In Doctor Who Magazine 589, script editor Scott Handcock mentioned in his Production Notes column an interesting casting call at Wolf Studios Wales on 3 February.
“Friday 3 February… An unusual set of auditions for aspiring young actors takes place at Wolf Studios…”
The casting call was for babies 12-16 months old for filming in Cardiff. The babies chosen were diverse in gender and ethnicity if not age. All filming with the babies took place in the studios.
The filming began on 16 March with one baby boy who was to complete a total of ten days of filming. Eight other babies were filmed on various days depending on when they were called. Eight babies, including the boy who was cast for the bulk of the filming, were called in to Wolf Studios on March 30 for one last day filming together. The boy cast for for ten days of filming and at least two of the other babies then completed two more days of filming on 3 and 4 April with Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson.
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There has never before been an episode of Doctor Who which cast this many babies and for several days of filming.
A baby was cast as Alfie “Stormageddon” Owens in the Doctor Who Series 6 episode Closing Time.
The babies will likely be heavily featured in Episode One of the Doctor Who 2024 series. The filming with the babies occurred during Block Three, directed by Julie Anne Robertson.
Doctor Who will return in November 2023 with three 60th anniversary specials starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as companion Donna Noble. In the following festive period, Ncuti Gatwa will star in his first full Doctor Who episode as the Fifteenth Doctor. Doctor Who Series 14 starring Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson will debut in 2024.