UK's most-loved sci-fi series in peril – is there a Doctor in the house?
Who can save the great British sci-fi series?
Quick Summary
The showrunner and production company behind Doctor Who have departed the show, and the planned Christmas special has been cancelled.
So where does that leave the UK's most beloved sci-fi series?
It seemed like something was wrong. After all, a year has elapsed since the last season of Doctor Who aired (to its lowest viewing figures in 63 years) and we've not heard a peep about a new one since.
Now the BBC has confirmed the worst – the future of Doctor Who is currently up in the air.
Showrunner Russell T Davies has departed (for the second time) and the production company, Bad Wolf, will make it no longer. A planned Christmas special for 2026 has even been cancelled.
The writing was on the cards when it was announced Disney+ was pulling out of showing the series globally. And as fun as some episodes were (including the spectacular, surprise ending), Ncuti Gatwa's run as the 15th Doctor garnered as much criticism as it did praise.
So, where does future lie for the UK's most beloved and long-running sci-fi series? Well, there is some hope.
The BBC has revealed that it is looking for a new production partner to take up the reins: "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," it said in a statement.
It has put the show out to tender, meaning production companies and studios can submit their own ideas, pitches and proposals to make future series. Hopefully, that'll result in new ideas, fresh takes on the mythos, existing characters and villains, and a cunning way of intertwining the shock ending of the last season into the storyline.
What I hope doesn't happen is we get anything similar Spielberg's TV movie starring the eighth Doctor.
I was actually in Hollywood in the mid-90s (filming for Channel 4's GamesMaster) when we saw some behind-closed-doors tech demos of that particular Doctor Who revival, and let's just say it was very different to what was eventually broadcast. Two words: Spider Daleks. That's all I'll say.
Hopefully, the BBC will be more careful to protect its decades-old asset this time.
Who knows? We might even be able to convince Peaky Blinders' Steven Knight to have a go at creating his own vision for Doctor Who. He'll be a Brummie and played by Cillian Murphy, of course, but I'm down for that.
Whatever happens, we just need a safe pair of hands to take the Doctor on their next series of adventures. And if handled correctly, I'm sure there'll be plenty willing to take the ride too.
