Report: Doctor Who Facing Years Off Screen as Producer Warns ‘You’d Have to Be Mad’ to Take It On
According to a new report in industry source Deadline, Doctor Who could be off television screens for years, with one producer predicting it may need as long as five years away from screens while the BBC works out its next regeneration.
The report follows yesterday’s announcement that the previously planned Doctor Who Christmas special will no longer go ahead and that Russell T Davies has stepped away, with the BBC now placing the show out to competitive tender.
Deadline said it contacted four respected UK drama producers about whether they would be interested in taking on Doctor Who, with all expressing serious reservations.
One producer told the outlet that “you would have to be mad” to take on the series, while another described it as “a bit of a nightmare” in the current market, particularly after the collapse of the Disney co-production deal.
The hesitation appears to come down to money, rights and workload. Doctor Who remains owned by the BBC, meaning any successful bidder would be producing the series without owning the underlying IP.
Producers are also said to be wary of the scale of the job, with the show likely to demand significant creative resources at a difficult time for UK drama.
Funding is another major question. One source told Deadline it was hard to see another major US studio simply replacing Disney, adding that the budget would be difficult to push above £3 million per episode without major co-production money or investment from BBC Studios’ distribution arm.
The report also includes some sharp creative criticism. Deadline says there is a feeling that Doctor Who has “lost its way creatively”, with Ncuti Gatwa having never “fully embraced the role”, and concerns over Davies using a “sledgehammer” approach to issues of diversity and inclusion.
It remains unclear whether Bad Wolf could be tempted to bid for the tender. Deadline says one source suggested Sony Pictures Television, Bad Wolf’s parent company, may be reluctant to keep spending time on a show it does not own or have a share of.
Still, the report does not suggest Doctor Who is finished. One person close to the show compared it to long-running franchises such as Marvel, Star Wars and Star Trek, arguing that the BBC remains lucky to have a brand with such longevity.
