BBC goes to court over ‘Doctor Who’ season 11 leak
The BBC has gone to a California court to request for a subpoena on a California-based online forum site, which allegedly leaked scenes from the upcoming “Doctor Who” season 11. Footage from the series — which would see its first female lead, played by Jodie Whittaker — have found their way to Tapatalk, a mobile forum website, last week.
The scenes in question were apparently those of Whittaker’s entrance as the Thirteenth Doctor. These were said to be shared on Tapatalk.
According to Digital Spy, the British network is pursuing legal action over the footage, which is believed to be an unfinished rough-cut, in a bid to protect the final product for the fans. BBC is reportedly pursuing all avenues to find out where the leak was from.
On Friday, it requested a clerk at the California federal court to issue a subpoena to Tapatalk. According to BBC, a small number of individuals had also seen the unfinished footage from a different online platform. Members on the gaming community Discord had apparently already seen and discussed the short scene almost a week before it was publicly leaked.
“[We] will strive to protect our program-makers, audiences and licence fee payers from any breaches of security — ensuring Doctor Who fans enjoy the final and fully completed version of the episode when it premieres,” BBC said in a statement.
The season 11 of “Doctor Who” will see Whittaker taking on the titular role. She made her first appearance at the end of the 2017 Christmas special, “Twice Upon a Time.” Her debut was doubly anticipated because she is the first woman to ever land the role. The show will return in October.
