The Mobile Phones of Doctor Who - 60th Anniversary Specials

Let's do the time warp again! If you're new to the blog series, this is where I attempt to identify all the mobile phones used by The Doctor and their companions.

The 2023 shows were an absolute blast. Some classic stories and a whole lot of running around. But were there any phones? Oh yes!

The Star Beast

First up, we get a gaggle of extras filming and taking selfies with the spaceship hurtling towards Cardiff London.

All a bit blurry, but there are some iPhones in the mix.

Shaun Temple's taxi has this phone in a cradle:

Nice mock-up of a taxi app - but I'm not sure that's an accurate map of Camden! The circular signal strength indicators are from an iPhone pre 2017's iOS 11. So it's either an old iPhone, or Shaun doesn't update his devices, or just something drawn on the screen by the art department. The battery symbol is vertical - whereas the iPhone's is horizontal. The volume buttons are on the right - but iPhones have them on the left. So I'm going to say it's not an iPhone.

The back doesn't give us many more clues. A small camera on the left. But, as the device is in a case, we'll have to see if it makes another appearance before definitively identifying it.

Fudge has an anonymous black rectangle. Not really enough detail to go on there.

But, on to the main event! UNIT's Shirley Anne Bingham has this beauty which (for once!) is handled by The Doctor That's a pretty easy spot (also for once!) - the dual screen foldable is the Microsoft Surface Duo 2. The big camera bump on the back marks it as different from the original Duo.

Let's take a look at the gorgeously detailed prop-work:

There's a lovely discussion in the episode's commentary about how the device and how it was used to save money on CGI shots.

The Giggle

The Doctor zaps one of the UNIT phones with the Sonic:

The teardrop notch and thick bottom means it is almost certainly a Samsung. Possibly the A32 but, as with so many of these devices, it could be anything.

The Doctor - and the rest of UNIT - have these identical tablets:

There's a good shot of the front:

Not much to go on from that shot (what does the inscription say?) but there's a clear shot of the back of Donna's one:

Small round camera next to a headphone socket? It's a Huawei MediaPad - probably the T3.

Behind The Scenes

As there's not many phones in this series, I thought I'd also delve into the behind the scenes action. In Doctor Who Confidential Unleashed we get a quick glimpse of Catherine Tate taking a selfie:

That's the camera cluster from the iPhone Pro - but could be any model from 11 - 15.

As part of the 60th celebrations, there are some retrospective articles on the BBC - including this lovely piece "I rescued Kylie Minogue as David Tennant double".

There's a selfie of the actor taken in a mirror:

That's (almost) The Doctor holding a Sony Ericsson K750.

Let's Go!

I can't wait for the new Doctor. Ncuti Gatwa is such an astonishing actor.

But, until the new series airs, you can enjoy reading about the phones in all the episodes and specials on this blog!