BBC opens Doctor WHO to competitive tender as show’s future reviewed
The BBC announced it will put Doctor WHO into competitive tender, opening the show to bids from external production companies after the current creative team led by Russell T Davies exits. The corporation said it will review WHO produces the series, formally inviting rival companies to propose how they would run future seasons and specials. The tender is intended to secure Doctor WHO's long-term future and finances, a move that could change casting, tone, filming locations, and scheduling for the flagship drama.
BREAKING: "After careful consideration, the BBC, Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf have collectively decided not to go ahead with the previously announced Doctor Who Christmas episode. www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
Scott Bryan45"This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans, but in order to set the show up for future series, it was decided that rather than bridge the gap with a one off special, we are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show..."
Leftback8So Scott, how do you feel now about saying out loud 'I wish we were talking about something other than politics' so close to that monkey's paw?
thomasakent.bsky.social4Was looking forward to Piper as ‘the lead’ (whatever that might have meant). Ah well… we’ll see what happens over the next few years I guess.
David Glover-Aoki4Revert back to Sylvester McCoy, I say. Let’s see him regenerate into Sue Perkins or Dawn French.
Chris Denton3Shocking but not entirely unexpected news. Nice press release sugar-coating, but the real story here is that Doctor Who has been axed.
Cliff3American Who fan asking what the hell does that mean? Over here a “tender” is an unsauced piece of fried boneless chicken breast, bigger than a goujon.
The Smart-Casual Gamer2As one of like five people who would have happily watched several series with a Piper Doctor, I will now be amazed if she gets even a single episode.
Eric Reese2The word that consistently defined RTD's return to Doctor Who for me was "careless". He'd consistently tee up big ideas and just whiff on the follow-through, so it goes to figure it would end like this.
James H-B2"collectively decided" That probably translates to "he walked before he was pushed"
Amazing how Doctor Who fans can read a statement that says "This year we're looking to commission a new series of Doctor Who" and interpret it as "Doctor Who has been cancelled"
Eddie Robson67The BBC as a broadcaster doesn't make programmes now. BBC Studios is a separate entity. So it needs to commission a production company to make Doctor Who, as Bad Wolf have been doing. Putting it out to tender isn't some kind of abdication of responsibility, it's just... how broadcasting works.
Jonny Morris16Meanwhile in a backstreet in Acton...
David Quantick13Doctor Who fans be like "we love he show for its radical views and acceptance of the new NO NOT LIKE THAT."
scott dagostino10A lot of DOCTOR WHO fans really need to learn and understand “the self-fulfilling prophecy.” Chibnall understood the show needed a soft reboot and fresh ideas but the nonstop shrieking and moaning during his era (and the next) made a lot of casual viewers feel they didn’t need to bother then 🤷♂️
David K. Barnes8Is it? Even speaking as creators in the industry, we know it's a desert out there. There's no money. It's never felt harder to get things made. A notoriously expensive show like Doctor Who being put out for auction doesn't seem like an ideal situation?
Tom Hunter7Announcing then cancelling the special was stupid though & even more so if nothing had been done about it
Matt7Because we remember 1989 when they never cancelled it and it was over 6 years later before we got anywhere and 16 before it was back as an ongoing series
Iain Clark6There are so many fucking awful things happening right now and I refuse to get angry about an announcement that they want to make more Doctor Who.
Keith Say 50dw506Old people like me remember that’s what they said last time I suppose 🤷♂️
Philip Marsh5I think there are a bunch of fans who want it to be cancelled so that they can say that they were right about it.
Pete Dillon-Trenchard5I take your point, but the story is that the BBC doesn't have the money or appetite to make it themselves, and they've ditched Bad Wolf, leaving the show on this weird, sour note and hoping someone will come along and pay to resuscitate it. Good things might come of this, but it's a shaky outlook.
waltydunlop4I have a memory of some people responding to news of a definite commission for another couple of seasons - was it early on in the Moffat years? - like it was the end of everything. I was just thinking "well, that's nice, we've got some more seasons guaranteed, what's wrong with everybody?"
Nick Barlow4I'm assuming we'll get similar stories from the same news sites that were claiming two weeks ago that a Sixteenth Doctor announcement was imminent.
Roeland van Zeijst 🇬🇱4The BBC has lied about this before... Also, viewers who were invested in the increasingly messy Disney era Whoniverse were probably hoping to get some resolution but it looks like most of the plot-threads will never be resolved. It's probably for the best if they find some way to do a softish reboot
Hannah Cooper3The fact we were told “something is happening” and now we’ve been told “actually it’s not” has made many people sceptical about how soon we will see anything. “Cancelled” is a big jump but I think it’s realistic to expect a relatively large gap - at least 3 years I reckon.
Matthew Smith3Because it reads the same as a struggling company issuing a statement that says, "We're really excited about the future with (INSERT NEW CORPORATE PAYMASTER HERE) at the helm." Anybody who can read even slightly between the lines knows that everything's going down the tubes.
lilbitwytchie.bsky.social3'Looking to commission' is very different to 'there will be a Christmas Special', and with the latter now not actually happening, I can understand people being concerned, tbh 🤷♀️
Zarius2Knew this would be the cope. See ya in 16.
AdamT2The Christmas Special has been cancelled, and there's no schedule published on when the next episodes will be made. We're starting into an abyss.
