Russell T. Davies has confirmed that his second stint as Doctor Who showrunner has come to an end after four years, two seasons and five specials. Bad Wolf Productions are also ending their association with the franchise, and the BBC is now looking for a new production partner and showrunner to take the show forwards. As a result, the planned 2026 Christmas special has been cancelled.
It's fair to say that Davies's second stint as showrunner has been variable at best. A small number of great-to-excellent episodes were offset by some of the weakest episodes since the franchise's relaunch in 2005 (with Space Babies arguably being the weakest episode in that time), and muddled and confusing serialised plotting. More damning is that both season finales, previously a strength of Davies, were a total mess. There was clear behind-the-scenes chaos on the show, with new companion Ruby Sunday (a splendid Millie Gibson) demoted to a recurring character between seasons for unclear reasons. Ncuti Gatwa also ended his time as the Fifteenth Doctor after just two seasons, despite previously indicating he would do at least three. Spin-off show The War Between the Land and the Sea failed to make a splash (so to speak) and co-production partner Disney terminated their agreement with the BBC after just 26 episodes produced in total. Ratings tumbled across Davies's run, and the show failed to make much of an impression on Disney+ either.
The good news is that the BBC is committed to continuing to produce new Doctor Who and enhance its international profile. They recently partnered with AMC in the United States to relaunch the show's existing library there, though so far they have not committed to any kind of co-production deal. The BBC is talking to other independent production companies to see what interest there is in working on the show, and the current plan is to bring the show back with a full season rather than a single TV special.
Bad Wolf Productions was set up by ex-BBC and ex-Doctor Who personnel from Davies's first run and have produced a series of hit shows including A Discovery of Witches and His Dark Materials. They were recently acquired by Sony. Why Bad Wolf is leaving the project - despite the name, Davies is not affiliated to Bad Wolf directly - is unclear. However, ex-Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston had previously criticised the team there with having enabled bad behaviour during his own stint on the show in 2005, and indicated he would not be interested in any future cameo appearances until they left the picture.
The cancellation of the 2026 Christmas Special does mark a historical moment, as it means that 2026 will be the first calendar year since 2004 that will see no new Doctor Who content aired at all, bringing to an end twenty-one years of continuous production, a remarkable feat in modern television and almost equal to the original show's twenty-six-year continuous production run (from 1963 to 1989).
Davies himself has won some recent critical acclaim with his new drama series Tip Toe, and is already planning future projects.
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