Following the news that Doctor Who is being put out to tender by the BBC, it has been reported that fans may not see new episodes on screen until 2028 at the earliest.
For background, a tender process means the BBC will start a bidding process, asking production companies to pitch for the rights to produce the show. In recent year, Bad Wolf has co-produced the series in partnership with BBC Studios Productions, but that is not expected to be the case going forward.
A new report from Deadline looking at the status of the long-running sci-fi series has noted that the BBC has not yet given any timeline for when it will take Doctor Who to market, and when it does, it’s a process that can take up to six months.
Deadline’s report notes that the six-month timeline is based on the length of time taken over the Casualty deal, when that show was also put out to tender.
Based on this, the publication notes that industry insiders think the show won’t return until 2028 at the very earliest, and that even this is considered an outside bet. One producer told the publication that Doctor Who could be rested for up to five years, which would mean a 2030 release date for a new season.
For now, this is all just speculation. However, Deadline’s report says that it contacted four respected UK drama producers to test their appetite for making Doctor Who, and all had serious reservations about the resource drain of making the series without owning the rights and potentially without additional US investment, as there was with the Disney deal.
On the more positive end of responses, a person close to Doctor Who in recent years said: “If you look at the longevity of Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek, these are valuable commodities over generations. The BBC is lucky to have one of these, and this should be no more than a bump in the road if they approach it properly.”
When the decision to put Doctor Who out to tender was announced, alongside the cancellation of the previously announced 2026 Christmas special, the BBC said in a statement: “Doctor Who remains an important part of the BBC and this tender underpins the BBC’s continued commitment to Doctor Who ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come.”
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Whatever the case, when Doctor Who does return it is not expected to be helmed by current showrunner Russell T Davies. Davies, who was in charge of the show from 2005 to 2010, and again from 2023 to 2026, confirmed his exit from the show in a statement on social media.
In the post, he wrote: “And so GOODBYE from me to Doctor Who but HELLO to a big new future for the show, as the BBC announces it’s putting the show out to tender.
“As a result, there won’t be a Christmas Special – we only cooked that up to guarantee a future when no one knew what would happen, but now we do know, there’s no need for it. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for new Doctor Who… but you’ll be waiting for MORE Doctor Who than a one-off. So it’s worth it!”
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