‘A poisoned chalice’: will Doctor Who survive Russell T Davies’s exit?

The BBC has abandoned the planned Doctor Who Christmas special and ended its partnership with Russell T Davies and the Bad Wolf production company, a development many fans had already suspected. The lack of visible filming for a programme that usually requires lengthy post-production added to the sense that something was amiss.

The corporation said the show remains an important part of its portfolio and wants to ensure that “when the Tardis lands once more, it does so in all its glory”. Davies posted on Instagram: “Now I’m as excited as anyone to see what comes next!” Davies’s return in 2021 and the 2023 anniversary episodes that brought back David Tennant and introduced Ncuti Gatwa were notable moments, but Gatwa’s run has coincided with viewing figures that dipped to the lowest in the show’s history, albeit in a very different streaming landscape.

The series’ biggest audiences came in the 1970s, when there were only three channels and ITV experienced a strike, making direct comparisons difficult.

United Kingdom

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