Doctor Who Rumor Control: Thirteenth Doctor & the Valeyard?

Happy Monday, everyone! It’s Labor Day here in the US, but there’s no rest for the wicked. So let’s take a look at a couple of Doctor Who rumors that are flying around the internet today and try and sort them out.

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First up, a few sites are reporting on a story that was posted on Moviepilot yesterday that has some insane spoilers for this year’s Christmas special:

"Sources have revealed that, following the departure of his companion Clara Oswald, The Doctor is set to encounter River Song in the far future whilst battling an alien menace. But that’s not all – the duo are also to briefly encounter the Doctor’s next incarnation along the way, in a controversial first for the show.The actor, who is currently unnamed, is said to be just 20 years old, sporting a “blue suit”, with matching pea coat and sunglasses.The source also reveals that there will only be 3, hour-length, specials in 2016, starring Peter Capaldi and an all new companion played by Cara Delevingne, adding weight to the previous rumours in Private Eye last month. It is alleged that Peter Capaldi will hand over the keys to the TARDIS on New Years Day 2017, where the new Doctor will appear once more to take the reigns."

If you think that sounds like a big pile of bollocks, you’re probably right. First of all, it’s posted on Moviepilot — a site that has absolutely no vetting process for their writers. If I were so inclined, I could head over there right now and post a story about Peter Capaldi wearing a pink tutu and dancing the cha-cha, and there wouldn’t be a soul to stop me.

Second, if you head to the author’s page, you’ll see it’s the first and only article he’s ever posted. Quite a scoop for a first post, am I right? Not to mention, there’s literally no information about this supposed “source” he mentions.

A commenter on another site mentioned this story is pieced together from false rumors started on 4chan. I have such a passionate distrust of 4chan that I don’t even like my IP address registered over there, so I didn’t search their boards to verify this, but a quick Google search for the author’s name does return results relating to Doctor Who on 4chan.

Is there a chance this rumor is true? Sure. Is it a big chance? No. If I were a betting man, I’d put 1000:1 odds on this being correct.

The other Doctor Who rumor today comes from a slightly more reputable source. Warped Factor is a site that doesn’t garner much attention, but it’s filled with great articles and reviews. Today they reported on a new spoiler for the Series 9 finale given to them by a new source:

"The internet is basically a bar. You can’t, under any circumstances, trust what strangers tell you when they sidle up to you and tell you things. Which means this should be filed under the ‘deeply dubious’ category, rather, really, than the ‘spoiler’ category. But someone recently sidled up to me in a quiet corner of the net, and said that a friend of theirs, who’s an actor, had seen Michael Jayston on set of the Series 9 finale. The friend wasn’t a fan of the programme, so had no idea of Jayston’s historical connection with the show, they added."

Warped Factor is very upfront about the fact that this is a very untrustworthy rumor, which I appreciate, but I wonder if it was even worth reporting. A stranger says another stranger saw an actor on the Doctor Who set, but wasn’t a fan so he didn’t realize the significance. Riiiiight.

Here’s the thing, though — I’ve had my suspicions for a while now that the Valeyard could be showing up in Series 9, so this rumor does at least make sense. That doesn’t make it true, but I’d be less surprised to see this actually happen.

Doctor Who Series 9 premieres September 19. For full episode information, check out our guide: Doctor Who Series 9: Everything There is to Know So Far.

What do you think? Is there any truth to these rumors, or are these just random fan ramblings? Sound off in the comments below!

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Doctor Who Series 9 Rumor Control: Thirteenth Doctor & the Valeyard?

By Barry Rice | Sep 7, 2015

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