Doctor Who Writer Suspects End Of Era For Long-Running Sci-Fi Series After BBC Overhaul

Published Aug 19, 2026, 3:26 PM EDT Adam has been writing in the entertainment news space for over a decade. Beginning his career of covering film and TV at CinemaBlend, he has also appeared on The Flash Podcast and done several radio spots. Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss predicts the show will go on another extended break. It’s been over a year since the Doctor Who season 15 finale aired, and until this past June, the plan had been for the series to resume with a Christmas special at the end of the year. Then it was announced that this plan had been scrapped following showrunner Russell T. Davies and production company Bad Wolf’s exit, and the BBC has instead put Doctor Who out for competitive tender. However, Gatiss, who wrote nine episodes of Doctor Who between 2005 and 2017, suspects that this plan won’t be carried out either. In an interview with Radio Times, Gatiss mused that the series’ revival era is coming to an end. He explained that while “the fact that Doctor Who had a second act of 21 years is absolutely amazing,” he thinks, “maybe it's just time for a break, because all good things come to an end.” Gatiss recalled that the BBC previously put Doctor Who out for competitive tender in 1989, but it “just quietly didn't happen,” and he believes that will happen again. The writer continued: I feel very doomy, but it's true. It's fine. 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. Doctor Who originally aired from 1963 to 1989, and the TV movie that aired in 1996 starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor was intended to be a backdoor pilot for the show’s return. Instead, Doctor Who didn’t resume until 2005, this time with Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor as the lead. That run continued until the season 15 finale, which bid farewell to Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, and saw him regenerating into a form portrayed by Billie Piper, who previously played companion Rose Tyler. Although the BBC’s competitive tender process for Doctor Who hasn’t officially opened yet, it’s noted in the interview that BBC Studios and Dean Devlin's Electric Entertainment have both expressed interest in placing bids. That leaves the timetable for the show's return uncertain, whether it be several years from now or, like Gatiss predicts, much longer. That said, the Doctor Who franchise as a whole continues to expand with audio dramas, comic books, novels, and other media. In addition to his Doctor Who writing work, Gatiss has also played multiple roles on the series. First, he played antagonist Professor Lazarus in the Tenth Doctor era episode “The Lazarus Experiment.” That was followed by minor appearances as Danny Boy (a vocal role) and Gantok during the Eleventh Doctor era. Finally, Gatiss co-starred opposite Peter Capaldi, David Bradley, and Pearl Mackie in the 2017 Christmas special “Twice Upon a Time,” which was Capaldi’s final outing as the Twelfth Doctor. Doctor Who seasons 1–13 of the revival era can be streamed in the United States on AMC+. The 60th anniversary specials and Gatwa’s seasons are still accessible on Disney+. Release Date 2024 - 2025-00-00 Network BBC One Directors Alex Pillai, Peter Hoar, Ben Chessell, Julie Anne Robinson, Jamie Donoughue, Amanda Brotchie, Dylan Holmes Williams Cast Millie Gibson Ruby Sunday Writers Steven Moffat, Pete McTighe, Kate Herron, Inua Ellams, Juno Dawson Franchise(s) Doctor Who / Whoniverse Creator(s) Donald Wilson, Sydney Newman