The Doctor and the Tardis are currently trapped in limbo. The world’s longest running sci-fi series is in its most uncertain state in 20 years. The the 2026 Doctor Who Christmas special and put production of a new series out for tender.
This follows a series of departures.
Showrunner Russell T. Davies – who oversaw Doctor Who’s triumphant return to television in 2005 after the 1989 cancellation – will be retiring from the series.
Production company, a Cardiff-based production company set up in 2015 by two former BBC executives which played a foundational role in bringing back Doctor Who in 2005, has also said they will no longer produce the series.
And lead actor Ncuti Gatwa has left the series after two seasons – the shortest run since Christopher Eccleston played the Ninth Doctor for only the first season of the reboot.
So now the show needs a new co-production partner, a new showrunner and a new star.
Success, falling ratings, and a new broadcaster
Doctor Who premiered on the BBC in 1963, and ran on the broadcaster continuously until 1989, when it was cancelled, .
When the show was rebooted by the BBC in 2005, Davies was brought on as showrunner. Davies, a long time fan, had also established himself as a major force in British television drama with successes including Queer as Folk (1999–2000) and (2003).
Running Doctor Who for five years, he achieved critical and popular success, especially with casting the as the Tenth Doctor.
Davies left the show to move , and was replaced by Steven Moffat and Chris Chibnall, with Peter Capaldi and then Jodie Whitaker as The Doctor. By the end of Whitaker’s run, the show was .
When Davies returned to the show in 2022, Disney also joined the BBC and Bad Wolf to co-produce the series.
From 2022–25, Disney co-financed : 21 of Doctor Who, and five episodes in the spin-off series The War Between the Land and the Sea.
This meant a bigger budget – of around , compared to US$2.5 million under the BBC – but was also the first time Doctor Who had moved away from free-to-air broadcasting in countries outside of the United Kingdom.
In 2023, for the first time, Doctor Who in Australia, but was instead only available by subscribing to Disney+.
Disney+ never released streaming data, but the company . Now, Disney has pulled the .
The breakdown in the relationship with Disney and Doctor Who has been clear for some time, with the platform spin off The War Between the Land and the Sea, six months after its broadcast in the UK.
The BBC have stated their and to finding a new co-production partner.
But questions of who will produce the series, when and where fans will see next episodes on free-to-air or a streaming service, and where the show will be produced are all being asked.
Production in Wales
Since the revival of the series under Davies, Doctor Who has been produced in Wales, contributing £134 million (A$256 million) to the Welsh economy. It has also been credited by the director of BBC Cymru Wales as playing a pivotal role in shaping the in Wales today.
Wales has been a special part of the revived series’ character. Key moments of the show are set in and around Cardiff and against Welsh coastlines and landscapes.
Using these recognisable sites has also shaped a, contributing to the Welsh economy and cultural industry in diverse ways.
Through the past 20 years, many of the mainstay Doctor Who production team based in Wales with spin-off programs such as Torchwood (2006–11) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–11), notably in between seasons of the main show.
This meant production rested on a tight-knit and experienced team that may now be dispersed.
With Doctor Who being put out for tender, there are from the link with Wales will be broken, with job losses and impacts on the Welsh creative economy.
While the series may maintain its strong connection to Welsh culture and the economy, the BBC have yet to state whether the stipulates production in Wales.
The next steps for Doctor Who are uncertain. The Tardis is not going anywhere just yet, but is parked up hoping for a bright future.
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