Whoniverse

Background

Main article: Doctor Who fandom

The earliest official usage of "Whoniverse" was in the introduction to the appendices of The Doctor Who Programme Guide Volume 2 by Jean-Marc Lofficier published May 1981 in its hardcover edition. The publicity blurb on the back of The Second Doctor Who Quiz Book by Nigel Robinson published in December 1983 also used the term. In his 1983 book Doctor Who: A Celebration; Two Decades Through Time and Space, Peter Haining called his final chapter "The Whoniverse". The section assembled factual information about all the episodes to date, but also gave information about fan clubs and ancillary entertainments related to the programme. Thus, the term Whoniverse referred to everything connected with the programme behind-the-scenes. In this meaning, standing exhibitions, discussions about the filming of episodes and even the fandom itself were considered part of the "Whoniverse". The term Whoniverse is still used with this definition today, including as the name of a Doctor Who convention in Australia.

The term began to appear in mainstream press coverage, placing greater emphasis on it as a fictional universe, following the popular success of the 2005 Doctor Who revival and the establishment of its spin-offs Torchwood (2006–2011) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011).

Development

In October 2022, it was reported that the production company Bad Wolf had filed for a new subsidiary company, run by former Doctor Who executive producer Julie Gardner and former BBC head of drama Jane Tranter, called "Whoniverse1 LTD". On 17 January 2023, outlets reported that a new sign at Wolf Studios Wales possessed the tagline "Home of the Whoniverse".

On 30 October 2023, the BBC announced it would be using the term "Whoniverse" in an official capacity to describe all shows within the orbit of Doctor Who, and specifically their home on BBC iPlayer, including documentary programming. It had previously been announced that over eight hundred previous episodes would be available to stream on BBC iPlayer. A Whoniverse ident was also adopted to unify content within the Whoniverse collection.

Television

Untitled CBeebies animated spin-off

In June 2025, the BBC announced it was seeking a production company to work on an animated spin-off of Doctor Who for pre-school audiences to air on CBeebies. Production of the first 52-episode series is set to begin in January 2026. The 11-minute episodes are expected to air in two parts: the first 26 episodes from 2027–2028, and the remaining 26 from 2028–2029. In December 2025, the contract for production was awarded to Blue Zoo Animation Studio, with the 52 episodes to be split across two series.

Films

Stage plays

Independent video drama

There have been several independent video drama spin-offs, most licensing characters and concepts from writers of the classic series of Doctor Who. These have been released direct to video via videotape, DVD, Blu-ray, and online video formats.

Escape games

Musicals

In other media

Film and television

The Whoniverse version of Earth is referred to as Earth-5556 in the Marvel Multiverse.

References to the Whoniverse appear in The Inheritance Cycle fantasy novels by Christopher Paolini.{{cite book| last = Paolini| first = Christopher| title = Brisingr | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/brisingrorsevenp00paol_0| chapter-url-access = registration|edition = 1st| date = 20 September 2008| publisher = Alfred A. Knopf| location = New York City

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies cast John MacKay as John Logie Baird for the episode "The Giggle" (2023), reprising the role he played in Davies' ITV series Nolly earlier in 2023. Davies joked that this casting meant that all the television series he has written are set in the same universe.

Sylvia Trench from James Bond film series appeared in the episode "Joy to the World" (2024), portrayed by Niamh Marie Smith. Writer Steven Moffat stated that in his mind the character is intended to be the same character portrayed by Eunice Gayson in Dr. No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963).

Video games

Main article: List of Doctor Who video games{{!}}''Doctor Who'' video games

Doctor Who has had 19 video games ranging from computer and browser games, console and mobile. Doctor Who characters have appeared in other games such as Fall Guys, Minecraft, Lego Dimensions, PlayStation Home and LittleBigPlanet 3. The 1992 Doctor Who pinball machine was included in the 2012 pinball video game The Pinball Arcade.

Museums and exhibitions

Main article: Doctor Who exhibitions{{!}}''Doctor Who'' exhibitions

There have been various Doctor Who–related exhibitions in the United Kingdom, including the now-closed exhibitions at:

• Land's End, Cornwall
• Blackpool
• Llangollen
• Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow
• Coventry Transport Museum, Coventry
• Centre for Life, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Melbourne, Australia
• Kensington Olympia Two, London
• Longleat, which ran for 30 years
• Cardiff (the city where the series is filmed)

Merchandise

Main article: Doctor Who merchandise{{!}}''Doctor Who'' merchandise

Since its beginnings, Doctor Who has generated hundreds of products related to the show, from toys and games to collectible picture cards and postage stamps. These include board games, card games, gamebooks, roleplaying games, action figures and a pinball game. Many games have been released that feature the Daleks.

