Keeping things under wraps for the beloved series ‘Doctor Who’ seems to be a difficult thing for the BBC to accomplish. Last year, DVD and Blu-ray sets for Season 7 of the series were sent out a week early allowing those who pre-ordered the set an unintended preview of the final episode (and an advanced glimpse of the War Doctor) before it aired. Needless to say, the Beebs scrambled to contain the leak so as not to ruin the surprising cliff hanger for fans.  Now it seems that 5 scripts from the upcoming season have now found its way onto the internet – a full 7 weeks before the series is set to premiere!

The scripts are from the first 5 episodes of Season 8 which begins the reign of Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor.  According to reports, the leak is being thought to originate from Miami, Florida where the Latin American headquarters of the BBC are located. Supposedly, they were sent there to be translated for the Latin America audiences but somehow found their way onto the web. On the cover of each script is the name “Marcelo Camargo” which could be a plant to deflect suspicion, the name of a crew member, or a pseudonym.

News of the leak has rocked the ‘Doctor Who’ team and Mark Gatiss, who has wrote one of the leaked scripts, was aggravated enough to tweet about it:

Any hint that these leaked scripts may be fake have been dashed by the press statement released by the BBC earlier today:

“BBC Worldwide is currently investigating a security issue around ‘Doctor Who’ Series 8 where unfinished material has inadvertently been made public. We deeply regret this and apologise to all the show’s fans, the BBC and the cast and crew who have worked tirelessly making the series.

We deeply regret this and apologise to all the show’s fans, the BBC and the cast and crew who have worked tirelessly making the series.

We would like to make a plea to anyone who might have any of this material and spoilers associated with it not to share it with a wider audience so that everyone can enjoy the show as it should be seen when it launches.

We know only too well that Doctor Who fans are the best in the world and we thank them for their help with this and their continued loyalty.”

While reading a script is nothing close to seeing Capaldi as the Doctor or even seeing the entire episode visually, it is still disconcerting that the scripts are out there. So be forewarned fellow Whovians!  You may have to be extra vigilant if you want to keep spoiler free before ‘Doctor Who’ returns next month!

Season 8 of ‘Doctor Who’ begins airing on BBC America on Saturday, August 23, at 8PM ET.