Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T Davies, has said that he thinks of the series as a “gay show”.

Davies appeared at a talk at Series Mania in France, and claimed:

“In many ways, I kind of think of Doctor Who as a gay show — which it isn’t, technically, but he’s an outsider who doesn’t fit in with the world and lives his own life and… he’s very othered.”

The quote is a bit baffling, seeing as his earlier Doctor Who writing seemed to aim to break down any perceived “divide” between people based on who they fancy and fall in love with. Why do gay people have to be “outsiders” who don’t fit in? Why is being gay such an “othered” way of being?

It does also seem that Davies is projecting his own worldview onto the programme, which, as a writer, is only natural to some extent — anything he writes will naturally have his own inclinations in there to some degree — but Doctor Who isn’t one person’s project; it’s an ongoing story, and not one that relies on sexuality or identity politics. The Doctor hasn’t really been interested in romance or relationships until, arguably, The TV Movie anyway.

It’s fair to say a lot of gay people like Doctor Who. But it’s also fair to say a lot of heterosexual and bisexual people (and whatever other identities people can be) like Doctor Who.

Then again, Davies’ appearance at Series Mania wasn’t his finest hour anyway, seeing as he seemed to annoy a lot of fans by claiming X, formerly Twitter, is a “hate site” and that negative opinions don’t actually represent what fans think.

Let’s hear what you think, DWC readers — positive, negative, and on-the-fence opinions all allowed!