Series 9 ( Doctor Who ) Series 9 of " Doctor Who " began filming on 5 January 2015 , for an airdate on 19 September 2015 . The regular series consisted of 12 episodes . This was Peter Capaldi ' s second series as the Twelfth Doctor and Jenna Coleman ' s third as Clara Oswald , whose inclusion in series 9 marked her as the longest running companion of the BBC Wales series . Series 9 was Coleman ' s last . She said about the matter : " I have left the TARDIS and I ' ve filmed my last scenes . It has been in the works for a very long time , Steven and I sat down a year ago , a year and a half ago and tried to work out the best place to do it and the best place in which to tell a really good story . So hopefully that ' s what we ' ve done . I think it ' s really , really cool . Obviously we ' re not going to give away any details but it will happen at some point this season . " Capaldi then revealed that the character of Clara would be leaving during episode 10 " Face the Raven " , adding that " It ' s a sad one , gripping and very strange . " also saying that " [ And ] it ' s the end of the line for Clara Oswald played by Jenna Coleman who ' s been my companion for the last two years . It ' s the end of her story . I don ' t want to go into the details of it , but it ' s sad . " , also telling that she wouldn ' t return , " Sometimes people can ' t come back . Sometimes things happen that they can ' t come back from . " However , Clara went on to appear as hallucination in episode 11 and then return alive in episode 12 , but her fate remained unaltered and the door remained closed for possible future appearances . Series 8 episodes " Dark Water " and " Death in Heaven " were shown in cinemas in 3D as a two - night event on the 15th and 16th September as a run - up to prepare for series 9 . A prequel scene to this series was shown at the end of this event . This screening was only shown in Russia , Canada , the United States of America and Denmark . The special prequel was entitled " The Doctor ' s Meditation " . A " Prologue " was also released online . The series saw Peter Capaldi ' s Twelfth Doctor maintain the new outfit seen in " Last Christmas " , wearing a dark blue hoodie over a black jumper , along with his jacket , trousers and shoes from the previous series . The series also featured the Doctor wearing t - shirts in place of his shirt , often with a pair of plaid trousers . Episode 10 onwards saw the Doctor wearing a red velvet jacket with a white shirt and black trousers , resuming a closer look to that of series 8 . The series also featured the Doctor replacing his sonic screwdriver with a pair of sonic sunglasses . The last time the Doctor ceased to use the screwdriver was in his fifth incarnation , something which continued up until the final episode of the original series ' run . However , in the final moments of the series finale , a brand new , redesigned sonic screwdriver was created by the TARDIS for the Twelfth Doctor . In DWM 480 , Michelle Gomez confirmed that she would return in series 9 as , the latest incarnation of the Master who served as the central villain in series 8 . Moffat had previously teased details in DWM 475 , stating " I ' ve figured out the cliffhanger to the penultimate episode of [ series 9 ] . And it ' s a whopper . Ohh , I don ' t think you ' ll see this coming ! " On 19 February 2015 , it was announced that Gomez would return for the opening episode . On 17 December 2014 , at a press conference for the Christmas special " Last Christmas " , Steven Moffat revealed the title of the first episode of the regular series to be " The Magician ' s Apprentice " . The title was additionally revealed on - screen , at the end of " Last Christmas " . The second episode was revealed to be titled " The Witch ' s Familiar " . " " he Magician ' s Apprentice " premièred at the Filmhouse Cinema in Edinburgh on 27 August , as a part of the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival . Prior to the airing of " Last Christmas " , speculation about whether Jenna Coleman would stay on the show prompted her to announce that she would be continuing to appear in the series at the episode ' s press launch , stating the following : " It ' s wonderful – I ' ve got another series of stories with the Doctor . I couldn ' t walk away with the story being unresolved and there ' s so much more to do – I think they ' ve finally just reached a point where they really understand each other ! " Steven Moffat later confirmed this , saying : " Jenna is obviously in all of the next series . " On Monday the 30th of March BBC revealed the title of two episodes ; Jamie Mathieson and Steven Moffat ' s " The Girl Who Died " and Catherine Tregenna ' s " The Woman Who Lived " . The two episodes were revealed to be two linked episodes rather than a conventional two - parter , being set in two time periods , the Viking era and 17th century , respectively . A question that had been brought up in series 8 opener " Deep Breath " was the reason behind the Doctor ' s newest face and where he had seen it before . In DWM 486 