“They Didn’t Know the Slightest Thing About Doctor Who”: RTD Admits Disney Deal ‘Didn’t Work’
Russell T Davies has admitted that Doctor Who’s short-lived partnership with Disney+ failed to deliver, revealing that executives at the streaming giant knew surprisingly little about the show and suggesting that a lack of promotion contributed to its struggles in America.
In an edited extract from his new memoir, The Queerest of Folk: A Life in Television, Davies reflects on his second era and the difficulties it faced following its move to Disney+ for international distribution.
“It just didn’t work on Disney+. Simple as that. To be honest, it didn’t work from day one,” Davies writes.
“It’s an old show. It’s not particularly well known in America. It’s never been on the level of Star Wars or Star Trek, and maybe it didn’t suit supersizing.”
Davies also reveals that Disney executives appeared to have remarkably little knowledge of Doctor Who when the partnership began.
“As we began to work with Disney, we realised they didn’t know the slightest thing about Doctor Who, only what I’d told them,” he recalls. “It all seemed brand new to them.”
One particularly surprising moment came when Davies mentioned Blink, Steven Moffat’s acclaimed 2007 episode that introduced the Weeping Angels, only to discover that Disney executives had never heard of it.
“In one meeting, I mentioned the famous Steven Moffat episode ‘Blink’, the one with the Weeping Angels, but they’d never heard of it.”
According to Davies, the executives subsequently watched the episode and returned full of praise.
“They went away and watched it and came back saying, ‘Hey, great episode!’ I thought, yes, but . . . how have you bought Doctor Who without watching ‘Blink’?!”
Davies also acknowledges that the show’s complicated release schedule may have contributed to its difficulties on the streaming platform.
The Disney+ era began with Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary specials in November 2023, starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor, followed by the Christmas special introducing Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor. The first full series did not arrive until May 2024.
“And we had that complicated launch, starting with the sixtieth anniversary, then a Christmas Special, then a gap before the series proper,” Davies explains.
Davies suggests that Disney failed to give the programme the promotional push it needed in America, particularly during the 60th anniversary celebrations.
“They didn’t really advertise them. I don’t think David Tennant did a single interview with the American press.”
Davies accepts that the unusual release schedule was partly responsible for the difficulties, but believes the programme struggled to recover from its disappointing start in the US.
“I accept that, because we’d created that oddness. But it was a stumbling start in America, from which I think we never quite recovered.”
Despite his disappointment with how the arrangement worked out, Davies ultimately defends the original decision to partner with Disney, acknowledging the financial security the deal offered.
“No one could ever come up with a better, more financially secure plan.”
