Current showrunner, Russell T Davies, says that there are talks behind the scenes on who will take over the helm at Doctor Who.
Appearing on a podcast hosted by Tenth and Fourteenth Doctor actor, David Tennant, Davies said he won’t come back another as showrunner. Tennant quipped that he said that before, and Davies replied:
“That’s very true, but I’m not getting younger, darling. But I will need to slow down at some point. That’ll come. Last time it was Steven Moffat [who took over as showrunner]; that wasn’t even a day’s work, like, ‘Right, off you go!’
“There’s thinking about that, there’s conversations about that, but it’s hard. It’s a tricky one. But they better exist… Imagine, I’m dead at the desk. The cliché would kill me!”
So what does this mean for the future of Doctor Who? At least that there is a future, it seems. If the BBC and potentially Disney are looking for a new showrunner, that means there’s a certain degree of faith in the show.
It doesn’t actually mean Davies is stepping away, however. He apparently had ideas for numerous seasons when he returned to the role after Chris Chibnall left, so presumably he’s still got plenty saved up, seeing as Ncuti Gatwa’s second season as the Fifteenth Doctor is yet to be broadcast.
It also raises the question of whether there should be a new showrunner, or instead whether two people, a producer and script editor, as per Classic Who, could work again.
Personally, I’d like to see Toby Whithouse taking over. He’s made some fantastic Who, including School Reunion, The God Complex, and Under the Lake/ Before the Flood, and his Bergerac is excellent — well worth watching if you can!
