According to Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies in Doctor Who Magazine 607, some 2025 series drone footage was shot in a major city thousands of miles from London. Also some Doctor Who-related content was filmed in New York mid July 2024.

“And New York? [producer Phil Collinson is] not on holiday, he’s working. He’s there to record ADR (that’s Automated Dialogue Recording, replacing or adding or enhancing dialogue for the show, so it’s a sound session, no cameras). He’s recording with a great guest star for next year’s Season 2.”

“Usually, that sort of thing is done down the line – the director, Amanda Brotchie, is attending on Zoom from her home in Australia – but this is just good timing, because Phil’s also in town with a film crew to shoot a special sequence for… oh, redacted, sorry, but you’ll know all about it next issue!”

“Although Season 2 wrapped way back, on 24 May, there are still moments we need to pick up. After much wrangling, we’ve just been given permission for a very particular shot of London, to be grabbed in the next month or so, for FX work. And New York isn’t the first time we’ve shot abroad this year — we had an important drone shoot in a major city, thousands of miles away. All to come!”

This is very intriguing news — and in some ways, too vague to pinpoint exactly to what Davies is referring. An ADR session in America suggests American acting talent. The “special sequence” is anyone’s guess. Foreign drone footage could be an “establishing shot” — a scenery shot created to establish the location of a particular scene.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 607 is on sale Thursday 15 August from Panini and WH Smith (UK) and is also available as a digital edition from Pocketmags.