2000 AD

About 2000 AD

Doctor Who Magazine, universally known to its readers as DWM, is the official magazine devoted to the BBC's science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Launched in 1979 as Doctor Who Weekly, it is published every four weeks, 13 times a year, by Panini Comics from Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Recognised by Guinness World Records as the longest-running television tie-in magazine in the world, it has been in continuous publication for more than 45 years, chronicling every era of the programme from Tom Baker to the present day. It remains in active publication, with regular issues, deluxe Special Editions and Bookazines.

Launch as Doctor Who Weekly

The magazine was launched on 11 October 1979 as Doctor Who Weekly, with its first issue cover-dated 17 October 1979. Its founding editor was Dez Skinn, a comics veteran who understood that the programme's enormous popularity could support a dedicated publication. The weekly format combined comic strips, features and merchandise news, and it was an immediate success with the programme's young audience. The early issues are now prized collectors' items, capturing Doctor Who at the height of the Tom Baker era, when the series regularly drew audiences of more than ten million viewers.

The Marvel UK years

The magazine was originally published by Marvel UK, the British arm of the American comics giant, and its early identity was strongly shaped by comics culture. The comic strip was central to the title from the start: the first strips featured the Fourth Doctor in adventures written by leading British comics writers and drawn by artists of the calibre of Dave Gibbons and John Wagner. The strip gave readers new Doctor Who adventures between television series and, during the programme's hiatus years, kept the character alive in print. In 1980 the title became a monthly publication, and in 1990 it switched to its current four-weekly schedule, publishing 13 issues a year.

The Panini era

In 1999, Panini Comics, the Italian-based publishing group with a major UK operation, took over the title from Marvel UK. Panini has published the magazine ever since from its British base in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The Panini era has seen the magazine grow in ambition and production values, expanding into a glossy, substantial publication that serves an adult readership as well as younger fans. Panini sells the magazine through its UK shop and through newsagents and subscriptions, and the title has no standalone website, operating instead through Panini's retail channels and the magazine's social media presence.

Editorial lineage

The magazine's editors have each left their mark on its character. After founding editor Dez Skinn, the title was steered through the 1980s and 1990s by a succession of editors who navigated the programme's cancellation in 1989 and its long wilderness years. The longest-serving editor was Tom Spilsbury, who held the post from 2007 to 2017, overseeing the magazine through the revival's peak years under Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat. He was succeeded by Marcus Hearn, who took over in July 2017. The incumbent editor is Jason Quinn, who succeeded Hearn in September 2023 and has overseen the title through the show's Disney+ era and beyond.

Guinness World Record

On 11 October 2019, the magazine celebrated 40 years of continuous publication, and it is recognised by Guinness World Records as the longest-running television tie-in magazine in the world. The record reflects an extraordinary publishing achievement: through the programme's cancellation, its wilderness years, its triumphant revival and every subsequent change of Doctor, showrunner and broadcaster, the magazine has never missed its schedule. Few publications of any kind can claim such unbroken continuity, and the record is a source of considerable pride for its readers and its publishers.

Milestone issues

The magazine's longevity is measured in landmark issues. It published its 600th issue on 1 February 2024, an event celebrated with special features looking back over the title's history. By September 2026 the magazine had reached 634 issues. Each milestone has been an occasion for the title to reflect on its own archive, reprinting classic interviews, revisiting old comic strips and inviting long-serving contributors to share their memories. The numbering itself, continuous since 1979, is a badge of honour: in an industry where titles are routinely relaunched and renumbered, DWM's unbroken sequence stands out.

Content and regular features

A typical issue combines exclusive interviews with the programme's stars, writers and production team, behind-the-scenes articles on the making of recent episodes, and in-depth features on the history of the series. Long-running strands include The Fact of Fiction, which examines classic stories in forensic detail; The Time Team, in which contributors rewatch old episodes; and This Month In, a trawl through the magazine's own archive. The comic strip continues to appear in every issue, a direct link to the title's origins. Regular columns cover merchandise, books, audio dramas and the wider world of Doctor Who in other media. The magazine's journalism is characterised by its access: as the official title, it secures interviews and set visits unavailable to other publications. The production values are high, with extensive use of the BBC's photographic archive, behind-the-scenes imagery and specially commissioned artwork. Issues frequently run to more than 100 pages, and the balance of content is carefully managed to serve both the casual viewer catching up with the latest series and the dedicated fan hungry for deep archival material. This dual appeal has been central to the magazine's survival: it is simultaneously a fan publication and a professional journal of record for the production.

Special Editions and Bookazines

Alongside the regular four-weekly issues, Panini publishes triannual deluxe Special Editions, a practice begun in 2002, and Bookazines, launched in 2013. These substantial one-off publications allow for deep dives into particular subjects: the history of a single Doctor's era, the making of a landmark story, or a celebration of an anniversary. Produced to a high specification with extensive illustration from the BBC's photographic archive, they are aimed at collectors and completists and have become an important part of the brand's publishing programme.

Readership and circulation

Doctor Who Magazine serves one of the most dedicated readerships in British publishing. Its readers include fans who have bought the title since childhood and new readers discovering it through the revived series. ABC data for 2020 recorded an average circulation of 16,304 copies per issue. The magazine is sold at a premium price reflecting its specialist status, with recent issues priced around £8.99 to £11.99 depending on pagination and extras. It is available by subscription, through newsagents and via Panini's online shop, which ships to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Gibraltar.

Legacy and place in fan culture

For millions of Doctor Who fans, DWM is more than a magazine: it is the programme's paper of record and a central institution of fan culture. Its interviews constitute the most comprehensive oral history of the series ever assembled. Its comic strips kept the Doctor alive during the years when he was absent from television. Its letter pages and forums have nurtured generations of fans, some of whom have gone on to write for, produce and star in the programme itself. In chronicling Doctor Who week by week, month by month, for more than four decades, the magazine has become part of the story it covers, and its unbroken run stands as a monument to the enduring power of the world's longest-running science-fiction television series. Its archive of interviews is routinely drawn upon by documentaries, books and academic studies of the programme, and its back issues are avidly collected. For the BBC, the magazine remains a valued partner in reaching the show's most committed audience; for readers, it is quite simply indispensable.