Series 10 ( Doctor Who ) Series 10 was the final series of " Doctor Who " for Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and showrunner Steven Moffat . It introduced Bill Potts as a new companion of the Doctor , with Nardole continuing to travel with him . The series was most noticeable for reintroducing the " Saxon " incarnation of the Master , and the First Doctor , last seen on screen respectively in " The End of Time " and " The Five Doctors " . Also seen was the first ever female Ice Warrior on TV and the original design for the Cybermen , only seen beforehand in " The Tenth Planet " . Alpha Centauri also made a cameo in " Empress of Mars " . This series was also the first to have an openly gay companion alongside the Doctor on TV , as well as introducing the first female incarnation of the Doctor . The first confirmation of plans for this series were revealed in the BBC Worldwide Annual Review on 14 July 2015 . On 6 November 2015 , in an interview with the " Radio Times " , Steven Moffat confirmed a full series as well as a Christmas special . Series 10 was the last for both Peter Capaldi ' s Twelfth Doctor , and Steven Moffat as head writer and executive producer of the show . Overview . The series story arc primarily focussed on and how the Twelfth Doctor made a deal to guard her in a vault for 1000 years . Despite Nardole ' s protests to not adventure or interact with her while lecturing at St Luke ' s University , the Doctor desired to change Missy ' s outlook on life , away from her evil ways . While here , the Doctor met Bill Potts , who strangely went to his lectures despite not studying at the university . The Doctor personally offered to tutor her and , after helping her in an encounter with a mysterious creature , decided to take her on adventures in his TARDIS . The series concluded with the Doctor ' s attempts to transform Missy ultimately failing after encountering her predecessor on a Mondasian Colony ship . The Doctor and Bill were killed in battle defending the residents from the Master ' s Cybermen army while Nardole was condemned to the upper floors to keep defending the children should the Cybermen ever reach them . Bill managed to survive the ordeal after her friend Heather transformed her into sentient oil like her . As for the Doctor , he managed to survive through regeneration , though he temporarily delayed it . After one last adventure with his original incarnation , the Twelfth Doctor regenerated into a female incarnation . She soon fell from her TARDIS because it malfunctioned , falling to Earth . Production . The first readthrough began on 14 June 2016 , with filming beginning on 20 June . On 23 August 2016 , it was rumoured that filming on series 10 would continue to 31 March 2017 . This proved not to be true , as filming wrapped on 7 April 2017 . Crew . Producers . " to be added " Writers . Steven Moffat , as head writer , wrote the series opener " The Pilot " , episode six " Extremis " , and the two part finale episodes " World Enough and Time " and " The Doctor Falls " . He also wrote the Christmas special for 2017 , " Twice Upon a Time " as Chris Chibnall decided against starting his Doctor ' s tenure with the special . Mark Gatiss wrote " Empress of Mars " for the tenth series . According to " Doctor Who Magazine " , it was the ninth episode in the series . Jamie Mathieson wrote episode five , " Oxygen " . New writer Mike Bartlett joined Moffat ' s writing team , known for his work on " Doctor Foster " , and wrote the episode called " The Haunted Hub " . He penned episode four , " Knock Knock " . Sarah Dollard penned the third episode , " Thin Ice " . Classic series writer Rona Munro , known for the episode " Survival " , wrote the tenth episode titled " The Eaters of Light " . This marks the first time a writer of the original series will contribute to the revived series . Munro told " Doctor Who Magazine " that : " Writing " Survival " was my dream job , but it was a mournful time in the show ' s history . This has been a very different experience . There ' s more of everything ; people , resources , confidence , success … but the same constantly renewing and indefinable wonder that is Doctor Who , " and added , " When I was very small and watching the First Doctor , I had a special cushion known as ' Rona ' s Doctor Whocushion ' . I would hide my face in it when the Daleks or other monsters appeared on screen ! " The Eaters of Light " is my version of other stories that have haunted me for almost as long . " Peter Harness wrote episode seven , " The Pyramid at the End of the World " and Toby Whithouse wrote episode eight , " The Lie of the Land " In the magazine ' s June 2017 issue , Moffat told " Doctor Who Magazine " that he personally wrote the final draft of episode seven close to filming of the episode ' s production block . Directors . The March 2017 issue of " Doctor Who Magazine " listed all the directors apart from those in the final two episodes , which at the time of printing had not yet begun shooting . Lawrence Gough directed episodes " The Pilot " and " Smile " , Bill Anderson directed episodes " Thin Ice " and " Knock Knock " Charles Palmer directed episodes " Oxygen " and " The Eaters of Light " , Daniel Nettheim directed episodes " Extremis " and " The Pyramid at the End of the World " , and " Class " director Wayne Yip directed the episodes " The Lie of the Land " and " Empress of Mars " . On 6 March 2017 , Rachel Talalay directed " World Enough and Time " and " The Doctor Falls " . Filming . In 2015 , production designer Michael Pickwoad said in an interview on the podcast " Radio Free Skaro " that work on the new series " won ' t start until well into the New Year " , and that he expected to start filming in May . Peter Capaldi said filming would begin " sometime . . . next year . " Although originally reported as beginning in May 2016 , filming commenced on the 20th of June . To avoid online leaks , the production team used the codeword " Mean Town " , an anagram of " Ten Woman " , when talking about Bill , casting director Andy Pryor revealed to the " Radio Times " . This was a reference to the fact that Bill is the companion of series 10 . The working title of " The Pilot " was " A Star In Her Eye " . In the line - up to the beginning of series 10 , a bunch of small videos were released with Peter Capaldi ' s Twelfth Doctor , in which three of these featured a description that Steven Moffat himself used for the Doctor in 2013 . On 24 June , 2017 , Benjamin Cook , writer of " Doctor Who Magazine " , confirmed on that the pre - titles sequence in " World Enough and Time " was shot two weeks prior to broadcast , during the production of the 2017 Christmas special At a Live Q & A on 24 June , 2017 , after the broadcast of " World Enough and Time " , Steven Moffat said that the second part " The Doctor Falls " had not finished filming , leading to a possible delay in the broadcast . Peter Capaldi ' s final scene on set had been his regeneration scene , just as his first scene in TV : " Deep Breath " had been him emerging from the TARDIS . By the end of July 2017 , Moffat stated that Jodie Whittaker had already filmed her half of the regeneration scene . " Twice Upon A Time " was originally rumoured to be titled " The Doctors " . Television stories . Regular series . ! EpisodeNumber | | Title | | Writer | | Director | | Notes