Doctor Who is dying and our expert knows the three reasons why – do you agree?

DOCTOR Who is on its last legs and there’s three reasons why – but it can live to fight another day. That’s the opinion of our TV expert who has reported on the ailing BBC sci-fi show for years. The BBC put Doctor Who out to tenure in September after recent series under Ncuti Gatwa flopped Credit: BBC Rod McPhee thinks showrunner Russell T Davies is greatly to blame Credit: Getty We unpack the rise and fall – and future – of Doctor Who on this week’s Showbiz Fix: Uncut, where our journalists dive into the biggest stories rocking the world of celebrity. The BBC put Doctor Who out to tenure in September after more recent series flopped. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! So how have we reached this point? The Sun’s Executive TV Editor Rod McPhee said: “I think that it was a combination of three factors. “I think Doctor Who has always suffered from a certain amount of fatigue through being on our screens for too long. “It has to, by its nature, keep changing and evolving. “And unless it always goes in the right direction, it gets to a point, just as it did in 1989, where it doesn’t quite know where to go and viewers lose interest in it. “I think Russell T Davies was greatly to blame. I think it became a vanity project and an indulgence for him. Most read in TV “I think he’s a fantastic writer, a very clever man. And I think he was very well-meaning with Doctor Who. But he played a big part in ruining it. “The third element was the BBC, who have held on to Doctor Who for too long. They treat it like a family member that only needs a certain amount of care and attention. And it doesn’t. Rod McPhee unpacks the rise and fall – and future – of Doctor Who on this week’s Showbiz Fix: Uncut, where our journalists dive into the biggest stories rocking the world of celebrity “It needs TLC on a profound level to make it what it deserves to be.” The tender process follows the BBC announcing a major creative rethink of Doctor Who in June after Russell T Davies and producer Bad Wolf abandoned ship, and Disney’s co-production deal expired. Ncuti Gatwa also will not return as the Time Lord. The BBC said it hoped to find a producer to bring the series back to screens in 2028-29 and ensure the series remains “relevant, surprising, brave and inspiring for both long-standing fans and new audiences.” Rod said: “This is exactly what happened back in 1989, 1990 and just because it’s been put out to tenure doesn’t mean it’ll be back on our screens next year. “It took another 16 years before it came back in 2005. Now, do I think it will be that long this time? No, but I don’t think we’re going to be seeing it back anytime soon. “But it will return. I think Doctor Who is like James Bond. I think, you know, after James Bond ended in the 1980s, there was a lot of people saying, oh, it’s gone, it’s a vestige of another age. “And then it got reinvented under Pierce Brosnan, and then especially it got reinvented under Daniel Craig. So in the same way that Brosnan and Craig did for Bond, I think that someone else could do the same thing for Doctor Who. Watch this week’s Showbiz Fix: Uncut for more on Doctor Who, live now on The Sun’s video hub and The Sun’s showbiz YouTube. Comment now