Doctor Who is back on our telly screens, but it seems that its writers won’t be paid residuals in the future.
Deadline reports that instead of the usual model of a smaller fee in advance and future residuals as episodes are streamed and broadcast, Doctor Who writers will only receive one bigger lump sum for their work.
Residual payments were one of the core issues of the writers’ strike which concluded in September. Doctor Who is a British production, so they’re not bound by the WGA contracts, but it’s nevertheless a worrying development. There are nearly 900 episodes of Doctor Who in total and the majority of those are now available on BBC iPlayer.
“As a trade union we take our responsibilities in negotiations very seriously,” said Ellie Peers, General Secretary of the Writers Guild of Great Britain, “and this involves being in full possession of the facts before taking up issues with broadcasters and others, both privately and publicly. The terms outlined to us by Deadline, if true, would represent a serious retrograde step for UK writers working on Doctor Who.”
Peers also urged writers to come forward with their contracts. “We urge writers who have these contracts to come forward and contact us in confidence so we can look at them properly and move forward from there.”
A BBC spokesperson responded to the comments, noting that the writers’ contracts were “individually negotiated and commercially confidential”.
“However, all deals take into account both the rights needed by the programme funders and the fees and residuals payable to talent,” their statement said.
Doctor Who, one of the most famous and popular British TV shows, has been a solid source of residuals for writers as it’s often repeated on TV, while the advent of streaming has also made it possible for people to revisit their favourite episodes at any given time.
Doctor Who is currently celebrating 60 years of existence with a set of new specials, starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor. A new series will air next year with Ncuti Gatwa taking over the iconic role. UK viewers can catch all the action on the BBC, but Disney+ has become the home of the Doctor elsewhere in the world.
More than five million pairs of eyes watched the new special, titled The Star Beast, which aired on BBC One on Saturday 25 November. You can read our spoilerific review of the special here.
