Doctor Who must do more to combat the spoilers ruining it’s biggest twists.

Media outlets have developed a bad habit over the years of releasing spoilers around some of the most high-profile television shows, with even the shows themselves jumping on the bandwagon by releasing far too much information ahead of time. In recent years, Doctor Who has stood out as one example of a show that has time and again struck the internet and fans hard with increasingly frequent spoilers, ruining numerous plot points before the latest seasons have even aired.

For many, there is nothing worse than leaks on the internet about films or TV shows that viewers haven’t yet had a chance to see. It’s for this reason that many of us have come to avoid social media like the plague whenever a new series is released. The culprits range from keyboard warriors, to mainstream media, to the shows themselves. Over the course of its current run, Doctor Who has become a serial offender for this, due in part to it’s attempts at driving content, as well as changes to it’s release schedule.

This has been the case both with ordinary episodes, as well as the big events that have generated special scrutiny. Cast the clock back two years to 2023, and anticipation was building for the specials marking the shows 60th anniversary. Speculation was rife both on and off the internet as to who star Neil Patrick-Harris had been brought in to be playing. The Celestial Toymaker, an alternate Master, another Time Lord – such as the Monk – or a future incarnation of The Doctor were all among some of the theories being kicked around by fans, with speculation getting ever wilder as time went on. But then, not long after the trailer for the specials was released, the official Doctor Who page tweeted out that “Neil Patrick-Harris is the Toymaker,” immediately spoiling the surprise, dampening the villain reveal, and taking all the fun out of this speculation.

Then, the clips started appearing on YouTube. Big scenes featuring this character and his reveal were released across social media before the premiere of the episode itself. On so many platforms it became near-impossible to avoid. For those who watched these, this took away any thrill to the reveal and completely changed the viewing experience, with this moment going from a potentially mind-blowing twist, to something where viewers were just waiting for what they already knew to be coming. The head writer and showrunner, Russell T Davies, then went on to warn that more spoilers would be coming out after the premiere, and urged viewers to watch immediately. Was no thought however was given to those who couldn’t, for whatever reason? Had content promotion and clickbait somehow become more important than the actual viewing experience for the show’s fans?

This, of course, isn’t a completely new thing with Doctor Who. Step into the Tardis and go further back in time to April 2017 when Peter Capaldi’s final series as the Doctor was released, and much of the shows marketing had the same problems. Prior to the trailers being released, the BBC released an article that had leaked actor John Simm’s return as arch-villain, the Master. Jubilation was high, his incarnation of the renegade Time Lord having not been seen since the show’s golden age back in 2009. But again, the surprise was ruined, with all the tension and excitement of his reveal quickly being dampened as the BBC had already told us what to expect.

To take it further, we have the soldiers of the internet. Speculation in the comments is one thing, but when fans reported leaks of the Bi-Generation, yet important crucial twist during the show’s high profile 60th celebrations had been spoiled ahead of the episode, as it was one of many scenarios that had come to be expected. What was arguably the biggest and most lore-changing reveal yet, with huge implications for future seasons, became common knowledge ahead of the fact, dulling the impact of the main event when it aired. As subsequent seasons have aired, whole plotlines have continued to be publicised well in advance.

If spoilers continue to be leaked in this way, then shows like Doctor Who will become less and less exciting as the big surprises get ruined online and fans merely go through the motions when watching on TV. It will see an iconic show lose its spark, becoming another run of the mill, largely predictable peice of television. Whilst the BBC can only do so much about leaks from fans on social media, they can at least make the choice not to release so much content ahead of schedule. So, stop leaking, and just let the fans enjoy.