"Midnight" is a Series 4 episode which has a terrifying sequel in this year's "The Well".

Donna briefly has a chat with The Doctor on what a appears to be a landline phone with the wire removed.

Obviously that's not a mobile phone.

But what's The Doctor speaking to her on?

A payphone? Look a little closer:

A rotary dial payphone!

This is the the Coin Telephone 725A. Isn't it gorgeous?

But is it a mobile phone? Yes. Yes it is. The Post Office Telecommunications Bulletin DLE 530 describes this as "portable with plug and socket termination".

How portable? Easy to lug over a bar.

And light enough for a dainty lady to carry.

So, there you go, a sort of mobile phone hidden away on the Planet Midnight!

You can read dozens of these very silly blog posts in the archives.

This weird and wonderful series has, sadly, a paucity of phones. The only time they appear is in the phonetastic and bone-chilling Lucky Day…

Lucky Day

Hunky heart-throb, and all-round nice guy Conrad Clark has this device:

Not much to go on. Looks like an Android. The vertical camera cluster, buttons on the right, and inset front camera means it is probably a Samsung - but you'd be hard pressed to tell which!

Ruby Sunday has the same yellow clad phone from Joy To The World.

A few closeups as well.

I'm pretty sure that's the Google Pixel 5.

Carla's phone is wrapped in an anonymous case.

That's the same case as last year's episodes. But there's not much to go on. That tiny camera cluster could be from anything other than an iPhone. Think you know what it is? Leave a note in the comments.

Most of <Think_Tank>'s phones are blurry and in the background, so it's hard to say what they are. One goon has this device:

Given the bevel around the camera lenses, and the flash near the top, I think it's the Samsung S21 5G

Another has this model:

Again, not much detail there. It looks like it has a fingerprint sensor on the rear. Any clues?

Shirley Bingham, UNIT's technical marvel, has this foldable phone.

Although the scene is quite dark, I reckon it is the same phone she was rocking in The Star Beast.

Up next!

Will there be more phones in "The War Between the Land and the Sea"? Stay tuned!

The 2024 Xmas special is fairly light on phones. Right at the end, we see Ruby Sunday calling her mum.

And a shot of the base of the phone.

It looks like it's the same phone as last season albeit now in a bright yellow case.

Probably a Pixel 5

The only other phone-like device is Joy's Mum's iPad.

I've no idea which model iPad that is, but it looks like the case clasp will be covering the camera.

To keep you busy until 2025, you can read all 27 blog posts in the series.

And then, right at the end, this:

Cor! Four classic Doctors each with a mobile! This photoshoot was, apparently, done at the Hammersmith Ark which was holding an exhibition to celebrate 30 years of Dr Who. There isn't much information about it online - other than this press cutting⁰ - but there is another photo from the same series:

There's also this set of photos from Getty.

So, what phones are they all using? It's 1993, which means there were only a limited number of handsets.

The birth of the UK's mobile networks was "Phones On The Move" - a 1989 document by the Department of Trade and Industry. It led to the creation of the Mercury one2one and Hutchinson Orange networks - swiftly followed by Racal's Vodafone in July 1992 and Cellnet in December 1993.

McCoy's phone is a big old brick! Probably ancient at the time this photo was taken:

It looks like a Nokia CityMan - the original "Brick". But it has a 3x4 dial pad, and a 3x3 pad underneath - with a conspicuous red button. So it is probably the Motorola DynaTAC.

Possibly the 8500X or 8900X?

It looks like Pertwee and Davison both have the same model phone.

The blue logo at the bottom made me think these are Mercury phones. Although the button layout looks a bit like the Vodafone transportable, the shape of the buttons and speaker aren't quite right for that.

So I think it is the NEC P3.

Colin Baker's phone is a bit obscured:

I think that's the Vodafone / RACAL logo. Judging from the button layout, I'm reasonably confident that's the Panasonic EU 2000 (EB-3810).

Launched in 1993 - so super modern! You can read the original manual.

What do you reckon? Did I get them right?

Any more?

I've previously written about Doctor Who actors in Mobile Phone Commercials and I've a whole series of posts charting all the in-universe use of mobiles.

But if you've spotted a photo or video that I've missed - please drop a comment in the box.

The 2024 series is incredible. Lots of plot, not too much exposition, and a whole bunch of mystery. I love it when Doctor Who goes off in a new direction. Let's take a look at the handsets used in these stories.

The Church on Ruby Road

First up, bit of a cheeky inclusion, the police officer is packing a TETRA handset - the Motorola MTH800.

New companion Ruby Sunday has a red-encased phone - at the bottom are dual speakers and a charging port:

It doesn't look like there are any buttons on the side of the phone. In another shot, we see the right of the phone - and it appears to have several buttons:

There's a small square camera cluster. So I think it's the Google Pixel 5 - although it might be a 4a or 5a as well.

Davina's phone is harder to work out. There are multiple buttons to the right of the screen, so it can't be an iPhone:

There don't appear to be any bottom speakers on the rose-gold coloured device. The camera cluster is rather thin:

The long volume button with a power button underneath makes me think Xiaomi - but they tend to have speakers on the bottom. Not much to go on here. Any ideas?

