'Doctor Who' Officially Gets "Doomy" Update From Former Writer

Image via BBC / courtesy Everett Collection Published Aug 20, 2026, 7:30 PM EDT Lade Omotade is a News and Features Author at Collider. She covers everything from casting announcements and streaming trends to behind-the-scenes stories and the cultural impact of today's biggest film and television franchises. Her work has also been featured on AOL and IMDb, reflecting her passion for delivering timely entertainment news, insightful analysis, and engaging features for a global audience. Sign in to your Collider account While fans still hold onto hope for Doctor Who amid the sci-fi franchise's indefinite break and reboot plans, the future doesn't look so bright. Not too long ago, the BBC officially cancelled the planned 2026 Christmas special announced last year. Showrunner Russell T. Davies also announced his exit two months ago, revealing that he had never written a script for the Christmas special, nor had any actor ever been approached to play the next Doctor. On top of that, British production company Bad Wolf, which produced the past two seasons of Doctor Who, has parted ways with the long-running television series. Amid the shake-up, several franchise veterans have expressed optimism about Doctor Who's future, as the BBC puts the series out to tender. However, Mark Gatiss, who penned nine episodes and starred in five, recently offered a "doomy" prediction, hinting that fans may be in for a longer wait than they expect. In an interview with Radio Times, when asked about his hopes for the sci-fi series' future, he admitted he believes it was "just time for a break," seeing as all good things come to an end. The tender process for Doctor Who has not yet opened, but reports confirm that two companies have already expressed interest in bidding: BBC Studios and Dean Devlin's Electric Entertainment. "I think the BBC putting it out to tender is a perfectly great idea, but we've been here before," Gatiss continued. "When it was cancelled in 1989, the BBC made a big statement saying 'We're committed to taking Doctor Who through the '90s.' They put it out to tender then, and then it just quietly didn't happen, and I have a feeling maybe that's what's going to happen." Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one. 🏜️Paul Atreides 🖖Capt. Kirk ✊Princess Leia 🔦Ellen Ripley 🔥Max Rockatansky FIND YOUR HERO → 01 How do you lead when the stakes couldn't be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you. AI absorb everything — every variable, every pattern — and move only when I know the path forward. 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The answer is the most honest thing about you. ADestiny — or something that feels so much like it that the difference no longer matters. BThe people on my ship — their faces, their trust, the fact that they're counting on me. CThe belief that what we're fighting for is worth every sacrifice, including this one. DSheer refusal to let it win — whatever it is. I don't stop. That's just who I am. EI'm not sure anymore. But the road is still there, and I'm still on it. REVEAL MY HERO → Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible. Paul AtreidesYou carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you're capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become. You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you. 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You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn't there. When it counts, you don't flinch. That's everything. Max RockatanskyYou have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril. You don't ask for help, don't need validation, and don't wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply. Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it's earned in silence and tested in action, not in words. Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting. That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ Will 'Doctor Who' Ever Return? As many recall, Doctor Who went on hiatus in 1989 after a 26-year run and didn't return as a regular television series until Russell T. Davies and the BBC revived it in 2005. That 16-year gap is often referred to as "the wilderness years," during which the Doctor's adventures continued not on television but through comics, novels, and audio plays. Because of this, Gatiss admittedly feels "very doomy" about the whole situation but also believes Doctor Who will be back again. Nevertheless, he maintains that the sci-fi adventure universe needs a "proper break" so fans will miss it, and there will be fresh ideas for a nostalgic reboot. "I think the fact it's come back so successfully means it will come back again. It's not a one-off 26-year (sic) run, but I think maybe it's just time for a proper break, because you want people to miss it and have fresh ideas, and probably someone to run it who grew up with David Tennant as the Doctor, rather than Tom Baker." Stay tuned to Collider for more information about the future of Doctor Who. Release Date 1963 - 1989-00-00 Network BBC One, BBC Television Directors Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Peter Moffatt, Richard Martin, Chris Clough, Lennie Mayne, Pennant Roberts, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Graeme Harper, Gerald Blake, Hugh David, Mervyn Pinfield, Rodney Bennett, Waris Hussein, John Gorrie Cast Barry Jackson Gordon Lowery Writers Robert Holmes, Bob Baker, Malcolm Hulke, Dave Martin, David Whitaker, Brian Hayles, Robert Sloman, David Fisher, Dennis Spooner, Terrance Dicks, Eric Saward, John Lucarotti, Don Houghton, Chris Boucher, Ian Stuart Black, Louis Marks, Peter Grimwade, Henry Lincoln, Johnny Byrne, Mervyn Haisman, Jane Baker, Pip Baker, Robert Banks Stewart, Anthony Read Creator(s) Donald Wilson, Sydney Newman