Sixty years of Doctor Who celebrated with water-based projection in Cardiff

The show first appeared on BBC television on 23 November 1963, with William Hartnell as the first Doctor.
The test run of the water-based projection in Cardiff Bay to mark the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who (Huw John/BBC)
PA Media
Claire Hayhurst23 November 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The 60th anniversary of Doctor Who will be marked in Cardiff with a water-based projection that will take audiences through the six decades of the show.

Former Doctor Who script editor Gary Russell has arranged the script for the five-minute piece, which features a new version of composer Murray Gold’s iconic theme.

Highlights throughout the series – the longest running sci-fi TV show – will be shown in the display, as well as an exclusive shot of upcoming 15th doctor Ncuti Gatwa.

The projection, commissioned by BBC Wales, will be launched on November 23 and run every half-an-hour between 5.30pm and 9.30pm until November 25 at Roath Basin in Cardiff Bay.

Steffan Powell, presenter of spin-off show Doctor Who: Unleashed, will host the initial switch on at 5.30pm on Thursday – which is known as Doctor Who Day.

Doctor Who first appeared on BBC television on November 23 in 1963, with William Hartnell as the first Doctor. It originally ran for 26 years before ending in 1989 and was then relaunched in 2005.

In addition to the water-based projection, the 60th anniversary celebrations will include the opportunity for visitors to see the Tardis and a Dalek at the Senedd building from November 23 until December 2.

The hit series returns to screens on November 25, with the first of three 60th anniversary special episodes to feature 14th doctor David Tennant.

In the first of the three episodes, named The Star Beast, The Doctor is reunited with Donna Noble played by Catherine Tate.

The second episode, Wild Blue Yonder, airs on December 2, with The Giggle a week later. All will be aired on BBC One and iPlayer.

Russell T Davies is returning to the Doctor Who brand as showrunner for the special episodes, which were produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios.

LCI Productions will provide the water projection to mark the anniversary, while Cardiff Council and Associated British Ports gave permission to use Roath Basin. Coleridge Cymru assisted in facilitating the project.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in