Space Babies

We get the classic "Enable Universal Roaming" sequence with Ruby's phone. From the camera cluster we can see it's the Pixel 4 or 4a.

But what do we see when The Doctor zaps it with the sonic screwdriver?

The front camera cluster shows it is definately the 4 or 4a. But let's zoom in!

Just for a moment, the date flips from December 24th 2023 to 2024! Wonder if that's significant?

Also, the phone appears to have connected to WiFi. Good to know that 802.11 is still the standard in the future 🤣

Incidentally, there's a minor continuity nit here. The Doctor hands Ruby the phone with the USB-C port facing him, but she takes it with the port facing her!

Carla's phone is wrapped in an anonymous case.

73 Yards

Ifor Jones - who is The Only Gay Goth In The Village - has an fairly generic looking phone:

Not much detail in the close up. Probably a Samsung?

Again, not much to see on Carla's device:

Kate is rocking a dual screen (non-foldable) Android - much as UNIT's Shirley Anne Bingham did in Star Beast.

Looks to be a Microsoft Surface Duo 2

As you can see from the close-up, the graphic is being loaded from the gallery - hence the delete and sharing icons at the bottom.

Oh, and you see that QR code? If you fill in the missing corner square, it leads you to the production designer's website! Brilliant little Easter Egg.

Future Ruby has a delightful prop-phone with a vestigial camera popping out of the top. There's a little bit of detail on the side, but nothing which says what real-phone it is modelled on. Interestingly, there's a little bit of detail on the phone's screen in close-up. "LEOW11" perhaps?

The Legend of Ruby Sunday

OMG! Brilliant episode!

In Ruby's shoebox, is this little candybar:

It's hard to find much detail about pre-smartphones. There's a headphone jack at the top and a chunky D-Pad. That describes a hundred handsets. I think it is a Nokia 1280 but feel free to correct me

Mel shows The Doctor a video on a foldable handset:

Yup! Our old friend, the UNIT-standard-issue Microsoft Surface Duo 2! I wouldn't have thought UNIT trusted Microsoft 😆

Empire of Death

A stunning end - and with a couple of phones, which makes it even better. Obviously!

Louise Miller - who is spoilers Ruby's mum - has an older iPhone.

But what's the other phone? There's a glimpse behind Ruby inside the memory-TARDIS:

What is it? ZOOM! ENHANCE!

(OK, I grabbed that from Doctor Who Confidential Unleashed.)

It's the Nokia N73 that The Doctor handed Inston-Vee Vinder in Once, Upon Time.

And next?

This show just gets better and better. Onwards to Series 15. Or 2. Or, if you're into the UNIT Dating Controversy, Season 41.

While you're waiting, you can read all my Doctor Who phones posts.

And - most importantly of all - it contains a mobile phone!

I'm not talking about the Walkie-Talkies which are non-functioning props. I'm talking about this beauty:

(From Episode 2)

There's also a shot of it being used by Blue Kang:

But could that be just a regular phone with a long cord?

There's a clearer shot when the Chief Caretaker is disposed of:

And a slightly sideways angle:

It looks like there are buttons on the back of the handset - the opposite side from the speaker and microphone. Most touch-tone phones that I remember had the buttons on the same side. Here's the Argos catalogue from 1987 to prove my memory isn't faulty:

So I think this is a carphone. Specifically, the Panasonic VM1 which was used to launch Vodafone in 1985.

It has the same physical shape - with the angled mouthpiece. The button configuration is the same - 6 rows of 3. Above the buttons looks like like the display grid. And the bottom appears to have a white logo.

Here's a couple of crappy composites.

The "Send" and "End" buttons on the top row are slightly darker on both. You can see more shots on the product page for the EB-6301. Various photos of the phone show it with Racal branding.

The phone model is relatively famous; it was used by Ernie Wise as part of Vodafone's launch.

I think that might be the only commercially available carphone used by The Doctor in the original series. There are some non-cannon appearances - but I'll keep my eyes pealed for more.

In the meantime, you can browse through the Mobile Phone of Doctor Who archives.

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!

Today's edition - The Poisoned Sky.

As the Sontarans choke the Earth, the Doctor and UNIT battle to keep both Martha and Donna alive.

A large plot point is Evil Clone Martha stealing a UNIT PDA and using it to HACK THE MAINFRAME.

At various times she prevents missiles being launched:

And disrupts UNIT's abilities to defeat the Sontaran menace:

That original PDA is now in the hands of Collectors Props Wales after they bought it from the BBC studios where, no doubt, it has languished in a cupboard for a dozen years. After finding a charging cable, the owner was kind enough to send me these photos of some of the media saved on the device:

It's interesting to see that the display seen on TV was designed to be animated, rather than static.

There are also some pictures on there which don't appear to have been used in the episode (do correct me if I'm wrong).

Some of the graphics are quite different from what's shown on screen. I assume they mocked-up various graphics and went with whatever looked best.

