New Doctor Who theme tune unveiled ahead of 60th anniversary David Tennant specials

The BBC has unveiled a new take on the famous Doctor Who theme tune ahead of the show’s 60th anniversary.

BBC radio presenter Jo Whiley will host a special edition of Sunday Night Is Music Night on BBC Radio 2 – Doctor Who 60: A Musical Celebration, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Singers, conducted by Alastair King.

The programme will be broadcast from 8pm to 10pm on Sunday (15 October) on Radio 2.

The BBC released a clip on Thursday (12 October) teasing the new theme tune.

Doctor Who will return for three special episodes this November, featuring David Tennant as the 14th doctor and Catherine Tate playing his sidekick Donna Noble, to coincide with the celebrations.

The first of the three specials will be titled “The Star Beast”, the second is “Wild Blue Yonder” and the third is “The Giggle”.

Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa will take over as the Time Lord after the three specials, and will star alongside Coronation Street actor Millie Gibson, who is playing the Doctor’s companion Ruby Sunday.

The series will also include RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon, Heartstopper actor Yasmin Finney and How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris.

Miriam Margolyes, who has starred in Blackadder, Babe and the Harry Potter films, will appear in the anniversary specials as the voice behind Meep, the creature adapted from The Star Beast comic strip.

The series revamp sees It’s A Sin writer Russell T Davies return as showrunner, the man behind the 2005 revival of the long-running BBC show, succeeding Chris Chibnall who introduced Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor.

Tennant recently shared the simple reason he chose to return to the franchise after 13 years.

“The real answer is that I still love it,” Tennant said. “You do spend your years away from Doctor Who, always watching it. Always thinking of ideas. Thinking about how I would expand it, thinking of stories... It never goes away.”

Doctor Who will air on the BBC in the UK and Ireland, while streaming platform Disney+ will show episodes to audiences elsewhere.

Doctor Who 60: A Musical Celebration will be available on BBC Sounds after it has been broadcast and has also been filmed for BBC iPlayer.

The series, which follows a time-travelling Time Lord as they journey through space and time, celebrates its 60th anniversary on November 23.