Former Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T Davies, was asked why he left the role, but his answer was pretty abrupt — which likely doesn’t surprise anyone.

At the Attitude Awards in London, The Mirror asked Davies why he left Doctor Who, and he replied:

“Time to move on, that’s all.”

Yes, well, quite. Six words? The Tenth Doctor would be proud.

The Mirror suggests that this response “seemingly confirmed that there was no bad blood behind the scenes”, though the jury is frankly still out. Or maybe the jury has reconvened with an opposing verdict.

Something doesn’t feel right about all this: Davies has previously spoken of a series each year, multiple spin-offs, and staying on for at least a third season of the main show. Ncuti Gatwa’s regeneration seemed very last minute, with photos and reports of another ending originally destined to conclude The Reality War. We were also previously told that a Christmas special would pick up where it left off (i.e. with Billie Piper apparently playing the Sixteenth Doctor), but Davies then said that was never actually commissioned or planned. That goes against what other folks have said, including composer Murray Gold, who previously mentioned numerous drafts of the festive episode existing.

In the American vernacular, something smells funky.

Now, the BBC is about to put Doctor Who out to tender, meaning a new production team will pitch for the show. We doubt a new crew will want to clear up everything from the last era of the series.

Either way, this will be a particularly fascinating period of the show to look back on, to learn more about, when the truth ekes out in a couple of decades…