The phones are available to buy on eBay but do contact them directly if the phone you want isn't yet available.

A collector has recently acquired a load of old Who prop phones - and I'm working with them to identify which episodes they're from.

You might remember Series 8's "In the Forest of the Night. It's the kid-heavy episode with lots of unidentified phones.

At the time, I wasn't able to get a clear enough view of the phones to work out what they all were. Thankfully, the props team gave the kids real working phones. And you know what kids do with phones, right? No - not TikTok. Photos!

(Excuse the blurry shots.) I'm pretty sure that's Harley Bird - AKA the voice of Peppa Pig.

That's not all the phone has on it. According to the description, there's a bunch of photos and videos. And...

The scene in the tardis where the doctor has lost Maebh and Ruby says she’s gonna die. The cheeky kid recorded the audio on the phone, complete with behind the scenes conversations and actual different versions of the same scene. “Action - take 3” …..”cut” etc etc it’s all saved forever on the actual phone used in the actual scene. Amazing

You can buy the phone on eBay.

There's also this little Android:

Yup! A selfie with the actor Samuel Anderson who plays Danny Pink. In fact, the phone is full of on-set photos!

But I think we can do one better than that, right?

Woo! In amongst all the photos on there is a cheeky snap of the interior of Capaldi's TARDIS 🤯

As I've said, I don't own these phones - I've very kindly been given a sneak peek of their contents. The phones are available to buy now on eBay. If you do find anything exciting on them, please do share with the fan community.

The Internet is a weird and delightful place. For years now, I've been running a blog series about the Mobile Phones of Doctor Who. I went through every episode and painstakingly identified every mobile the cast used. People chipped in with their suggestions if I wasn't able to definitively state which phone was on screen. Hey, don't go yucking my yum, OK?

Anyway, a few days ago, someone emailed me out of the blue. They'd purchased a job-lot of props from the sale of the Roath Lock Doctor Who Studios. A bunch of set dressings, artwork, etc.

Oh, and a BIG BOX FULL OF MOBILE PHONES!

Was I interested in seeing it? Let me think...

OMGWTFBBQTTFN!

Here's a clearer shot of all of them:

Wow! So, with their kind permission, this is my attempt to match the phones in the box to the ones I've seen on-screen. Some I am 100% confident of. Others are still a mystery to me. If you want to buy any of these props, I've linked to their eBay auction page. Note, I may receive a small commission if you buy through my links.

Let's go through them in broadcast order:

S04E05 - The Poison Sky - Evil Clone Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman - Acer n300

One of only a few PDAs which are in the show. This is from Series 4.

And this is it, ready to be auctioned:

S05E01 - The Eleventh Hour - Amy - Karen Gillan - Nokia 7100 Supernova

When we're introduced to Kissogram Amy, she's got this pink number:

At some point the character replaces it - whereupon it was dropped into a prop box never to be seen again. Until now.

Oh, that's cute! They mocked up a "TARDIS Calling" graphic.

Say... I wonder if there are any other media files on this old abandoned prop...?

OMFG!

Yup! That's the photo Amy takes of The Silence as see on screen in The Impossible Astronaut!

That's not the last surprise these phones have for us.

S06E10 - The Girl Who Waited - Amy - Karen Gillan - Samsung

Remember when Amy built her own Sonic Screwdriver?

It's a Samsung C3050. And the original prop is available for sale:

Shall we have a little peek in the photo gallery? Perhaps there will be something interesting?

OH! JUST A SELFIE OF KAREN AND MATT! NOTHING SPECIAL!!!

End of Time - Minnie / Oliver - June Whitfield / Barry Howard - Nokia 6111

The The Silver Cloak of pensioners take a group photo with The Doctor using this distinctive model:

And, yeah, there's a photo of June Whitfield. And a short video where, presumably, Barry Howard hit record by accident!

The phone is available to buy from eBay.

S07E12 - Nightmare in Silver - Angie - Eve de Leon Allen - Samsung Ch@t335

This Neil Gaiman written episode has a phone which is eaten by the Cybermen's little critters:

The full phone is present - as is a skeleton which I assume was used for some of the special effects?

And, yet again, a bunch of videos on there! One of which appears to be the same as that used on screen.

This phone was used by Clara to take photos of Artie and Angie playing in antigravity

There are also several behind the scenes photos from November 2012.

You can buy the phone on eBay.

S08E08 - Mummy on the Orient Express - Clara - Samsung Galaxy S III Mini

Remember Clara calling The Doctor? Here's a quick reminder:

Say... I wonder... What would happen if someone were to plug this old abandoned prop into a USB power supply? You don't suppose...?

:MELTING FACE EMOJI WITH EXPLODING EYEBROWS:

The Grasshopper image is seen on screen - but the others, including the photo of Capaldi aren't. I'd love to know what that video is of? I wonder if it was recorded on set?

S09E10 - Face the Raven - Rigsy - Joivan Wade - Lumia 535

Joivan Wade seems to be making a name for himself in the USA. But, prior to that he graced our screen in Doctor Who - rocking this smart Lumia.

