Russell T Davies Hits Back: “You’re Wrong!” Doctor Who Hasn’t Been Cancelled, And He Regrets Nothing
Russell T Davies has hit back against claims that Doctor Who has been cancelled, insisting that reports suggesting the show is over are “literally wrong”.
Speaking on Gaydio, Davies was asked about the recent news surrounding the future of Doctor Who, following his official departure as showrunner.
Davies responded firmly: “It’s extraordinary to see newspapers, who should know better, saying the show has been cancelled. It’s the opposite. It’s been put out to tender.”
He went on to explain that the phrase “put out to tender” has caused confusion, describing it as an industry term that means the programme is being pitched to be made by an independent production company.
“And I understand that’s an industry phrase,” Davies said. “People might not understand what a show being put out to tender means.”
He added: “Equally, at the same time, those people are complaining on devices which have a search engine. Go and look it up.”
Davies argued that this is a normal process within the BBC, comparing the situation to other shows.
“This will happen to every BBC show,” he said. “It’s happened to Casualty, it’s happened to the weather. The weather was put out to tender. Do you know the weather now is not made by the Met Office?”
He continued: “What it means is the programme is pitched to be made by an independent company, as opposed to the BBC. Independent companies include BBC Studios, by the way, which is separate to BBC Public Service. So, they’re in the running, I imagine.”
Davies stressed that he is no longer involved in the process, calling it “very legal”, but suggested that a tender would only make sense if the BBC were planning for Doctor Who to continue beyond a single year.
“The same thing is happening here with Doctor Who,” he said. “And I think, I’m not in charge of this process, that means many years ahead. No one’s going to put out to tender, no one’s going to apply for a tender for one year. It’s not worth it.”
Davies concluded: “So I think this guarantees years of the programme. But no, go ahead and call it cancelled, everyone. You’re wrong. You’re literally wrong.”
While Davies is technically correct, the defensive tone of the interview is unlikely to dispel the impression that this was, at least in part, an exercise in damage control.
Davies was also asked what he would do differently if he could take the TARDIS back to when he returned to Doctor Who for a second time. His answer was blunt: “Oh, nothing”.
He concluded: “I loved what I did.”
