In the wake of the BBC announcing that this year’s “Doctor Who” Christmas special has been cancelled, and showrunner Russell T Davies and producer Bad Wolf exiting the show, the UK industry has weighed in.
Deadline reports that, according to industry insiders, Davies and Bad Wolf agreed with the BBC to cancel the special, as with six months to go until airing, there were just too many issues to get it into production in time.
The trade adds that all are aware the series is in need of a major creative overhaul, something that is expected to take years and “potentially keeping the show off TV until 2028 at the earliest,” and even that is being optimistic.
The BBC previously announced that it will embark on a competitive tender for the next phase of the series, with producers to potentially pitch in a bake-off-style process to regenerate the sci-fi series.
However, the trade also spoke with four respected UK drama producers and all had serious reservations ranging from funding, rights and resource management concerns to issues with the character “remaining relevant to young audiences” and the show having lost its way creatively.
A big part of the problem is with the Disney fallout; it’s likely no major studio or streamer will jump in. That means producing on a budget above $4 million per episode will be near impossible.