That's in the collection too and - don't worry - it still has that media file on it!

As you can see, the crack on the phone (an important plot point) is an exact match for what's seen on TV. The other phone is an identical make and model but, it would seem, the props team smashed it a little too hard!

S10E07 - Pyramid at the End of the World

As I discussed last week There's an iPhone in this episode:

That exact phone is in the collection - with several graphics stored on it:

S13E01 - War of the Sontarans - Dan - John Bishop - Xperia Z3

At the time I said that I was confident Dan was holding an Xperia of some sort - but couldn't identify the model.

Well, this clears it up!

This one isn't for sale. Because it is now in my possession!

Unknown

There are a few phones which appear to have been used on-screen. But I can't place them. If you think you know where they're from - stick a comment in the box.

First, is this iPhone with a ВХОДЯЩИЙ ВЫЗОВ (INCOMING CALL) screen. I presume from Pyramid?

Next are these three Android phones. They have some "green screen" media files on them. So they were probably used on-screen at some point. But I'm struggling to work out where.

That white phone might be from Fugitive of the Judoon. What do you think?

Finally, this Samsung isn't smashed. It is a fake phone and the lines have been etched into it. Again, I can't work out where it could come from.

The others?

I'm working through the others. Some from the haul I simply don't recognise as having appeared on-screen. Perhaps they are in deleted scenes. Or they might just be "lost and found" from the cast and crew.

Some of the anonymous black rectangles and iPhones might have appeared in episodes, but they're all so identikit that it's hard to tell.

If you end up buying one of the devices - please let me know if you find anything interesting on it 😄

Thanks

Huge thanks to Collectors Props Wales for sharing this incredible find with me - and letting me share it all with you. You can visit their ebay store for a frankly ridiculous number of Doctor Who props.

If you're interested in purchasing any of these phones - contact them directly.

For a few years now, I've been running a blog series about the Mobile Phones of Doctor Who. I'm only human⁰, so I occasionally miss some of the devices.

A reader contacted me to say I'd missed three phones from the Series 10 episode Pyramid at the End of the World.

Firstly, a boring one. Erica's husband/boyfriend/housemate smashes her glasses because he's busy on his phone. It's a one-frame shot, so not much to go on.

Next up, U.S. Colonel Brabbit is seen chatting on this satellite phone: Again, it's a brief shot and the phone is heavily encased. I'm tempted to say the button shapes are reminiscent of a Motorola, but I can't find anything close. Do you know what it is?

Finally, the interesting one. The Secretary-General answers a phone call from the above Brabbit whose name appears on the phone's screen: That's fairly obviously an iPhone. As it happens, I now know the the exact make, model, and IMEI of that phone. How?

Because a collector has purchased it.

Along with many other Doctor Who phones.

But, how did they know that this specific phone was in this specific scene?

Oh, that's easy. Because its photo gallery contains a mocked-up screenshot of the "General Brabbit Calling" screen...!

I'm working with this collector to match each phone to its on-screen appearance. Which is made easier by the fact that lots of them contain graphic files, animations, photos, and - get this - videos shot by the actors on set!

Look, this isn't "collector finds missing episode in Nigeria" territory. But if you're interested in behind-the-scenes Doctor Who stuff, this is going to blow your mind.

The Doctor Who Props are for sale on eBay¹. There are a load of interesting pieces there. When the phones are all verified, I'll publish a new blog post explaining exactly what has been found.

Subscribe to my blog to get instant email notifications - or use the RSS feed.

I can't wait to show you what's been found - proper nerd-heaven stuff.

Eve of The Daleks

Classic time-loop episode where - for once - a mobile phone saves the day!

Sarah

Sarah's mammy keeps video-calling Sarah's Samsung. Thankfully, the props team haven't attempted to obscure it, so we get a clear view of the front:

The camera array looks like the Samsung S6 or possibly the A9 Pro.

But take a look at the back panel:

There are three cut outs. That's usually camera, flash, and either a rear finger-print sensor or speaker. To be honest, it could be any one of a dozen semi-similar Samsung phones.

At the end of the episode - after the poor phone was used to trigger an explosion - she's rocking a newer phone with a teardrop camera:

With this rear camera cluster:

Again, we're in the identikit Samsung territory. It's probably the A03s, A12, A31.

Karl

Who?

Yup! Karl was chased by the baddie in Jodie's first story. Only fitting he should be in the final crop of episodes.

Here's a bit of a close up:

You can just about see the Apple logo through the case. There's the classic volume button + silence switch combo. Lenses are in the top corner. So it could be anything from the original iPhone up until the iPhone 8.

Legend of the Sea Devils

I thought this would be a phone-free episode (and Doctor Who needs a phone like a Sea Devil needs a bicycle) - but, right at the end Dan and Di have a bit of a chinwag. And, for once, we get a nice clear shot of the phone with no obfuscation!

Blimey! A Nokia! We haven't seen one of those for a while. And, do you see in the top corner - "Universal Roaming". Just like the early days of the show.

It took me a moment to realise - this is not an Android. See those icons at the bottom of the screen? They're from Windows Phone!

