Moffat Predicts Doctor Who Bidding War, Thinks Reboot is a “Bad Idea”

Steven Moffat has predicted fierce competition among production companies when Doctor Who enters the tender process for its next era.

Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine (issue 632), Moffat said he expects the chance to produce one of British television’s best-known programmes to attract considerable interest.

“There’ll be a lot of production companies excited at the idea,” he said. “I’m just guessing, but I think there will be a huge number thinking, ‘Wow, if we had Doctor Who on our books, that would be great.’”

Moffat warned that producing the programme is “all-year-round work” which “kind of blocks out doing other things”, meaning the contract is likely to require an experienced company with considerable resources.

“You do 20 shows before you do Doctor Who, because it’s a monster,” he said.

He also expects bidders to arrive with their own creative visions for the series, pitching their plans for Doctor Who before the BBC chooses between them. The tender could therefore determine the programme’s creative direction as well as who produces it.

BBC Studios has already confirmed that it intends to compete for the contract, leaving open the possibility that production could remain close to the BBC following the end of the Bad Wolf era.

Major changes appear likely, although Moffat believes completely rebooting Doctor Who’s continuity would be a “bad idea”.

He explained: “It requires more explanation than a soft reboot. Normally, when you reboot something, you can tell it’s a reboot. In Sherlock, I didn’t need to explain that Benedict Cumberbatch is not playing a continuation of Jeremy Brett, because he’s a different actor.

“You don’t really expect Daniel Craig to be continuing the story of Pierce Brosnan. Because there’s a new actor, you instantly reset and say, ‘We’re starting again, it’s a new version.’

“With Doctor Who, the fact it’s a new actor doesn’t tell you that at all.”

Viewers would naturally assume they were watching the Doctor’s next incarnation, meaning a reboot would have to explain why the character no longer recognised established enemies such as the Daleks.

Moffat was equally dismissive of beginning a reboot with the Doctor stealing the TARDIS and escaping Gallifrey.

“That’s a terrible beginning for Doctor Who.”

While Moffat expects Doctor Who’s next production team to bring its own creative vision, he believes the series can reinvent itself without wiping away more than 60 years of history.