Claim: Doctor Who (series 10) is the thirty-sixth season of the show that started in 1963.

The tenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who premiered on 15 April 2017 and is set to consist of twelve episodes , after it was released in July 2015 that BBC Worldwide had invested in a tenth series of the programme in its annual review . The series is led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat , alongside executive producer Brian Minchin . It is the third and final series overseen by the two as executive producers , as well as Moffat 's sixth and final series as head writer . This series is the tenth to air following the programme 's revival in 2005 , and is the thirty-sixth season overall .   Preceded by a Christmas special in December 2016 , `` The Return of Doctor Mysterio '' , the series is the third and final series starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor , an incarnation of the Doctor , an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS , which appears to be a British police box on the outside ; Capaldi announced in January 2017 that he would be stepping down from the role after the tenth series . The series introduces Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts , the Doctor 's newest travelling companion , and also features Matt Lucas as Nardole , who appeared in the 2015 and 2016 Christmas specials .   Steven Moffat wrote four episodes for the series . Other returning writers who have worked on this series and previous ones include Frank Cottrell-Boyce , Sarah Dollard , Jamie Mathieson , Peter Harness , Toby Whithouse and Mark Gatiss , as well as two new writers for the revived era of the programme , Mike Bartlett and Rona Munro , the latter of whom wrote Survival , the final serial of the original classic era . Directors of the series included three who have previously worked on the show , and three brand new ones . Filming began on 20 June 2016 and lasted just over nine months , ending on 7 April 2017 .