This is probably the Nokia Lumia 735 - based on the speaker and camera placement. He's rocking a phone from 2014. Time to upgrade Dan!

What about Di?

Hmmm… Could be anything. The camera array looks a bit like Sarah's phone from earlier in the series. Any ideas gang?

The Power of the Doctor

Tegan

OMG! Here's what we saw in the episode preview:

And here's the front from the episode itself:

That slim camera cluster looks like one of the (many) Nokia Androids - but the front camera placement means it is almost certainly the Nokia C1 2nd Edition.

Ace

OMG²! Again, only a quick glimpse in the preview:

Not much to go on there. What about the front?

A black fondleslab with a headphone socket on the left. Anything else? Let's ZOOM and ENHANCE the bottom of the phone:

Given the thin camera bar on the back, the headphone jack, and the front camera - I'm confident this is the BlackBerry Leap from 2015.

There's also a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of the back, with the BlackBerry logo in full view.

Inston-Vee Vinder

Yes! Inston-Vee is back! This phone is a call back to last year's Once, Upon Time.

And, yes, it appears to be exactly the same N73 as last time. Well done props team!

And next?

I'll be honest, it's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between phones these days. They're usually just anonymous black rectangles. But, as long as Doctor Who has mobile phones, I'll keep going with this daft series of posts.

As ever, if you think I've made a mistake - or if you've spotted a missing phone - drop me a note in the comments.

Onwards to 2023!

Archives

Enjoyed this post? Here are the other seasons of Doctor Who:

• S01
• S02
• S03
• S04
• Specials
• S05
• S06
• S07
• Day of The Doctor
• S08
• S09
• S10
• Classic Who
• S11
• S12
• Bonus Rose
• Revolution of the Daleks
• S13: Flux
• 2022 Specials

War of the Sontarans

Dan saves the day by videoing the Sontaran dockyards. We only get a few blurry shots of his phone:

Camera top left with what looks like a flash underneath it. Probably a bit too boxy to be an iPhone XR - but the camera placement is classic Sony Xperia. Could be any of a dozen models though.

Once, Upon Time

Two phones in this episode!

The Doctor hands Inston-Vee Vinder a phone, saying "Stay in touch. Whenever you need us, press zero. It's a direct line to us."

It's only a fleeting glimpse in The Doctor's hands, enough to see it's a candy-bar form factor with what looks like a screen and buttons:

And it seems to be augmented with a gizmo:

Luckily, that end-on shot makes it fairly easy to identify as the... Nokia N73

Incidentally, holding down zero on old Symbian phones like that will launch the web browser.

Crashing in to the end of the episode - the Angels have control of the TARDIS! And they snuck in using Yaz's phone. That looks to me like the same "Rose Gold" iPhone that Yaz had in the first episode of S11.

Now, here's a conundrum. Back in Spyfall part deux, Yaz's phone is stomped to death:

Is this a paradox? Did the props continuity team mess up? Or does Yaz just really like that model of phone?

Sidebar! Games consoles of Doctor Who!

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

Replying to @edentA brief diversion from the usual "Mobile Phones of Doctor Who" nonsense - to look at Yaz's game system.

That is a 3rd party Nintendo Switch controller she's playing with. This is the exact model - amzn.to/3qDGaOV

But what's the console she's using?
#DoctorWhoFlux pic.x.com/hJnIE2KBH9

---

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

Replying to @edentWe only get two brief shots of Yaz's console. When it is picked up, and when it is smashed.

That doesn't look like a Nintendo Switch to me!
Looks like it has 4 RCA jacks and 1 HDMI?

#DoctorWho pic.x.com/4DUEiZ9Z5E

---

It appears to be this DVD player - thanks Lewis!

Village of the Angels

We don't expect any mobiles in 1960s England, right? So what does The Doctor use to broadcast video of The Division invading the professor's house?

Recognise that? It's the Nokia Prism the Doctor took from Barclay back in The Planet of The Dead.

See!

That's a throwback to 2009! Evidently the Doctor's coat pockets are bigger on the inside 😆

(For the spec nerds - the Prism could record video in QCIF format, which is 176 x 144 pixels. Analogue TV in 1967 was on a 405-line system - which we'd nowadays call 503 × 377. Hence the very fuzzy picture on the display.)

Survivors of the Flux

Kate is back, and kicking arse! Last time we saw her in S09, she had an armoured iPhone 5 - but this time?

OK, it's a flip phone...

Silver, with a black stripe...

And then she does this...

Nooooooo!

‎soph

@Iovevampyres

still haven’t emotionally recovered from kate snapping her phone in half with her bare hands .. god i wish that were me

---

But at least that gives us an internal view:

And a view of the screen:

So, what is it? There's not much to go on - and there are literally thousands of models of flip phones. So I'm stumped! There are a bunch of flippers it could be - but none of them quite match. It probably isn't the Motorola Pebl nor the Emporia Connect. It's also unlikely to be NEC's N500iS or E540.

So if you recognise that distinctive stripe, or notice anything about the number-pad, please leave a comment!

