So, this is really only a blip in the current vacuum of Doctor Who news. We're down to ~~second~~ ~~third~~ fourth hand gossip, but at least this is via Rich Johnston of Bleeding Cool. Except it didn't seem to meet BC newsworthy criteria, so he posted it to his substack instead. Probably because it's the sort of hearsay redditors tend to spin into wild conjecture.
The basic premise is that somehow, the show runner and production company have already selected the next Doctor, and are in full swing producing the holiday special, scheduled to air on christmas day. And the reason nobody knows about this is, it's all being done in secrecy.
Bear in mind, these are the same powers that be who had huge swathes of the past two seasons' plot points leaked before airing, so how they suddenly became masters of covert production is the main question.
Until we hear otherwise from official channels, though, this is at least a positivist antidote to the inevitable "Doctor Who is DEAD" theorising that has filled online channels for the past year...
For this to be possible, you'd think it would have to be shot entirely within the studios, with no location shoots at all. And even then, it would mean no one has seen (presumably) Billie Piper at a restaurant in Cardiff or something.
Colour me skeptical, but I guess it's not impossible.
Yeah, I'm super skeptical about anything not coming from official channels, too. But since they're quiet, this is at least not from a doomer outlet.
Johnston is pretty open about his own spotty track record in terms of predictions, and that the source is iffy. But I guess it sparks my imagination a tiny bit just how (if at all) Bad Wolf would be able to pull this off.
Edit: the post actually addresses the locked-door scenario you mention.
End edit
Realistically, that secretive production would probably be a better story than RTD can cook up under the circumstances.
I'm not a big fan of Johnston overall - his reputation in the comics world is pretty bad, and he has a tendency to set up online sockpuppets to promote his own work - but that doesn't mean he isn't onto something.
In lieu of any other information...this information is as good as any. 😂
FWIW, I'm on the wrong side of the North Sea to be Rich Johnston, or his sock puppet 🙂
But yeah, the lack of updates is bordering on alarming. Either it means a communications blackout like RJ's source implies, or there simply isn't anything to report, which could be even worse.