A Doctor Who short film is the BBC's next virtual reality project

Image Credit: BBC

You may not know it, but the BBC is one of the most interesting publishers making virtual reality content right now. The British broadcaster has just announced one of its upcoming projects, and it's set to be a standalone Doctor Who adventure.

Coming later in 2019, a new story called Doctor Who: The Runaway will see you become The Doctor's assistant and help out on an exciting adventure in a 12 minute short film.

The experience is set to feature the voice of the Thirteenth Doctor with Jodie Whittaker returning to the role, but it's set to be an animated adventure. 

DaVRos to Cybermen

The BBC has yet to announce an official release date for The Runaway or what headsets you'll need to be able to play it.

Recent virtual reality projects from the BBC have been released on both Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR, so it's likely these will be the two headsets to choose from to be able to watch the new Doctor Who adventure.

Zillah Watson, head of BBC VR Hub, said, “Our team at the BBC VR Hub has been creating new experiences with the goal of helping to usher virtual reality into the mainstream, and Doctor Who is exactly the sort of series that can help more people to try this new technology. 

"The show has been pushing boundaries for over 55 years, and VR enables Doctor Who to explore a whole new dimension of storytelling.”

Doctor Who is a series that makes sense to adapt into a virtual reality experience as you can zip around the universe and time in the comfort of your living room. 

Does this mean we're set to see even more BBC properties adapted into VR adventures? We don't currently know, but if The Runaway proves to be a success we can expect to see even more VR projects from the broadcaster. 

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.