Russell T Davies insists Doctor Who needs to plan for 'end of the BBC'

28 March 2024

Russell T Davies wants to make sure 'Doctor Who' can survive the demise of the BBC.

Russell T Davies wants Doctor Who to outlast the BBC

The showrunner - who returned for last year's 60th anniversary specials with David Tennant and Catherine Tate - will be at the helm for Ncuti Gatwa's upcoming first series in the TARDIS, and he has reflected on the significance of the partnership between the BBC and Disney+.

He told the 'Firecrotch and Normcore: They Like To Watch' podcast: "You've got to look in the long term at the end of the BBC, which is somehow surely undoubtedly on its way in some shape or form.

"What, is Doctor Who going to die then? No, you've got to prepare for that kind of stuff – but all of that is kind of the flim flam on top of the fact that I love it and it's the only chance you have in television, for me, to really write in pictures."

Russell also pointed to the current climate in terms of television and society, as we find ourselves in "a science fiction age" and "a world of streaming".

He added: "We live in a world where every 11-year-old is watching Stranger Things because there are 11-year-olds kids in it and that's their language, that's their culture, that's their references, that's their muse."

With the likes of 'Stranger Things' and 'The Mandalorian' proving to be such huge successses on streaming platforms, the 'Doctor Who' boss insisted it would be a "real shame" if the beloved show wasn't given the same treatment.

That meant seeing the programme "become a co-production", because "there's no way the BBC is going to fund" something on that scale.

He said: "If Disney collapsed tomorrow and we had to go back to making 'Doctor Who' on a normal BBC budget, we'd all rally round and make it and suddenly stories would become claustrophobic ghost stories, and a lot of people would like that very much.

"So I'm not saying you have to have this happen, but while it's happening elsewhere I think it's unfair that it doesn't happen to 'Doctor Who' and it does open up stories that are now sometimes on a vast scale."