Notes

References

Bibliography

References

1. (28 September 2014). "Capaldi's Past Whoniverse Appearances Not Ignored". Doctor Who TV.
2. Lloyd, Robert. (18 April 2008). "She's back in the Whoniverse". Los Angeles Times.
3. Lofficier, Jean-Marc. (1981). "The Doctor Who Programme Guide Volume 2". [[W. H. Allen & Co..
4. Robinson, Nigel. (1983). "The Second Doctor Who Quiz Book (A Target book)". Target.
5. "A message from Matt Smith: "To the Whoniverse, thanks a million. You're the best. I'll miss you. And I'll miss the madness."". twitter.com.
6. (1 November 2010). "The Sarah Jane Adventures". BBC.
7. "Doctor Who – #Save The Day".
8. (7 February 2007). "Jessica Simpson to Enter the Whoniverse?".
9. "Your Guide to the Whoniverse".
10. (2011). "Whoniverse".
11. "Whoniverse: The Doctor Is In – Australia 2014 Convention".
12. Morrison, Ryan. (12 July 2007). "Battle of Flowers: Cybermen and Dalek for Battle". BBC Jersey.
13. (29 September 2013). "Peter Capaldi's Multiple Appearances in the Whoniverse To Be Explained by an Old Russell T Davies Idea".
14. Jasper, Matthew. (27 November 2021). "New Doctor Who Production Company Name Hints at Shared Universe & Spinoffs".
15. (18 January 2023). "Welcome to the Whoniverse". blogtorwho.com.
16. Flook, Ray. (17 January 2023). "Doctor Who: Bad Wolf As "The Home of The Whoniverse" Very Promising".
17. "Doctor Who: Welcome to The Whoniverse where every Doctor, every companion and hundreds of terrifying monsters live".
18. "60 Years of Doctor Who drops on BBC iPlayer alongside landmark online archive". bbc.co.uk.
19. Milligan, Mercedes. (12 June 2025). "'Doctor Who' Animated Preschool Series Sets Coordinates for CBeebies". [[Animation Magazine]].
20. Warner, Sam. (12 June 2025). "BBC confirms it's expanding the Whoniverse in huge first for Doctor Who". [[Digital Spy]].
21. Hibbs, James. (17 December 2025). "New Doctor Who spin-off series gets major update from BBC following "exceptionally competitive" bidding process". [[Radio Times]].
22. Kahn, Ellie. (17 December 2025). "Blue Zoo lands CBeebies Doctor Who animation". [[Broadcast (magazine).
23. "Prom 48: Doctor Who Prom". [[BBC Radio 3]] / [[BBC Proms]].
24. All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 7
25. Cormack, Morgan. (9 November 2023). "Doctor Who confirms further castings for 60th anniversary specials". [[Radio Times]].
26. Puchko, Kristy. (25 December 2024). "James Bond is canon in 'Doctor Who' now". [[Mashable]].
27. (8 November 2014). "A Timey Wimey History of Doctor Who Games".
28. Harrison, Mark. (21 May 2019). "How Doctor Who Games Have Evolved Since 2005". [[Den of Geek]].
29. Lovett, Jamie. (7 July 2015). "Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman & Michelle Gomez Join LEGO Dimensions Voice Cast".
30. Sullivan, Paul. (28 August 2013). "Allons-y! New Doctor Who Gear Comes to PlayStation Home". [[PlayStation#PlayStation Blog.
31. McWhertor, Michael. (10 May 2015). "Portal, Doctor Who, The Simpsons and more confirmed for Lego Dimensions". [[Polygon (website).
32. Musgrave, Shaun. (9 May 2018). "'Pinball Arcade' Loses Bally/Williams License, More Than 60 Tables to be Removed from Sale June 30th". [[TouchArcade]].
33. (24 December 2010). "Dr Who to leave Land's End for good". [[Falmouth Packet]].
34. "Dr Who Exhibition, Longleat". The Doctor Who Exhibitions Archive.
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