Found! Thanks to a commentor, this is almost certainly a Ushining 3G Flip.

The Vanquishers

"The name's Stewart... Kate Stewart!" Classic! She's upgraded from her snapped flipper to something distinctly more modern.

OK, a central punch-hole camera doesn't tell us much. There are now dozens of phones with that tech. It's pretty loooooooong:

But what about the back? With a little enhancing, we get a better view:

That's a fairly distinctive camera array - a block with 3 lenses and a flash. So I reckon it is the Samsung Galaxy S20.

Until next time!

And that's the end of the incredible Flux! What a ride! I'll probably wrap the 2022 specials into a single post at the end of next year. Unless there's a whole episode dedicated to, say, the Nokia 6310i 😁

As ever, if you think I've made a mistake - or if you've spotted a missing phone - drop me a note in the comments.

Archives

Enjoyed this post? Here are the other seasons of Doctor Who:

• S01
• S02
• S03
• S04
• Specials
• S05
• S06
• S07
• Day of The Doctor
• S08
• S09
• S10
• Classic Who
• S11
• S12
• Bonus Rose
• Revolution of the Daleks

Wooooweeee! What an episode! Only a couple of shots of mobiles in this one - but worth sticking around for.

Graham is rocking his iPhone - which we last saw in the S11 episode "Resolution".

In the S12 adventure "Spyfall", Graham has a sleek black Android - which he promptly smashes.

So he's gone back to his iPhone. Great prop continuity!

Jack Robertson's phone is interesting. We only get a couple of brief shots of the back of it.

That's a very distinctive camera lens layout. But is it enough to go on?

ZOOM! ENHANCE!

Ah! That makes things better. It's the Samsung Galaxy S10 (or one of its variants) - thanks to @gaijintendo for helping with the spot.

So why is this so interesting? Well, the S10 was released in early 2019. Why is this high-powered, tech-obsessed CEO rocking such an old phone?

Because it's the same phone he had in Arachnids in the UK!

I wasn't able to identify the anonymous black rectangle the last time I saw it, so I'm pleased to have solved that little mystery. And, once again, great prop continuity (propinuity?) from the team.

What a great start to the year!

Archives

Enjoyed this post? Here are the other seasons of Doctor Who:

• S01
• S02
• S03
• S04
• Specials
• S05
• S06
• S07
• Day of The Doctor
• S08
• S09
• S10
• Classic Who
• S11
• S12
• Bonus Rose

A Rose By Any Other Name...

The very first episode of New-Who has some lovely zeitgeisty phones. But there was one I MISSED! I'm indebted to James Sutton for pointing out something which was hiding in plain sight.

Yes! That chunk of C4 explosive is controlled by a mobile phone! Here are some crappy close-ups.

I'm going to cheat a little here. I've been sent a higher resolution photo from a props exhibition:

The phone has 3 distinctive features:

• A black d-pad
• Blue buttons on either side of the d-pad, with icons on them
• A "C" button between the answer and hang-up keys

With a bit of detective work, I tracked it down to an obscure model. The Panasonic EB-G450 - released in 1999.

Here's a close-up from Taiwan's Digital Telecom Museum:

This leads us to some interesting questions. The episode is set roughly in 2005. Almost all the phones we see are relevant to their story's timeframe. So where did The Doctor get a late 90s phone from? Is the bomb intended to be remotely detonated via GSM?

Thanks

Huge thanks to Scarecrow Props for alerting me to the hidden phone. You can see their amazing prop builds on YouTube and Instagram

Here's their recreation:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by James Sutton (@scarecrowprops)

Archives

Enjoyed this post? Here are the other seasons of Doctor Who:

• S01
• S02
• S03
• S04
• Specials
• S05
• S06
• S07
• Day of The Doctor
• S08
• S09
• S10
• Classic Who
• S11
• S12

Spyfall - part 1

Straight out of the credits, and The Doctor is yapping away on this gorgeous retro flipper. It isn't the 2020 Moto Razr with folding screen - it's literally the original Razr V3i!

Hello Moto! We haven't seen a Razr since Series 4's "The End Of Time".

Vor CEO - and 7% alien - Daniel Barton has a SRS BZNS phone.

Not many Androids with a keyboard any more. Judging from the camera holes, it's the Blackberry Keyone

Spyfall - part 2

The bonkers adventure continues - with a bumper crop of phones! Yay!

Yaz still has her iPhone 6+ from last season.

Ryan's phone also looks the same as last season's and has a big Samsung logo on it.

Probably a Galaxy S7 - but could be almost anything.

Graham's phone, like all modern devices, is basically an anonymous black rectangle. No further clues. He did have an iPhone last season.

And then they all get smashed. Noooooo!

The props team obviously know I'm watching ;-)

Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror

The Doc and Yaz have the same phones. Obvious universal roaming is enabled with the TARDIS as the base station.

This episode relies quite heavily on the notion that Tesla invented wireless communications, so a pity he didn't get to see the mobiles in action.

Fugitive of the Judoon

OMG! Such a good episode.

