Russell T Davies, the showrunner of the long-running BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who, has said there could be a “pause” in the release of the show as the broadcaster decides on the fate of its next season.
Series two of the new era of Doctor Who, helmed by Davies, has been scheduled for release on April 12, starring Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu as his new companion Belinda Chanda.
But, beyond the next set of episodes, there has been no news from the BBC about the future of the rebooted sci-fi show after 20 years on air.
“No good idea ever dies”
Speaking to the BBC’s children’s news programme Newsround, Davies was asked about a renewal, to which he said: “I kind of know that the Doctor’s reached the status of, like, Robin Hood.”
“Sometimes there might be a pause, and during that pause, the viewers of Newsround now will grow up a few years and start writing stories and they’ll bring it back.”
“So I have absolute faith that that will survive because I am living proof of it and that’s what happens to good ideas. No good idea ever dies.”
There is precedent for this, as the original incarnation of Doctor Who ran from 1963 until 1989 before going on hiatus for 16 years and being rebooted in 2005, so it is possible the BBC are considering a break for the show again until there is renewed interest.
Russell T Davies recently told Radio Times that he “hopes” that the show will come back for another season imminently but that there has been “no decision after season two”.
“It’s funny, because even people who work on the show think that means we’re having secret meetings about it. People I work with every year say, ‘What’s really happening?’ and I’m going, ‘Nothing! No meetings, nothing’,” he explained.
Davies has said that the creative team are “ready with different plans” for the Doctor should the renewal announcement come soon, adding that it is their job “to be ready”.
There has been no further word from the BBC after it hit back at false reports in February that the beloved show had been cancelled due to “abysmal ratings” and a poor response from viewers to its “woke” plots due to Gatwa being the first Black, out queer actor to star as the Doctor and Russell T Davies including several queer, trans actors in the show.
Series two is also expected to feature queer guest stars and storylines, with Slow Horses’ Kadiff Kirwan, Coronation Street’s Charlie Condou, The Traitors host Alan Cumming, and British TV royalty, Rylan all on the billing.
At the time, the BBC said: “This story is incorrect, Doctor Who has not been shelved. As we have previously stated, the decision on season three will be made after season two airs. The deal with Disney+ was for 26 episodes – and exactly half of those still have to transmit. And as for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines.”
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