Former Doctor Who showrunner, Steven Moffat, says that the show will “definitely” return, but admits that not having a Christmas special this year is disappointing.

Speaking at the Utopia convention this last weekend, he said:

“I don’t like the fact there’s not going to be a Christmas special. There should always be a Christmas special. There’s not going to be that, but the show will return – very, very definitely.”

He reaffirms:

“Doctor Who has not been cancelled. Yes, Christmas has been cancelled. Well, to be clear, not all of Christmas; the day will still take place, even if Doctor Who‘s not on it. Quite honestly, I’m not altogether sure why they bother doing that, but yes, Christmas, and that’s a black mark.”

This comes after news that Russell T Davies will no longer be the showrunner on the programme, and Bad Wolf has similarly taken leave, meaning Doctor Who will be put out “to tender”, opening it up to other production companies to pitch for the series. Details on its going to tender have yet to be revealed.

Sadly, the upcoming Christmas special has been axed, although Davies says he never even wrote the script anyway (despite his previous assurances otherwise, not to mention other people like musician Murray Gold saying Russell had written numerous drafts of it).

Moffat was showrunner on Doctor Who between 2010’s Series 5 and Series 10 in 2017. He also wrote numerous Christmas specials, including fan favourites A Christmas Carol and Last Christmas; he also scripted the last Christmas special to feature Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, Joy to the World.

So yes, Doctor Who will (probably) be back; nonetheless, you can’t blame those fans for whom 1989 immediately springs to mind.