The Doctor Who Companion [Unofficial]Former Showrunner, Russell T Davies, Reaffirms that Doctor Who Hasn’t Been Cancelled
Former Showrunner, Steven Moffat, Shares Thoughts on the Future of Doctor Who
Deadline‘Doctor Who’ Set To Be Off Air For Years Amid A Creative Regeneration That’s Failing To Spark Early Enthusiasm Among Producers
#News #BadWolf #BBC #BBCStudios #Disney #DoctorWho #NcutiGatwa #RussellTDavies
https://deadline.com/2026/06/doctor-who-off-air-for-years-creative-regeneration-1236953045/
Doctor Who Christmas Special Axed; Russell T Davies Leaves Show; and the Future is Uncertain!
Wait, Has Doctor Who Actually Been Cancelled?
Alex Lloyd 🏴I've just read Russell T Davies & Bad Wolf are no longer showrunners of Doctor Who. Sad news, but not entirely unexpected.
The only reason I wasn't impressed with his second stint was they thought it necessary to spend big bucks on CGI with Disney as partner. First and foremost Doctor Who is about characters and plot.
In 2005, the effects supported the story. The effects added to the story.
In 2025, I don't know what the hell the story was, but I remember the TARDIS flying alot more, when it used to dematerialise from one place and rematerialise in another, a quality unique to the TARDIS and the series, so why the hell would you want it doing anything else.
In 2005, they had enough money to make a great science fiction drama series.
In 2025, they had far too big budget and made an American style DC Marvel big budget special effects blockbuster TV series.
That is not what Doctor Who is about.
I love Ncuti but the character of the Doctor isn't a Hollywood star with a perfect body and smile. Ncuti is stunningly attractive. I can't help feeling they played into that for a Disney US type attitude of what a lead should look like. Ncuti is a great actor but he didn't act as much as I'd have liked.
Just because an actor is attractive doesn't mean the character they're portraying on screen needs to look beautiful. That's what makeup and wardrobe are there to do. They create the character along with the actor, writers, and executive producers. Everything we see on screen, every word uttered, everybody's costume, makeup, their look, is deliberate and manufactured. Nothing is left to chance with such a massive show.
In 2005, Russell's time at the helm saw great stories, told with great passion, with great characters, and great actors, using great effects to support stories, characters, and acting.
In 2025, it was mainly, well, DISNEY!
Doctor Who is a European TV series. Why did that become such a let down. I'm really happy for US fans to watch and enjoy Doctor Who, just as we watch and enjoy US shows, but why do we need to be partners with anyone. Audiences aren't looking for more fake effects, we're looking for real passionate emotional science fiction drama, with humour derived from 360° well-rounded characters we fall in love - and hate - with. Even the Doctor's enemies are loved and hated.
The reason 2005 worked so well wasn't because it had a bigger budget than the classic years, it was because it used the extra budget to tell the story better. David Tennant made Doctor Who a success just as Daniel Craig made James Bond a success in recent years. Daniel Craig made 007 production a phenomenal amount of money in just a few movies because those movies weren't CGI driven. They told a story we could all relate to.
The Doctor's story is simply incredible. Please return Doctor Who to a character-driven, unashamed science fiction drama, with a budget just large enough to make it great sci-fi for everyone to enjoy, however we choose to consume it. 💞
#doctorwho #RussellTDavies #badwolf #disney #thedoctor #bbc #BBCTV
Kit PetersDOCTOR WHO: Swansea’s Russell T Davies exits as BBC cancels Christmas special and puts show out to tender
Swansea-born screenwriter Russell T Davies is leaving Doctor Who, as the BBC cancelled this year’s Christmas special and announced the show will be put out to competitive tender.
Wednesday morning’s announcement ends the second stint in charge for Davies, who grew up in Sketty, attended Olchfa School, and famously revived the series in 2005 after 16 years off air.
Cardiff-based production company Bad Wolf, which has made the show since 2023, also bid farewell to the series in its own statement — raising questions over where Doctor Who will be made in its next era.
The BBC said the tender was in line with its Charter requirements and was “part of securing the next phase of the show for future generations”.
The previously announced Christmas episode will no longer go ahead — a decision the BBC said was made collectively with Davies and Bad Wolf.
“This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans,” the corporation said, adding that it chose to invest in future series rather than “bridge the gap” with a one-off.
Davies announced his departure on Instagram, writing: “GOODBYE from me to Doctor Who but HELLO to a big new future for the show.”
He revealed the festive special had only been announced “to guarantee a future when no one knew what would happen” — and that it never got further than the idea.
There was no script, he said, and no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor — adding, in typical style, that anyone who disagreed could “sit in that chair and wait to be proved right. You’ll wait a lonnng time.”
Bad Wolf said it had been “a joy and a privilege” to be at the helm of the Tardis alongside Davies, describing Doctor Who as “a show that shines light into the darkness”.
The company said it had been “an absolute honour to have been its torch bearer for 26 episodes with the BBC and Disney+” — signing off with “Allons-y, Alonso!”, a catchphrase from David Tennant’s Doctor.
The show’s most recent series aired in May 2025 and was the last to star Ncuti Gatwa, whose Doctor regenerated in the finale — followed by the surprise return of Billie Piper, who played companion Rose Tyler in the Davies era.
Whether Piper is the next Doctor has never been confirmed, with the BBC saying at the time that “just how and why she is back remains to be seen”.
Doctor Who has been made in Wales since the 2005 revival, and the tender announcement does not say where the show will be produced next — leaving a question mark over a programme that has anchored the Welsh television industry for two decades.
The BBC said it retains all rights to Doctor Who, with BBC Studios continuing to handle global distribution, licensing and merchandise. A new animated Doctor Who series for CBeebies remains in production.
Davies, who grew up in Swansea before studying at Oxford, is one of British television’s most celebrated writers, with credits including Queer as Folk, Years and Years and the Bafta-winning It’s a Sin.
Doctor Who first aired in 1963 and ran until 1989, before Davies brought it back in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston in the lead role. David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker and Gatwa have since piloted the Tardis.
Davies said he was as excited as anyone to see what comes next: “Will they keep the theme tune? Will they lose the blue box?… It’s all up for grabs, which is so Doctor Who. Here comes the future, vworp vworp.”
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News'Doctor Who' Christmas Special Canceled As Russell T Davies Exits
'Doctor Who's Christmas episode has been canceled, while Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf are exiting the BBC series.
https://deadline.com/2026/06/doctor-who-christmas-canceled-russell-t-davies-bbc-bad-wolf-1236952398/
LucireDoctor Who Christmas special cancelled https://lucire.com/insider/20260610/doctor-who-christmas-special-cancelled/ #DoctorWho #BBC #TV #Wales #UK #BadWolf #living
Variety [Unofficial]‘The Other Bennet Sister’ Producer Jane Tranter on Mary’s ‘Emotional Resonance’ and Eyeing Austen’s Other Overlooked Characters for Screen
