Russell T Davies Reveals What Caused the Original Cancellation of Doctor Who

Ask what ruined Doctor Who, and some folks online will blame anything that dared to take the British sci-fi show in a new direction. The reality, as former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies reveals, is a slowness to act.

In an extract from Davies’ memoir, The Queerest of Folk, published in The Guardian, the showrunner who first revived the series in 2005 discussed the slow decline the sci-fi show endured after its controversial partnership with Disney, which lasted two seasons, did not work out. He also spoke out about the attempts to pull Doctor Who back from the brink of disaster, including the controversial choice to have the Fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, regenerate into New Who’s first companion, Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper.

The collapse of Doctor Who in the words of Russel T. Davies

In the memoir extract, Davies places the blame for the state of Doctor Who on the BBC and its inability to act during a time of crisis.

Davies attributes the BBC’s delay to its status as a vast institution that had to constantly deal with press barons and right-wing media poised to attack every decision it made. The BBC also saw departures, including chief content officer Charlotte Moore, who had been one of the greatest champions of Doctor Who.

With Disney gone, a partnership that was a poor fit from the beginning, and the BBC in no rush, the people working on the series were stuck in limbo. Davies and his team had already filmed an ending for Gatwa for the finale of the second season of the Disney revival. In this version, the Fifteenth Doctor regenerated without Piper showing up, leaving the regeneration open-ended with no reveal of the next Doctor.

Davies thought that open-endedness could suggest that Doctor Who was ending for good. He called a Zoom meeting with BBC executives to convince them that Gatwa should regenerate into Piper instead. The actress was on board, and Davies writes in his excerpt that it worked because everyone paid attention to the show once more. Davies did not elaborate on whether most of that attention was positive.

Doctor Who’s former showrunner thinks the future can be bold and bright

The gamble on including Piper did not work out long-term. While the BBC wanted a Doctor Who Christmas special and loved Davies’ pitch for one featuring Daleks in an old English village, everything remained slow. Piper went on to work on Wednesday, Davies was busy with his new show, Tip Toe, and the BBC’s financial troubles kept worsening. This continued deliberation from the BBC led Davies to say that enough was enough. There was little point spending money on a one-off special before Doctor Who went into competitive tender.

“This new plan sets the show free,” Davies writes in his memoir. “The future can be planned by a brand-new team. Clean and bold and bright.”

Given that Davies left whoever takes over with the task of addressing Piper’s return, the new direction of Doctor Who after the competitive tender might not be as clean as the ex-showrunner claims. Now that the reasons behind the trouble are public, fans can set their expectations for the future, especially as the BBC’s financial troubles do not seem to be resolving anytime soon.

Source: Polygon