Fifty-five minutes, two months of work and no actors on set. The BBC’s own boss just called this AI generated Doctor Who episode pretty good.
An AI generated Doctor Who episode called The Curse of Kilmorag has turned into a fight over who owns a Time Lord. A fan project made it with video models instead of cameras, and it drew close to 400,000 YouTube views. Then, on September 29, BBC Director General Matt Brittin praised it on stage. Here is what the episode is, how the team built it and why fans are split.
What Is the AI Generated Doctor Who Episode?
The Curse of Kilmorag is an unofficial, 55-minute story from a fan project called The Unmade Season. According to Doctor Who TV, screenwriter Thomas Vittlowe wrote the script by hand and spent two months producing and editing it.
The Doctor Who Companion dates the upload to September 11. The story sends the Doctor to a rural Scottish village where a secret facility holds aliens captive. Along the way, familiar monsters show up next to a new AI-made companion.
The Doctor Who AI Voice and the Tennant Likeness
The opening is where most of the anger starts. For about 30 seconds, the episode recreates David Tennant’s face and voice, showing his Doctor just before a regeneration.
After that, a brand new Doctor takes over. The creator introduces him as someone “we’re calling John Warr.” However, Doctor Who TV found no acting profile linking a real John Warr to the production. In other words, the new lead appears to be synthetic too.
How the Team Built It With AI Video Models
According to the video description, the team generated most of the footage locally with two models: LTX 2.5 and MiniMax. MiniMax is the company behind Hailuo, which we tested in our Hailuo AI review.
Running models locally takes serious hardware. For instance, a desktop like the one in our HP OMEN 45L review exists for exactly this kind of work. Even so, Vittlowe says he makes no money from the series and that AI credits are expensive.
BBC Doctor Who AI: What Matt Brittin Said
The story jumped again on September 29. Speaking at the Royal Television Society conference in London, Brittin said someone had sent him a 50-minute AI episode of Doctor Who. “It’s pretty good,” he added, Cultbox reported.
He was quick to add that it is not going to replace humans. Instead, his point was that anyone can now make content at a studio standard, and not all of that creativity is bad. Coming from a former Google executive now running the BBC, that remark landed hard with fans.
Why Fans Are Split on the AI Doctor Who Episode
Reactions range from delight to fury. Some Digital Spy forum users called the episode fantastic, while Reddit threads turned heated over the use of real actors’ likenesses.
Things then turned ugly. Vittlowe says the praise overwhelmed him, but he also received abusive emails over “AI slop.” Meanwhile, a YouTuber who questioned the ethics of the project says he faced harassment in return. Critics such as the Doctor Who Companion’s Rick Lundeen worry that artists whose work trained these models get nothing.
Is the Doctor Who AI Reconstruction Still Online?
Not in its original form. Cultbox reports that the video came down from YouTube after passing roughly 400,000 views. The same report says it also used a fan-made 3D render of the TARDIS interior without permission.
Nevertheless, Vittlowe has promised more stories, roughly every couple of months. So the debate is unlikely to fade, especially while the real show is off the air.
Doctor Who AI Ads and Other BBC AI Rows
This is not the franchise’s first AI clash. In 2024, the BBC trialled AI-written promotional emails for Doctor Who, and after complaints it dropped further AI marketing, Android.com.pl reported.
Also, be careful with one viral claim. A story about the BBC using AI to bring back every past Doctor in a Christmas special was an April Fools’ joke that Doctor Who TV ran on April 1, 2026. Meanwhile, the BBC has an open tender for future Doctor Who production, with bids due October 2.
MiniMax, one of the two models behind the episode, powers Hailuo. Try it yourself and turn a short scene description into a cinematic clip.
Want More on the AI Generated Doctor Who Episode?
Curious which tools can turn a script into scenes like these? Our guide to the best AI video generators compares the platforms fans use, from quick clips to longer, story-driven projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the AI generated Doctor Who episode?
It is The Curse of Kilmorag, a 55-minute fan episode from The Unmade Season. Thomas Vittlowe wrote it, and most of the footage came from AI video models.
Which AI tools made The Curse of Kilmorag?
The description names LTX 2.5 and MiniMax, the company behind Hailuo. In addition, the creator says the team rendered most footage locally over two months of work.
Did David Tennant appear in the AI episode?
No. For about 30 seconds, the episode recreates his face and voice with AI. Tennant took no part, and that recreation is the main reason for the backlash.
What did the BBC say about the AI Doctor Who episode?
Director General Matt Brittin called an AI Doctor Who episode pretty good at the RTS conference on September 29. He also said it will not replace humans.
Can I still watch The Curse of Kilmorag?
Cultbox reports that the original upload came down after about 400,000 views. Still, the creator says new episodes will follow every couple of months.
Is the BBC making an official AI Doctor Who special?
No. That story was an April Fools’ joke from Doctor Who TV. Besides, the BBC dropped AI marketing for the show after complaints in 2024.
Sources
Doctor Who TV, Cultbox, The Doctor Who Companion, Android.com.pl, Doctor Who TV, April 1.*Photos: David Tennant by Super Festivals, CC BY 2.0, resized and placed on a blurred background; Police Box Tardis by Scaider, CC BY-SA 4.0, resized and placed on a blurred background.*
