The BBC has officially confirmed Disney will no longer co-produce Doctor Who. The American giant co-produced the last two seasons of the show, starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, and released it outside the UK on Disney+. The BBC also announced the longrunning sci-fi series will return with a special on December 25, 2026, written by Russell T Davies, although details on the show’s future beyond that, such as who is playing the Doctor, and whether Davies will continue his role as showrunner, weren’t given.
Lindsay Salt, Director of Drama at the BBC, stated, “We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea. The BBC remains fully committed to Doctor Who, which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026. We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”
The decision had been a foregone conclusion for many fans, with Disney dragging its heels on renewing the show, even though Davies, 62, stated a third season was being drafted last year, and Gatwa, 33, subsequently said on The Graham Norton Show that he expected filming to begin in 2025. The War Between the Land and the Sea, a five-part spin-off focusing on the Sea Devils, will premiere in the UK on BBC One and iPlayer later this year. It was also co-produced by Disney, and will still presumably be released internationally on their streaming service.
The biggest question now, assuming Davies will continue as showrunner, is who will star on the series after Gatwa’s unexpected departure at the end of the 2025 season. His final episode ended with his Doctor regenerating into a version played by Billie Piper, who portrayed Rose Tyler on the series from 2005 to 2010, and the Moment in the 2013 special “The Day of the Doctor.” While other actors who’ve played the Doctor had previously guest starred on the show as minor characters, Piper’s prominent roles means her casting has proved to be more controversial. Whether the 43-year old will play the Doctor full-time, or only in next year’s special ala David Tennant‘s return in 2023’s 60th anniversary specials, remains to be seen.
The news should come as some relief to those who work in Who‘s expanded universe though. Earlier this month, veteran series writer Rob Shearman opined that the situation was unlike when the show had gone on hiatus before with an “incumbent” Doctor, stating, “No one’s going to start writing Doctor Who books with a Billie Piper Doctor, because no one knows what that means. In a funny way, the closing moments of [the season finale] seem to put a full stop on things. We didn’t have that before.” In the meantime, the BBC’s licensees, including Doctor Who Magazine and Titan Comics, had announced Circuit Breaker, a multimedia project starring Jo Martin‘s Fugitive Doctor, presumably as a way to get around the issue of not being able to tell stories set after the finale.
Gatwa’s 2024-25 seasons, which marked Davies’s return as showrunner after overseeing the revival from 2005 to 2010, and the 60th anniversary specials, were generally well-received, although the finales for both were widely regarded as disappointments. Davies has also come under criticism recently over the handling of co-star Millie Gibson‘s time on the show: when early reports broke the news she would no longer be a series regular after Gatwa’s first season, the actress had been unable to respond to claims it was because she was a “diva.” Gibson, 21, commented earlier this month that the experience of being unable to defend herself without breaking her NDA had been “awful” and “frustrating.”
In any case, Doctor Who will return to TV soon, and hopefully can find a new American streaming platform soon. But for now, fans can continue to enjoy the Whoniverse’s ongoing print and audio releases, such as a last hurrah for Gatwa’s Doctor at Titan Comics, Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #1 (of 4), due out next week on November 5.
English (US) · 