Lee Clayton

We only get a glimpse of Lee's keyboard as he sends a fateful message...

I'm 100% sure that's a Samsung keyboard. The "swap to emoji" button on the top left gives it away. You can see the same layout on Samsung's help pages. But that's all we see of it.

Ruth Clayton

OOMMMGGGGG!!!!!

*ahem* The front of her phone tells us a few things. There's a long grille for the speaker. A front-facing camera on our right, and lux sensors on our left.

And when Jodie Whittaker's Doctor holds it up, we get a glimpse of the back. Notable that there are two notches at the top. One is for headphones, and I think the other is an infrared blaster. The circular cut-out in the centre is for the camera.

That means this is the HTC One (2013). This is the first HTC to make an appearance in the show!

Bonus

The Doctor: Find anything? Ryan: A few cash-flow problems, a collection of old phones and keys.

Phwoar! What a collection of golden oldies. They're not actually used in the episode, so I'm not going to list them all. My blog, my rules. Feel free to drop a comment if you've spotted an interesting one.

Praxeus

Jake Willis

We only get a glimpse of the astronaut's husband's phone.

Of more interest is the phone number used - you can read more about it on my Twitter thread.

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

Replying to @edentA quick word about this phone number which appeared in tonight's #DoctorWho (no spoilers).

Jake receives a text message from a mysterious number:
+852 07700 900 781.
What does it mean? pic.x.com/g9ZWozFT89

---

CommDots

Looks like Ryan is sporting a nifty new CommDot.

Sorry for the poor picture quality; it's a very dark scene.

Judging by the markings, I assume it's a Nokia KJ-74.

The team picked up some CommDots last year, but I think this is the upgraded model.

PLOT HOLE AHEAD if the gang can use these dots, why do they rely on phones in earlier - and subsequent - episodes?

And that's it for this season. I do wonder whether the CommDot will resurface. They're a handy plot device, but don't allow the viewer to see what's going on.

Archives

Enjoyed this post? Here are the other seasons of Doctor Who:

• S01
• S02
• S03
• S04
• Specials
• S05
• S06
• S07
• Day of The Doctor
• S08
• S09
• S10
• Classic Who
• S11

The Woman Who Fell to Earth

A great crop of phones for the inaugural episode - and some mysteries.

Ryan's phone looks like a Samsung of some flavour, but it is hard to say. Grace has a modern iPad - probably a mini.

Ryan's phone seen from behind doesn't offer much more of a clue.

He does have a habit of answering it when it is clearly locked and not receiving a call! That screen is typical of Samsungs.

Yaz is rocking an iPhone. Lots of iPhones have a similar camera configuration, but the only one with a silver ring around the lens is the 6+

Her boss at the police station also has an iPhone. Based on the cameras, it can only be a 7 plus or an 8 plus. The 8 comes in "space gray" rather than black, so I'm going with the 7+.

Grace has this odd device. Based on the grill at the bottom, I thought it might be an iPhone - but it appears to have a central camera. And iPhones typically have the speaker on the bottom right - this one is on the bottom left. The calling screen appears to have a row of icons - most un-iPhone like.

Rosa

Technically, no phones. But The Doctor lets slip that she's given Elvis a phone. Elvis has, of course, lent the phone to Frank Sinatra.

Graham poses as Steve Jobs...

We’re here to pitch an invention. It’s a telephone that plays music and it’s a camera also takes photos. And it’s a calendar. And it sends letters...

Arachnids in the UK

An Earth-bound episode, so lots of phone action.

Yaz

Still rocking the same iPhone from the first episode.

Sonya

An iPhone 7+ or 8+ judging by the camera layout.

Najia

The bottom connector and grilles show this to be the iPhone 5s. One of her daughter's hand-me-ups, no doubt!

Frankie Ellish

A curious one this. The back looks completely flat, with very curvy corners. Not a clue what it is!

Jack Robertson

Our Trump-wannabe briefly holds this before losing it to the spiders.

I think it's the same as Frankie's. Obviously a corporate deal!

The Doctor!

Rare for The Doc to hold a phone! The same model as Naji's. Where did she get it from...?!

Resolution

Mitch has a Samsung. There are hundreds of similar models. I'm pretty sure it's a J2.

Lin also has a Samsung, but I can't quite place it. Perhaps a J7?

Lovely to see the continuity department doing a bang-up job on the dates on the phones - all set to the 1st of January 2019.

First time seeing Graham using a phone: Just an iPhone.

The Doctor

Great shot of The Doc on Yaz's phone:

...and that's it for this season. I can't wait for the next one!

Archives

Enjoyed this post? Here are the other seasons of Doctor Who:

• S01
• S02
• S03
• S04
• Specials
• S05
• S06
• S07
• Day of The Doctor
• S08
• S09
• S10
• Classic Who

I wasn't able to find any episodes of Who where the Doctor uses a mobile - but I found the next best thing... adverts!

Jon Pertwee

New Zealand Telecom

In 1985, Jon Pertwee was the face of New Zealand Telecom. In a series of adverts he explains fibre optics, multi-room phones, and mobiles!

