BBC Studios has asked a California Federal Court to issue a subpoena to Tapatalk, a California-based website, to identify who leaked footage of Jodie Whittaker’s “Dr Who” premiere.
A 53-second clip of the season premiere was uploaded to the website on June 26, according to the court filing, along with two still images. Tapatalk is not accused of any wrongdoing, with BBC noting that users who upload copyrighted materials are violating its terms and conditions.
The court filing was made on June 29.
There is heightened interest around the upcoming season of “Dr Who,” as Jodie Whittaker becomes the first female to play the title character (and the 13th overall). The BBC is set to bring the cast — the first time the new cast will all be seen together — to Comic-Con later this month, where they’ll likely air footage of the upcoming season.
“BBC Studios takes the theft and illegal distribution of our content extremely seriously and will strive to protect our programme-makers, audiences and licence fee payers from any breaches of security – ensuring ‘Doctor Who’ fans enjoy the final and fully completed version of the episode when it premieres,” said the studio in a statement.
“Dr Who” will premiere its new 10-episode season this fall in the US on BBC America.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.