BBC Breakfast is ‘taken over’ by Daleks and Cybermen for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary while fans get an insight into filming as timed explosions and stuntmen leaping off trampolines are shown in intense sequences

BBC Breakfast welcomed some very unexpected visitors on Thursday to mark Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary.

The popular science fiction franchise returns to screens on Saturday to mark an impressive anniversary milestone with David Tennant reprising his role as the Doctor.

And BBC Breakfast marked the occasion when presenters Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt were joined in the studio by Doctor Who villains, the Daleks and the Cybermen.

Intensive clips also gave fans an insight into the filming of Doctor Who, as timed explosions and stuntmen jumped from trampolines as props went up in flames.

They also chatted with former Doctor Who companion Nicola Bryant, who played Peri Brown alongside Peter Davison and Colin Baker, and Danny Hargreaves, the show’s special effects supervisor.

As they spoke about the hit BBC franchise, actors dressed as Cybermen and the robotic Daleks were shown on either side of the sofa, alongside guests.

Both of the Doctor’s enemies joked with presenter Naga, 48, that they had taken control of the BBC Breakfast studio because they refused to leave their formidable natures behind.

However, some viewers were left baffled by the segment as they took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to comment on the robot guests.

Some fans joked that Charlie, 61, looked terrified, while others questioned the accuracy of the Cybermen’s robotic voices.

One wrote: ‘#charliesayt was scared’, and another tweeted: ‘Charlie panicking lol’, while a third said: ‘Don’t think Cybermen ever sounded like that lol.’

Actors wearing variants of the Cybermen suits were seen flanking the sofa with fake guns, while Daleks stood on the other side of the guests.

Naga introduced the villains and said, “I don’t know why we’re celebrating with the mean guys in the studio.”

One of the Cybermen barked, “BBC Breakfast studio is now under Cyber ​​control, destroy them, destroy them immediately!”

While Naga also got into a fight with the Dalek when she asked the robot a question, causing it to shout, “Extermination, Daleks don’t speak on demand!”

But Naga quickly hit back with, “You did, so there!” before the Dalek jokingly threatened: ‘Hiding behind that sofa won’t save you!’

They were also joined by K-9, Sarah Jane Smith’s (Elisabeth Sladen) robot dog, but they abandoned hope that the character would return to the franchise, insisting it would not appear during the 60th anniversary.

Elsewhere in the segment, fans were also given a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of Doctor Who, as videos flashed on screen showing how they create timed explosions.

The clips, taken from filming for the show’s 50th anniversary, The Day Of The Doctor, showed Daleks being blown up from the inside in intense sequences.

Stuntmen dressed as Cybermen were also shown jumping onto trampolines to gather momentum before throwing themselves through the air and onto crash mats as explosions went off behind them.

David Tennant, who returns for the 60th anniversary special, and returning showrunner Russell T Davies also appeared on the show in pre-recorded interviews.

David said of his return: ‘Doctor Who, if you’re attached to it, you’re attached to it. The fact that I would start working on it again, kind of full-time, even if only for a short time, was something I could never have imagined.’

Speaking about his plans, Russell said: “I’ve always believed that this show just has to be good, it has to be fun, it has to be well cast, it has to be brilliant, that’s really missing from the schedules at the moment. I can’t say I’m confident, but I’m proud of what we’ve created and I hope it works.”

David also spoke about how Ncuti Gatwa will take over the role of the doctor in the upcoming 2023 Christmas special as he supported the actor.

He said: “I have had a glimpse of what Ncuti can do and it is very exciting. He has such great energy, he’s inventive, he’s smart, he’s fast, he’s funny.

“It’s really exciting to have such a brilliant new Doctor on the way and I’ll be glued to every episode.”

David reprises his role as the Doctor for three 60th anniversary specials, returning alongside Catherine Tate as Donna Noble.

The first special, titled The Star Beast, is based on a 1970s Who comic about Beep The Meep, in which Miriam Margolyes will voice the alien.

Russell previously said of the episode, “You’ve got Donna getting her memory back, so you need that, which lasts an entire episode, and you need an alien invasion at the same time.”

Heartstoppers’ Yasmin Finney will also star in the first special, playing Donna’s daughter Rose, with Karl Collins and Jaqueline King reprising their roles as Shaun Temple and Donna’s mother Sylvia respectively.

Another big name joining the cast is Neil Patrick Harris and Russell admitted the actor had no idea what he was signing up for as he had never seen the show and had only worked with him on his Channel 4 series It’s A Sin.

Following the trio of specials, which follow Jodie Whittaker’s departure from the franchise, Ncuti Gatwa will take over as The Doctor on Christmas Day in an episode titled The Church On Ruby Road.