Blimey! They don't make them like that any more! What is that phone?

I think it's an Alpine 95000 carphone - see this advert - but I'd welcome your suggestions.

Fun fact, these commercials were so expensive that questions were asked in the NZ Parliament and - apparently - were never broadcast!

Vodafone UK

In his last appearance before his death, Pertwee plays a doctor in this X-Files inspired advert.

Let's take a closer look:

Hard to see, but the phone buttons aren't circular - the there's an offset top button. I think this is the Motorola 6200.

Tom Baker

In the 1980s, The Doctor and Romana appears in a series of adverts for Prime Computers. Sadly, they don't feature any phones.

BT Cellnet

But there's a phone in this advert.

I'm instantly reminded of Saved By The Bell's Zack Morris! The 9 function buttons at the bottom - the top right of which is red - leads us to the Motorola DynaTAC range - possiblly the 8000 or the 8900X.

Who's next?

Well, I think that just about wraps it up for this series of very silly blog posts! Thank you for following along - and if you spot any that you think I've missed, drop me a comment.

If you think you've spotted something that's not listed here, or think I've made a mistake, drop it in the comments.

You can follow along with all 10 series.

Here we are at the close of the Capaldi years. This series aired in 2017, so we are very nearly up to date. What exciting new phones are in store for us? Let's dive straight in.

The Pilot - Moira

Bill's foster Mum is off barhopping with a nogoodnik called Neville and she borrows his phone to call Bill.

A lighting port and headphone jack on the bottom - it can only be the iPhone 5.

Headcannon - Bill's foster Mum is actually another immortal and will eventually live on New¹⁵ York married to a cat, which is nice. Headcannon part 2 - Given their divergent biology, did she also foster the litter of kittens?

The Pilot - Bill

In the same phone call we glance at Bill's phone.

Smile - Bill

Deep inside an alien spaceship Bill snaps a photo of a map.

Now this is curious! Take a look at the onscreen buttons. They look Android-y. Now take a look at the photo. It doesn't quite match the picture of the map being photographed. To my eye, it looks like someone has taken a screenshot of an iPhone taking a photo which has then been opened as an image on an Android phone.

Thin Ice - Bill

Bill looks at the web for the all important post travel to the past check of whether or not the future has changed.

Well, this is clearly an Android phone, but for now no further details to help narrow it down.

The Pyramid at the End of the World - Bill

Finally, some good news for phone finding fans! As the doomsday clock moves ever closer to midnight we get a lovely clear view of the top of Bill's phone.

For once the prop team haven't bothered with the logo-blocking sticky tape. Slackers!

With this clue, we can deduce Bill is packing the Sony Z5 Compact.

That's a wrap!

Thank you so much for following along with this daft series of blog posts - and a huge thank you to my brilliant wife for helping out with this venture.

Over the last two-dozen posts, we've gone from crappy feature-phones to the very latest gadgets. Daleks vs Cybermen? Pah! Give me Android vs Symbian any day.

If you'd like to catch on up previous series, you can follow along at https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/doctor-who-phones/

If you think you've spotted something that's not listed here, or think I've made a mistake, drop it in the comments.

You can follow along with all 10 series.

Before the Flood

Not until episode 4 do we get a new phone for Clara.

Nice clear shot of the iPhone 4S. A phone first released in 2011, although the episode was shot in 2015. Perhaps Clara is now on an economy drive after splashing out on shiny new phones for so long. Unusually for Doctor Who the phone is a central MacGuffin in this story.

The Zygon Invasion - Osgood

Osgood takes shelter from the terrifying alien menace and places a desperate call to the TARDIS.

The prop team have helpfully stuck some black tape over the manufacturers name, but we get a clearer shot a moment later. Regular readers will recognise this as the exact same phone Clara used last season in Mummy on the Orient Express.

Headcannon! Clara regifted her phone to Osgood as a Christmas present prior to the Christmas special.

The Zygon Invasion - The Doctor

A rare occurrence. The Doctor actually handling a mobile phone.

Not quite enough detail just from the camera to tell what it is. Patience, young grasshopper.

The Zygon Invasion - Kate

The Brigadier's daughter and successor has a heavily armoured phone in her possession.

Beneath all the casing we can see the iPhone 5.

The Zygon Inversion - The Doctor

Finally a shot of the front of the Doctor's phone.

More black sticky tape, but still quite recognisable as the Galaxy S II Plus. The same phone as the Elf used in Last Christmas. Perhaps a thank you pressie for the Time Lord from Santa?

Face the Raven - Rigsy

Rigsy from episode 9 of last season urgently calls the Doctor for assistance when an ominous tattoo suddenly appears on the back of his neck.

Another anonymous black rectangle.

ZOOM! ENHANCE!

We can just about make out the Microsoft logo. Based on the camera bump, this is the Microsoft Lumia 535. Very exciting, this is the first Windows Phone on Doctor Who!

Goodbye impossible girl

So that wraps things up for the Doctor and Clara partnership. A great shame as she had impeccable taste in phones.

Follow along at https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/doctor-who-phones/