Russell T Davies confirms 2026 Doctor Who Christmas special wasn't planned

The BBC has confirmed the 2026 Doctor Who Christmas special is not going ahead. Russell T Davies wrote on his Instagram feed that "there was no script, and no actor was ever approached to play the Doctor," calling the idea something that had been "cooked up" to stop the show's future from falling into disarray.

He also announced he is stepping down as showrunner, ending his second spell in charge, and promised a "big new future for the show" — a claim the author adds, "I'll believe it when I see it." Davies has been a pivotal figure in the show's modern history: he oversaw the 2005 revival, wrote for the Ninth and Tenth Doctors, and created The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood.

He returned to relieve Chris Chibnall after what the piece describes as a "thoroughly bland era," but his second stint struggled to match his earlier highs; even "The War Between the Land and the Sea," which the author liked, failed to make much of an impact, and the RTD2 era is now at an end.

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