Showrunner, Russell T Davies, has hinted that he’s staying on for at least four series of Doctor Who, taking the programme up to Series 17.

At the Doctor Who @ 60: A Musical Celebration, Davies noted the significance of Murray Gold’s score for the series, and further joked:

“It’s not about those actors yapping away with the dialogue! What’s so brilliant about listening to the band tonight is I wish it was always this full volume, this loud, and we just did away with the dialogue. One year… Okay, let me think, series… series 4, I’m gonna write an episode where it’s all music, no dialogue.”

When prodded further by presenter, Jo Whiley, Davies further explained:

“We’re planning ahead. There’s no room in series 3.”

This would also seem to confirm that Murray Gold is staying on for four series at least, seeing as the composer previously said that he’d stay on Doctor Who as long as Davies is there.

All this isn’t perhaps massively surprising, but is nonetheless welcome news, signalling that Doctor Who has a significant future — four more series have already been quietly commissioned, which feels far removed from those early days of 21st Century Who when we’d have to wait with baited breath to hear whether it had been recommissioned.

So to spell this out, we should be getting: three 60th anniversary specials, a Christmas special introducing Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, then Series 14, Series 15, Series 16, and Series 17.

Lots to look forward to…