December 4th, 2025
17 comments
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Doctor Who Magazine Issue 624
With this issue
THE WAR BETWEEN THE LAND AND THE SEA COLLECTOR’S ART CARDS AND AN AUDIO ADVENTURE WITH THE NINTH DOCTOR
In the magazine
- As THE WAR BETWEEN THE LAND AND THE SEA surfaces on BBC One and iPlayer, we speak to star RUSSELL TOVEY about his role as Barclay Pierre-Dupont.
- Writer PETE McTIGHE, producer JOEL COLLINS and director DYLAN HOLMES WILLIAMS discuss the development of this eagerly awaited spin-off.
- A preview of the new 90-minute version of Third Doctor classic THE SEA DEVILS.
- UNIT intelligence on previous SEA DEVIL skirmishes!
- Back to 1968! UNIT’s first encounter with the Doctor – 57 years ago!
- Concept artist PETER McKINSTRY talks about his work and his new book The Art of Time Travel.
- Doctor Who showrunner RUSSELL T DAVIES shares his latest 12 Days of Christmas!
- Looking back on 60 years of the Doctor Who Annual.
- We remember Doctor Who’s very first Dalek December…
- …and the many ways in which Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has influenced Doctor Who.
- We excavate the Cave-Monsters – in the first part of our deep dive into the fact and fiction of Doctor Who and the Silurians.
- A ghost story for Christmas featuring the Fifteenth Doctor…
Regular features
- GALLIFREY GUARDIAN: News including the launch of The War Between the Land and the Sea, a round-up of this year’s Doctor Who Day activity, and a Children in Need Special.
- Reviews – featuring the latest audios, books and action figures.
- Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe – including the War Doctor’s clash with every Cyberman ever!
- Prizes to be won – you could win a massive Christmas bundle of Blu-rays and CDs!
Doctor Who Magazine Issue 624 is on sale Thursday 4 December 2025 from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £8.99 (UK).
Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £7.99.
Categorised under: Doctor Who Magazine, Magazine
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cosmosboy98
January 6th, 2026 - 11:28pmVery underwhelming Christmas issue, and notably no signs of a 2026 Yearbook Special Edition. I remember 2009-2017 when the Christmas issue felt like a great quality product and a real highlight of the publication. This years is much the same as any other issue (if not weaker due to its lack of high quality journalism which now only come in the guise of long form interviews). Instead of imaginative Christmas Content; the loathed Fact of Fiction is given a higher page count, the article on Peter McKinstrys book (fascinating as it looks) is essentially an extended advert, and five pages are dedicated to a “UNIT Briefing” article. Written in universe, this would feel more at home in DWA or an Annual. While BBC Studios doesn’t allow DWM any editorial independence these days, they don’t have the candour to point out General Pierce now works for UNIT – something the feature distinctly contradicts. To top it all off there’s a whole article dedicated to shows that are not DW!
All this in addition to the atrocious proofing; the text has missing words throughout.
I’m such a big supporter of DWM and print journalism, I just wish the title was done more justice.
cosmosboy98
January 6th, 2026 - 11:39pmSome suggestions for future Christmas issues:
Guest Editors – Like R4 Today programme lol why don’t they get a DW alumni as guest editor. I understand Sophie Aldred did this once in the 90s; I’d love to see Matthew Waterhouse or Pearl Mackie take this on.
Interview former Christmas Special stars; Claire Skinner from Doctor, Widow, Wardrobe for example. What does she actually remember? Does she think the ep is any good? Candour is always interesting.
Time Team at Christmas? The og Time Team have an annual reunion with new series Christmas specials?
Short Original Fiction. I found the Christmas Ghost Story cringey as hell, but let’s get some new writers through, perhaps a competition similar to BF Paul Spragg comp? Could even be ran as part of it.
The more I think about it, the more DWM feels like DWA. The ‘leading’ Russell Tovey interview is so short and without substance, it’s just promo. Please DWM, let’s have more of the thoughtful journalism.
