It’s the news some had been dreading, others had been praying for, and most had been expecting. It’s been a hugely turbulent few years as a Doctor Who fan. Chris Chibnall’s stint as showrunner in the late 2010s sparked disquiet within the fanbase and led to a decline in viewing figures. Hoping to salvage a franchise with huge potential, the BBC teamed up with Disney and brought back showrunner Russell T. Davies for a new era, packed with big-budget set pieces, plenty of callbacks, and even a new face of the series in Ncuti Gatwa.
However, for a multitude of reasons, the show’s intended renaissance ultimately did significant damage to the brand’s reputation, with the Disney partnership proving disastrous and Gatwa‘s titular Time Lord suddenly departing under a cloud of confusion. A year on, and rumors of the show’s return were rewarded with the promise of a 2026 Christmas Special. However, in recent weeks, it has been reported that the return would be pushed back until Easter, apparently due to difficulty finding a new lead.
Today, that has been blown apart with confirmation by the BBC that, not only has the Doctor Who Christmas special been cancelled, but showrunner Davies and producer Bad Wolf have exited the franchise. “Doctor Who remains an important part of the BBC and this tender underpins the BBC’s continued commitment to Doctor Who ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come,” said the BBC in a statement, but this is far from reassuring for fans of the timey-wimey franchise. With no Christmas special and the show ready to be shipped out to new production partners later this year, who knows what the future really looks like for this time-travel adventure? The statement continued:
“This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans, but in order to set the show up for future series, it was decided that rather than bridge the gap with a one-off special, we are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show which ensures that when the TARDIS lands once more, it does so in all its glory”
Russell T. Davies Has Broken His Silence
The statement made by the BBC was joined by a post to Davies‘ social media, which was both heartfelt and eye-opening, as the now former showrunner admitted that his promise of a Christmas script that had blown away BBC higher-ups was entirely untrue. Davies wrote:
“And so GOODBYE from me to Doctor Who but HELLO to a big new future for the show, as the BBC announces it’s putting the show out to tender. As a result, there won’t be a Christmas Special — we only cooked that up to guarantee a future when no one knew what would happen, but now we do know, there’s no need for it. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for new Doctor Who… but you’ll be waiting for MORE Doctor Who than a one-off. So it’s worth it! For the record: there was no script, I never wrote it, and no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor. You may disagree; fine, sit in that chair and wait to be proved right. You’ll wait a lonnng time. Now I’m as excited as anyone to see what comes next! Will they keep the theme tune? Will they lose the blue box? Will they bring back the Drahvin?! It’s all up for grabs, which is so Doctor Who, exciting and unpredictable and new! Here comes the future, vworp vworp.”
The most recent Doctor Who is available on Disney+.
via Collider