Writer and actor, Mark Gatiss, has said he doesn’t think anyone knows about the future of Doctor Who right now, and has basically confirmed that he won’t be returning to write any episodes any time soon.

Speaking at the Italian Global Series Festival (IGSF), Gatiss said:

“I don’t think anyone knows what is going on with Doctor Who at the moment… All I know is it’s all about the Disney deal.”

He is, of course, referring to the co-production deal that means Doctor Who would be partly made, influenced, and streamed via Disney; the House of Mouse seems to have backed out of this after Ncuti Gatwa’s second season as the Fifteenth Doctor, leaving the programme effectively on hiatus. Even showrunner, Russell T Davies, has said it’s “on a pause”.

Gatiss wrote many episodes, including The Unquiet Dead, Night Terrors, and Cold War, bringing the Ice Warriors back in the latter, while also appearing in a few stories, including Peter Capaldi’s last special, Twice Upon a Time.

But he’s not written an episode since 2017’s Empress of Mars, so when asked if he’s coming back to the show, if it does indeed return, he replied:

“I’m two Doctors down and once you’re two Doctors down, you don’t come back.”

Technically, he’s three Doctors down — that is, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth, or arguably four if we include Billie Piper — but perhaps he’s thinking that he’s already written for David Tennant, albeit as the Tenth Doctor (The Idiot’s Lantern).

And to be fair, Steven Moffat came back after not writing for the Thirteenth or Fourteenth Doctors on TV, so never say never.