Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary Special comes out later this year, with a premiere date of November 23rd, and today saw the first day of filming on the long awaited episode. The episode, which was written by showrunner Steven Moffat, will be directed by Nick Hurran, an English director that has done several milestone episodes with the 11th Doctor. Described by series producer Marcus Wilson as a “love letter to the fans”, the 50th Anniversary Special will also bring back 2 very important figures from recent Doctor Who mythology: the 10th Doctor and Rose Tyler! Yes, David Tennant is back alongside Billie Piper for this episode, with the BBC sharing photos of Tennant alongside 11th Doctor, Matt Smith, at a table reading yesterday. Yesterday’s photos also reveal Jenna-Louise Coleman, who plays Clara Oswald, the Doctor’s current companion. Alongside Coleman was the surprise appearance of Joanna Page. Page is a Welsh actress who is probably best known for her role in Gavin & Stacey, where she played the latter titular character. What Page’s role will be in the 50th Anniversary Special is still unknown, but we do have a hint of what the episode might be like down below the pictures from yesterday’s reading:

****POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD!!!****

As we said earlier, today saw the first bit of filming for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special. On set were Matt Smith, Billie Piper, and David Tennant at a location in Neath, a small town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. We normally don’t like to spoil things too much with fan photos, but we figured you all might be quite interested in seeing what some fans tweeted from their perspective of the set. Below are several pictures shot by fan’s mobiles of what was going on. You can see the 10th Doctor’s Tardis, David Tennant and Billie Piper with crew members, and a medieval tent of sorts in the pictures below. All might hint at how our 2 doctors are going to meet one another in a bit of Timey-Wimey anniversary fun.

Of course, this wasn’t all the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary news to pop up today. It wasn’t even the only 50th Anniversary news to pop up on Twitter, as the official Doctor Who twitter account gave us our first look at a surprise returning alien race that will make its way into the 50th Anniversary Special. For those who remember 1975′s special “Terror of the Zygons”, you’ll be glad to know those evil aliens that tried to destroy earth via the Loch Ness Monster are back for the 50th Anniversary Special. Yes, the Zygons have returned and look quite close to their original appearance in my favorite doctor’s era when the 4th Doctor stood beside Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan. Check out the image tweeted below to see the new look of the Zygons on set in Neath.
Remember, the 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who airs this November 23th. Check back regularly for more news and hopefully even a bit of footage as the release nears.