Dave
January 7th, 2026 - 3:53amPersonally, The Fact of Fiction is one of my favourite regular features, though I understand that others are less fond of it!
The Flying Shark
January 7th, 2026 - 9:28amThe Fact of Fiction is the only reason I buy the mag, I know it’s a little anachronistic now and not for everyone but you can say the same of the comic strip, you can’t really pull an article just cos a few people don’t like them
cosmosboy98
January 7th, 2026 - 10:35amThat’s interesting, and I really do respect both of your opinions. I find Fact of Fiction very inaccessible. Most of the stories covered are classic, and although many I have watched I cannot recall them beat for beat (being much longer than the 45″ modern eps, which are easier to remember) – but it feels the feature expects me to do so, to understand the observations. I also dislike what I would describe as the smarmy voice it’s written in, and the assumptions made to create connections or suggest intentions of the production team, where there may not have been any.
Nevertheless, I don’t think extending the page count of a regular feature is the sign of a healthy Christmas issue.
I personally think DWM needs a radical reform. Gallifrey Guardian is always filled with “news” I already know, because we now live in a 24hr news cycle – even in the Whoniverse! What is the point in it?
Letters are doctored, and the ones selected have a positive bias (I have evidence of this).
The “Galactic Personae” section at the end is effectively promo, and all the titles will be reviewed in the following issue, so much of that content I feel I’m reading twice.
I understand this comes across as DWM bashing, but I’ve long loved DWM, so have very strong feelings about it’s decline in quality set against a fight for survival in the current climate of print journalism!
Star Lord
December 5th, 2025 - 9:09amSlightly baffled as to why they advertised the McKinstry art cover as a ‘subscriber’ cover, picked up my copy in Easons yesterday and as expected it also has the McKinstry textless cover when you remove the Salt polybag. Delighted with the TWB A4 art cards though, much prefer them to the folded up posters.
Timelord1963
December 5th, 2025 - 2:38pmThought it odd they had no 14th, War or Fugitive Doctors on the Doctor montage cover.
bbb
December 6th, 2025 - 6:31pmthey do that when it comes in a bag with art cards or a poster
time lord
December 4th, 2025 - 9:25pmsomeone on the web says the next issue will not be out for 5 weeks
Golden Pineapple
December 5th, 2025 - 12:50pmYes, 8th January as the 1st is of course a public holiday.
War Chief.
December 4th, 2025 - 5:49pmThis time last December I bought the Dr Who magazine with Nguti Gatwa wearing a dressing gown on the cover……
This time NEXT year…..who knows……perhaps a cover picture of Billie Piper wearing, I dunno, a Barbour coat….?
And waving a fantastic looking new sonic screwdriver……?
Bellal
December 4th, 2025 - 5:24pmLast issue I bought was ‘Ncuti Gatwa is the Doctor’ in December 2023. Think I’ll be getting this one as it’s oh so rare to see a spin-off being the cover of an issue. Genuinely excited for it.
Difficult to find at all here in Ireland which has furthered me from picking it up in general.
Which 9th Doctor audio is it btw?
The Monitor
December 4th, 2025 - 5:34pmInterestingly, the subscriber cover is completely unrelated. Not just text less, as usual.
Ano miss
December 4th, 2025 - 5:46pmStill can’t say this interests me. The new trailer didn’t do anything to sell it to me.
bryan
December 5th, 2025 - 12:08amHi Monitor. The Subscriber cover is an Art piece done by Peter McKinstry , who has a 5 page spread about his Art design for the 2005-2025 series. Inventing , desigining, stuff for the team to make .
I would rather have had that to die for Cutaway Giant Robot. On the inner page (4 i think) on the cover or a poster LARGE poster , as I would frame it.
The Art Of Peter McKinstry is out now (big ole coffee table book of conceptual art some got made some designs were a bit too much and didnt)
Mason
December 5th, 2025 - 9:44amThe 9th doctor audio is the Seas of Titan. Sea Devils story of course.
Richard Lloyd
December 4th, 2025 - 4:32pmSpecial thanks to booboo for helping with pics for my advent calendar article this issue!