Doctor Who Confidential Doctor Who Confidential was a documentary television programme that took a behind - the - scenes look at the making of each " Doctor Who " episode . It launched on BBC Three with " Rose " and continued through to " The Wedding of River Song " , after which it was definitively cancelled . As such , it holds the dubious distinction of being the first show in DWU history to have been unambiguously cancelled through a clear BBC press announcement , since " K9 and Company " and " Totally Doctor Who " passed without comment , " Torchwood " still has sporadic releases , " The Sarah Jane Adventures " was brought to an end after Elisabeth Sladen passed away and the original version of " Doctor Who " was consistently said to be " resting " , not " cancelled " . However , starting with " Deep Breath " , a new , smaller scale , behind the scenes series , entitled " Doctor Who Extra " , would be released alongside episodes on the online BBC iPlayer . History . The one - shot documentary " " , broadcast on BBC One before the premiere of " Rose " on 26 March 2005 , is considered a precursor to " Doctor Who Confidential ; " the programme proper , however , began later that evening with the episode " Bringing Back the Doctor " airing on BBC Three immediately after " Rose " . With few exceptions , " Confidential " screened on BBC Three following the transmission of " Doctor Who " on BBC One . Each episode of the first two series was approximately thirty minutes long ; episodes of series 3 and 4 were approximately forty - five minutes long , a length equivalent to the episode being covered . Full - hour instalments were made to coincide with the 2009 specials . It was also webcast in a five minute format on the BBC Doctor Who Website . Different narrators were used for the series , each of whom was at some point a guest star on " Doctor Who " proper . The narrators included : Simon Pegg , Anthony Stewart Head , Mark Gatiss , Noel Clarke , Alex Price and Russell Tovey . David Tennant directed one of the instalments and was the effective narrator of the episode . Cancellation . On 28 September 2011 , BBC Three announced it was cancelling " Doctor Who Confidential " after six seasons , citing budgetary issues at the network . Although it was initially reported that the final episode would air on 25 December 2011 in conjunction with the 2011 Christmas special , it was subsequently announced that the final episode would air at the conclusion of Series 6 of " Doctor Who " on 1 October 2011 . As the cancellation was announced during production of the Christmas special , it is uncertain whether any " Confidential " footage has been shot related to it , or whether this material will see release in some form in the future . The cancellation of " Confidential " , following those of " Totally Doctor Who " and " Torchwood Declassified " , has left the " Doctor Who " franchise without a behind - the - scenes TV series for the first time in the history of the BBC Wales era of the programme . The cancellation announcement sparked protests from fans , including the @ SaveDWC Twitter campaign and an online petition hoping to cause BBC Three to reinstate the programme . Memory of the programme lingered long in the minds of " Radio Times " readers . In February 2013 , it was voted the best BBC Three show of all time , beating out " Torchwood " , and even the then - highest - rated show on the network , . Replacement . In August 2014 , in the run - up to the premiere of Series 8 and the start of Peter Capaldi ' s tenure as the Twelfth Doctor , the BBC announced a new behind the scenes show to accompany the series , entitled " Doctor Who Extra " . " Cut Down " . Most episodes of " Confidential " were later re - edited into a version called " Confidential Cut Down " , chiefly for the purposes of inclusion on each series ' DVD boxed sets . These versions had most licenced music removed , as well as clips and interviews featuring the first eight Doctor s . These versions ran approximately 10 - 15 minutes and were often used for the repeat broadcasts on BBC Three . ( The Series 1 - 6 box sets group the " Confidential Cut Downs " together on one disc . ) " Cut Down " editions generally were not included on the single - disc " vanilla " releases issued in the UK and ( in the case of Series 1 ) North America , with the exception of the DVD releases of " Voyage of the Damned " and " The Next Doctor " which both included their respective " Confidentials " . Episodes . " Doctor Who Confidential " ran on television for six seasons , from 2005 to 2011 . A number of related specials and webcast mini - episodes were also made . Special episodes . One special episode of " Confidential " , " Music and Monsters " , looked at the making of the November 2006 " Doctor Who : A Celebration " charity concert . It was the first and for several years the only " Confidential " episode released in its entirety on DVD . An instalment of " Confidential " was produced to coincide with the 2008 Christmas special , " The Next Doctor " , followed by a second non - episode - based instalment of " Confidential " on 3 January 2009 , during which Matt Smith was announced as the Eleventh Doctor . The " Confidential " instalment produced for the 2009 Easter special , " Planet of the Dead " was significant for its inclusion at full - length in both the UK and North American DVD releases , including footage from several classic series episodes , the licensing - challenged 1996 TV movie and several snippets of licensed music — elements that otherwise were removed from the " Cut Down " versions . It was also the first " Confidential " made available in the Blu - Ray format . The subsequent " Complete Specials " DVD / Blu - Ray box set included the full - length , unedited " Confidential " instalments for the four 2009 specials , plus the one for " The Next Doctor " ( which was omitted from the standalone DVD release of that episode ) which was up - converted to high - definition for Blu - Ray release . The special " " , a memorial dedicated to Elisabeth Sladen following her death , was broadcast on CBBC on 23 April 2011 . Though the standard " Confidential " opening titles were absent , it was produced by the " Confidential " production team and closes with the " Confidential " logo . Four ten - minute documentaries were made for The Complete Fifth Series box set and another four for The Complete Sixth Series box set . These documentaries were given the name the " Monster Files " and focused on the making of certain enemies . The Complete Fifth Series box set contains 4 for the Dalek s , the Weeping Angel s , the Silurian s and the Alliance and The Complete Sixth Series box set contains 4 for the Silence , the Ganger s , the Teselecta antibodies and the Cybermat s . The documentaries did not open with the regular " Confidential " title sequence , though it was produced by the " Confidential " production team and closes with the " Confidential " logo . Episodes not released to home video . The non - DWU mini - episode " Tonight ' s the Night " , which aired in May 2009 , was accompanied by a " Confidential " - style behind - the - scenes segment , though it ' s not known if the regular " Confidential " team were involved in its creation . , the behind - the - scenes material has never made it to home video . The only " proper " instalment of " Confidential " never released to home video in some format is the " Eleventh Doctor " episode that aired in January 2009 to introduce Matt Smith . International broadcasts . In the US , some PBS affiliates aired instalments of " Doctor Who Confidential " in conjunction with their broadcasts of Series 3 and Series 4 episodes . " Cut Down " versions have also been available on the BBCA website , as well as the channel itself , since they obtained the North American broadcast rights during the 2009 Specials . The ABC aired " Confidential " in Australia .