New Timelord and new TV schedule slot for Doctor Who

The popular BBC One sci fi show, which has traditionally aired on a Saturday night, will return on Sunday October 7, when fans will also meet the first female Timelord - Jodie Whittaker.

It was announced last year that the 36-year-old Broadchurch star would be the first woman to play the Doctor and she will be joined by companions Mandip Gill, Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh.

The show's new head writer and executive producer, Chris Chibnall, said: "New Doctor, new home! Jodie Whittaker's Doctor is about to burst into Sunday nights - and make the end of the weekend so much more exciting.

"Get everybody's homework done, sort out your Monday clothes, then grab some special Sunday night popcorn, and settle down with all of the family for Sunday night adventures across space and time. (Also, move the sofa away from the wall so parents can hide behind it during the scary bits). The Thirteenth Doctor is falling from the sky and it's going to be a blast."

Chibnall was behind the decision to cast a female Timelord, the BBC has previously said, and has written the first episode of the new series, an hour-long instalment titled The Woman Who Fell To Earth.

The BBC's director of content, Charlotte Moore, said: "With Chris Chibnall at the helm and Jodie Whittaker's arrival as the new Doctor, we are heralding a brand new era for the show and so it feels only right to give it a new home on Sunday nights at the heart of BBC One's autumn schedule."

In July this year, fans were given a glimpse of the cast in a new trailer released during San Diego's annual fan event, Comic-Con.

The 40-second trailer showed off the new incarnation of the Doctor's trusty sonic screwdriver.