Jane Tranter, one of the founders of production company, Bad Wolf, has hit back at a claim that Doctor Who is “as dead as we’ve ever known it.”
Though he’s expressed regret at having phrased it like that, the original comment was made by Dalek writer, Robert Shearman, in Doctor Who Magazine. Tranter said:
“That’s really rude, actually. And really untrue.
“The plans for Doctor Who are really simply this — the BBC and BBC Studios had a partnership with Disney Plus for 26 episodes.
“We are currently 21 episodes down into that 26-episode run. We have got another five episodes of The War Between The Land And The Sea to come. At some point after that, decisions will be made together with all of us about what the future of Doctor Who entails.”
As much as we owe Tranter for her considerable part in bringing Doctor Who back, Shearman’s done nothing wrong here in expressing an opinion that many of us feel nonetheless. He also seems to imply that it was creatively problematic as his full quote was about how no one is going to create stories with the potential “current” Doctor, seemingly played by Billie Piper, as no one knows what that entails. He’s 100% correct in this; otherwise, Doctor Who Magazine would’ve started a Sixteenth Doctor comic already or there would nevertheless be something with Billie as the Doctor. As is, even showrunner Russell T Davies has said he doesn’t know for sure whether Piper is the next Doctor.
Also, I personally think it’s “rude” and “untrue” or at least disingenuous of the production team to trick fans as they have; we remember the promises of new seasons every year with no gaps. That was a lie, or something went drastically wrong behind the scenes!
After Doctor Who Magazine published the interview (in which editorial saw fit to say its official position was at odds with Shearman’s point), Robert went online and said he felt bad about the comment, that he hadn’t intended it this way. He’s a really lovely chap too, so I feel bad that this has backfired on him.
Either way, Tranter’s comments haven’t gone down well.
