TV & Showbiz

Doctor Who fans left scratching their heads over new star following ‘surprise’ regeneration

Here's a clue... violets are blue.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 2nd June 2025

Thousands of Doctor Who fans have been left scratching their heads following the most recent season finale and yet another regeneration that absolutely NO ONE was expecting.

Seriously, if you predicted this, then you’re just lying.

Following the series 15 conclusion – or rather the ‘second’ under the Disney+ umbrella – which saw Ncuti Gatwa vacate the moniker after just two series, showrunner Russell T Davies made his first real big splash since returning to the franchise.

If you’re looking for just one singular meme that sums up the general audience’s reaction to the episode, look no further:

Doctor Who remains one of the most iconic British TV shows of all time, but it’s fair to say it hasn’t been without its ups and downs over the years, and this latest turn has proved just as divisive.

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After being first brought back from a 16-year hiatus following the sci-fi series’ original run from 1963 to 1989, the latest iteration is now two decades and six new Doctors in.

Or is that seven?…

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Sex Education star Gatwa may be the 15th Doctor all told (with David Tennant’s own mini return marking number 14), but it looks like the latest might be former reboot star Rose Tyler herself, a.k.a. Billie Piper.

Remaining tight-lipped on social media, Billie has said little more than fans will have to “wait and see”, as well as her cryptic “a rose is a rose” post; as for the BBC themselves, they have only offered a press release, teasing that “just how and why she [Billie Piper] is back remains to be seen…”

In case you haven’t seen it yet, let’s all watch it together in real time, shall we?

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What a surprise!

While there are plenty of clues and theories now being picked apart by so-called ‘Whovians’, we have little more evidence than the scene itself and the final line in the end credits of the episode, which read: “Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor. Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. And introducing Billie Piper”.

Plenty of fans are obviously over the moon to see the 42-year-old back on board, regardless of the circumstances, but it hasn’t stopped them from tying themselves up in knots of confusion, especially given the very obvious canon questions posed following the reveal.

For anyone not even remotely clued up on her connection to the show, Billie Piper previously played Rose Tyler – the first companion of the modern era, who has returned for a number of cameos in the past – but (no spoilers), having her return as not just a different character but THE Doctor seems rather complex.

Nevertheless, the speculation that has ensued online since the reveal has been enjoyable on both sides of the argument.

Since the recent rebrand to make the show more palatable to American and global viewers, there has been a noticeable increase in the community’s presence online.

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One overseas fan wrote X: “It’s been 20 years and Rose Tyler is still my favourite companion, she was my first after all. In whatever incarceration Billie Piper shows up as, it just reminds me of being a teen again, being introduced to this wild British TV show on the SciFi channel.

As far as our opinion, we’re only casual Doctor Who fans, but we can’t lie, we’re pretty excited to see whatever they have in store.

What do you make of the whole thing? Is Billie Piper really going to become the new Doctor and, if so, are you on board, or are you in the camp of it’s a bit of opportunistic lip service for fans?

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Featured Images — BBC (press images/screenshot)

TV & Showbiz

Trailer released for new Harlan Coben thriller series Lazarus filmed in Manchester

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

The trailer for Harlan Coben’s newest thriller series filmed in Manchester has been released ahead of airing later this month.

You may remember that, back in January of last year, Netflix confirmed it would be creating two more new Harlan Coben shows, following the smash-hit success of Fool Me Once starring Manchester’s-own Michelle Keegan – titled Missing You and Run Away.

Missing You went on to air on New Year’s Day this year, and it was announced in late January that Run Away was set to begin filming, again in Manchester, very soon.

But it turns out it’s not only Netflix that Harlan Coben fans need to be keeping their eye on, as Amazon Prime Video is now getting in on the action too.

First look images have been shared ahead of the release of Harlan Coben’s new thriller series filmed in Manchester / Credit: Ben Blackall (via Prime Video)

Prime Video has now released the official trailer for the highly-anticipated new thriller series Lazarus, which is based on an original story idea and written by the New York Times best-selling author, Harlan Coben, alongside his regular writing collaborator, BAFTA-winner Danny Brocklehurst.

Coben has worked with the critically-acclaimed Hyde-born screenwriter – who is most-famous for being the creator and writer of Sky One’s Brassic – for the creation of Lazarus, and it’s expected to be around the sixth time the pair have collaborated, with their previous successful works including Safe, The Stranger, and Stay Close.

Lazarus is set to follow title character Joel Lazarus who returns home after his father Dr Jonathan Lazarus dies by suicide, and begins to have disturbing experiences that can’t be explained.

He quickly becomes entangled in a series of cold-case murders as he grapples with the mystery of his father’s death and his sister’s murder 25 years ago.

The six-part thriller series stars big names like Sam Claflin as Joel Lazarus, and Bill Nighy as his father Dr Jonathan – with supporting performances coming from Alexandra Roach, David Fynn, Karla Crome and Kate Ashfield, to name just a few.

The show will be executive produced by Harlan Coben and Danny Brocklehurst, alongside star Sam Claflin, BAFTA-winner Nicola Shindler and Richard Fee for Quay Street Productions – which is part of ITV Studios.

Watch the trailer in full here:

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All six episodes of Lazarus are set to be exclusively released Prime Video on Wednesday 22 October in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Featured Image – Ben Blackall (via Prime Video)

TV & Showbiz

Manc music legends James announce MASSIVE hometown show

Danny Jones Danny Jones James Manchester Co-op Live gig tickets

Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.

Daisy bucket hats at the ready.

James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so

Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.

Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.

In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.

Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.

The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.

As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.

You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.

James UK arena tour dates 2026

  • Fri 2                   Birmingham Utilita Arena
  • Sat 4                  Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
  • Tues 7               Aberdeen P&J Live
  • Wed 8                Glasgow OVO Hydro
  • Fri 10                  Newcastle Utilita Arena
  • Sat 11                Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
  • Mon 13              Cardiff Utilita Arena
  • Tues 14            Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
  • Fri 17                  London The O2
  • Sat 18               Manchester Co-op Live

With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.

General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.

You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)

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