Steven Moffat confirmed that the truth would be discovered , an event which occurred in Episode 5 . Peter Harness revealed that his two - part story , Episodes 7 & 8 , featuring UNIT and the Zygon s , would have the key theme " consequences " and would be a sequel to the 50th anniversary special " The Day of the Doctor " . For the first time in the show ' s history , the series included an episode which featured only one non - cameo speaking part for its entirety . Referring to the episode , Minchin said : " " Doctor Who " has always been about taking risks . It ' s never sat down and done a normal episode . It ' s always done something extraordinary . Our audience likes to be challenged . " The TARDIS console room set was modified , with circle - lit roundels becoming a prominent feature . Series 9 had the most overseas filming in the show ' s history , with five episodes ( " The Magician ' s Apprentice " , " The Witch ' s Familiar " , " The Zygon Invasion " , " Heaven Sent " and " Hell Bent " ) featuring scenes shot on location in the Canary Islands . Peter Capaldi stated that he thinks " the Doctor has realised that , even at two and a half thousand years of age , life is short . And he ' s in a great position and he should enjoy it . But , at the same time , there ' s something stalking him that will make life less pleasant for him . " He also claimed that there would be a monster that would " make you think carefully about regeneration " , and that the series would feature " a couple " of monsters from the original series ' run . Moffat stated in issue 490 of " Doctor Who Magazine " that the opening story of series 9 would be a " movie - sized " story and a " blockbuster . " Prior to the commencement of the series , Capaldi revealed that the run would not end happily , stating : " The Doctor and Clara are excited about the idea of having adventures this series , but that ' s a dangerous thing to do . They can ' t have a good time for too long . They have to pay for it . The Doctor has a profound knowledge of the past and future and he knows how things will come off in the end . He is aware darkness will fall . " BBC later confirmed that the series finale would see the Doctor return to his home planet Gallifrey , and face his own race , the Time Lord s , having been pushed " to the brink of madness " in Episode 11 . On 21 December 2015 , Cult Box revealed both " Last Christmas " and " The Husbands of River Song " Christmas specials would be included on " Doctor Who : The Complete Ninth Series " boxset . " The Husbands of River Song " is written by Steven Moffat and directed by Douglas Mackinnon and guest stars Alex Kingston , Greg Davies , and Matt Lucas . Rarely , the first teaser ( entitled " This Fall " ) was broadcast on BBC America . Production . Crew . Producers . " to be added " Writers . Toby Whithouse returned to the series , writing Episodes 3 and 4 , described by executive producer and showrunner Steven Moffat as " a brilliantly creepy two - parter " . New to " Doctor Who " , but not the DWU , was Catherine Tregenna ; the " Torchwood " writer penned the sixth episode of the series . Tregenna contributed the first " Who " story written by a female writer since Helen Raynor ' s two - parter in Series 4 . Sarah Dollard was the third female writer since 2005 and second under Steven Moffat , penning the tenth episode of the series . It marked the first time more than one woman wrote for the show in the same season or series . Regular writer Mark Gatiss also contributed an episode , stating in an interview with the Telegraph that he was " in the midst of that right now – I broke off to come here today , in fact , but I ' m hoping to finish the script tonight , " and added , “ It has been a tough nut to crack , but I ' m delighted with how scary it is . I can ' t say any more than that . " The story was told in an unusual format , featuring only point of view and base camera footage showing Time Lord and Clara join a rescue team in an attempt to defeat a group of monsters . Executive producer Brian Minchin stated " We ' re considering not even having opening titles and just running the footage " , something that did ultimately occur . Instead the episode was given a title sequence in the form of a code . Directors . Hettie MacDonald directed the two - part series opener , making her the only woman to direct a series opener following " Doctor Who " s return to television in 2005 and one of only four women to direct " Doctor Who " television openers in the show ' s history , the last being Fiona Cumming in 1982 . She also directed and the prequel minisode , " The Doctor ' s Meditation " . MacDonald had not directed an episode since " Blink " . Joining her was Daniel O ' Hara , who directed the third and fourth episodes of the series . Music . Murray Gold returned as the series ' score composer . In the finale episode , TV : " Hell Bent " , Gold had the rare experience of seeing his leitmotif for Clara Oswald , " Clara " , graduate from soundtrack - only to a part of the diegetic narrative . Filming . " to be added "