Next showrunner of Doctor Who to be chosen by national lottery. The winner, weeping and chained up in front of tv cameras on a Saturday night, must vow to undo all the Chibnall episodes and the whole Billie Doctor thing, in a single 45 min special or their family/pets will be shot.
James Alistair Henry33'New Doctors will continue regenerating until morale improves'
Edward Rigby3I think I've got it...
💙 🇺🇦 NomadicWriter (Fritha Malcouronne) 🇺🇦 💙2Maybe I’m in a minority, but I rather liked Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. Thought Chibnall did a good job. Separately, haven’t forgotten the hatred Steven Moffat copped when he was showrunner, only for so-called fans to call en masse for him to come back later on.
How do you know if someone's a massive Doctor Who fan? They absolutely hate Doctor Who.
Donna Rees7Who'd want to be Doctor Who, it's more toxic than being England manager.
Paul Putner5A few years ago I met a young actor who said he adored Doctor Who. I asked if he liked the original series. He said he's barely watched any of it regarding it "old and creaky". Ok, fair enough, he's young. What did he think about the revived series? "The only good era was Tennant, the rest? Meh."
Hogne Bø Pettersen 🏳️🌈2Oh, so just' like Star Wars fans, then? Nobody hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans
Well! It's all changing with Dr Who! No Christmas special, Russell T Davies is out, and the show is going out for tender - so it looks like we're a couple of years away from a new episode at least! What do you think is coming next? #DoctorWho #WibblyWobbly @whoculture.bsky.social
ChrisTrekkin 💜🖖6It definitely feels like we're in a new post-Survival era now, minus the clean break that Survival ended on To straight-up lie about having a Christmas special written seems like... a choice But I'm all for the series coming back when it's 100% ready to come back
Kevin Hawley6The line, “Come on Ace! We’ve got work to do!”, comes to mind.
Cody6I feel like sci-fi franchises in general are going to be up in the air for a little while, they’ve always been expensive in comparison to other genres, the global economy is very unstable right now and that means people will be less likely to take risks. It’s like post-2008 all over again.
John Wells4While I’m understandably upset, I also think it’s probably the right decision. For the past year, things have been really uncertain and messed up, with all sorts of rumours cropping up. We now not only know for certain, I’m also reassured because I was around for the last “break”. It will be back!🥲
Sean4I was just annoyed with RTD after the way it ended but now with that Instagram post, I’m actually angry at the flippant disregard he has. Outright saying he deliberately misled everyone and then trying to twist it into virtue is kinda galling.
Marcsharp824It's 1989 all over again. And it ended on a frustrating cliffhanger. For me, the show is a mess, a break is definitely needed. But that's just my own opinion, I happily admit I'm in a minority on this one.
Jeff Hendrix3There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke, and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace – we've got work to do!
Malcolm Wood3It’s not totally unexpected news. it’s not like the 80s. I think Amazon will pick it up or maybe Netflix. It needs some fresh blood.
Phillip W. Serna, Double Bass, Baryton & Violas da Gamba2I was not impressed when they brought back RTD & David Tennant (although the e anniversary specials were okay). A complete debacle.
Richard Swift2Bet they try Steven Moffat again? He has had less success post Who, would be cheaper than Davies, wrote two of the more interesting episodes of the Disney era, but has the nostalgia safety that Davies also had. Use him to tie up the Tennant/Piper lose ends while buying time to find a new voice.
Ant2does this mean that we're getting another Wilderness years? At least there's the CBeebies animated show for the kids.
Five years working in Forbidden Planet in the 90s taught me that Doctor Who is, by an order of magnitude, the most annoying fandom and nothing has happened in the last 30 years to change my mind
Tits McGee14An ex of mine was massively into Doctor Who and took it incredibly seriously, while denying he would even be classified as a fan The first thing he did upon waking every day was to log on and check the Digital Spy forums to see if any lost episodes had been found But sure, not a 'fan'
ian.fenrisgames14my biggest numbers ever Tweet was on the announcement of Jodie Whitaker : "Whoflake: typically male Dr Who fan who will loudly decry any and all changes that don't meet their own internal version of the characters, especially if those characters aren't white dudes."
Well, the Doctor Who news is disappointing but not entirely unexpected, given the state of the BBC and the UK TV industry in general.
Lou Morgan5Does feel a bit of a mess, though, doesn’t it?
Margaret Brown4So we need to cheer ourselves up by buying Doctor Who stuff from that auction
Michael Mills3Yeah, Doctor Who is very much the dye in the water.
Tim Worthington3Apparently it's alright because Tip Toe.
Paul Arthur3TV is having a tough time for sure but it does feel like Bad Wolf significantly mismanaged their time at the helm.
Babelfish Soup3giant sigh from the other side of the planet. Goddamnit.
Bruh what do you mean you hadn't even written a script. You gave us hope and shattered it. With this and the Stargate project being cancelled and Star Trek shows ending... What a horrible year to be a scifi fan.
Jocelyn is short for Electryn Joltstep5Masterful gambit milord, now you can concentrate on both sidesing trans rights with your dinner party guests
Dave Kirkby2Slap a shock twist on the end of the series and pray someone picks it up rather than plan what comes next. What a great tactic.
geobullet2He could at least tidy up his mess before calling it quits instead of fumbling the pass to the next showrunner and doctor now have to pick up the pieces. He had some good and some bad with the recent seasons, i'm happy we got it, but i would rather have seen the show in new hands after Chibnall
