So break out the popcorn and hunker down for Sunday night adventures in space and time, with the Thirteenth Doctor and her new best friends. The journey’s about to begin.”

First stop on that journey – already-announced first episode The Woman Who Fell To Earth, written by Chris Chibnall (and directed by Jamie Childs) which now comes with the following synopsis:

“We don’t get aliens in Sheffield.” In a South Yorkshire city, Ryan Sinclair, Yasmin Khan and Graham O’Brien are about to have their lives changed forever, as a mysterious woman, unable to remember her own name, falls from the night sky.

Can they believe a word she says? And can she help solve the strange events taking place across the city?

So far, this sounds like a classic opening episode for a new Doctor filled with post-regeneration trauma (and amnesia) and an intriguing local threat – and based on the summary for the next episode, The Ghost Monument (also written by Chibnall, and directed by Mark Tonderai), Whittaker’s Time Lord doesn't have long to rest on her laurels before facing a new challenge the next week.

Still reeling from their first encounter, can the Doctor and her new friends stay alive long enough, in a hostile alien environment, to solve the mystery of Desolation?

And just who are Angstrom and Epzo?

While shorter, this episode’s description is arguably more tantalising – what sort of person, vegetable, mineral or alien could Desolation refer to? – and given the title, could be describing one of the “spooky” stories previously teased by the new series’ writers.

Still, however the episodes actually turn out (which we’ll find out happily soon), from what we’ve seen so far it’s shaping up to be an exciting year for the Time Lord. Roll on October!

Chris Chibnall's exclusive Doctor Who series 11 preview is in the new issue of the Radio Times, on sale from Tuesday 18 September

This article was originally published on 18 September 2018

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Doctor Who returns to BBC1 on Sunday 7th October

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