Russell T Davies is questioned about the future of Doctor Who, and hasn’t done much to fend off those hiatus rumours. More here.
Doctor Who arrived back onto our screens over the weekend, but it’s not dampened speculation about the future of the show. For several months, there’s been the suggestion that it’ll be heading to hiatus, with Disney still holding back on a decision to commission more series of the show.
The official line has been that Disney+ will be making a decision once Doctor Who season 2 ratings are in. Once this eight-episode run is done, there’s a spin-off series later this year, but nothing else has been shot under the terms of the BBC and Disney+ deal overseeing the show.
Russell T Davies is, of course, the man steering the ship at the moment. But there’s not much ebullience when he’s being asked about what the future for Doctor Who looks like. It’s easy to read too much into what’s said and what isn’t, just that it’s worth noting that in an interview with the BBC’s Newsround kids’ TV programme (still miss John Craven on it), he’s not painting his usual positive picture when it comes to Doctor Who.
“I kind of know that the Doctor’s reached the status of like Robin Hood. Sometimes there might be a pause, and during that pause, the viewers of Newsround now will grow up a few years and start writing stories and they’ll bring it back.”
He added that “I have absolute faith that that will survive because I am living proof of it and that’s what happens to good ideas. No good idea ever dies.”
Separately, the incumbent Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, has played questions about his future with the show with a straight bat. Contrasting with the promotion for last year’s season, when the episodes we’re watching now had already been filmed, it’s a very different tone.
Doctor Who continues on Saturday nights for the next few weeks. No official announcements have been made about going on hiatus. But also, no announcements have been made about its future either.
