Actress Jodie Whittaker bid her farewell to “Doctor Who” last year, her Thirteenth Doctor dying and regenerating on a clifftop into the Fourteenth Doctor – who happens to look just like an older version of Tenth Doctor (David Tennant).
Along with her exit, also out is showrunner Chris Chibnall who took over the show during her era after inheriting it from Russell T. Davies who showran during the Eccleston and Tennant eras, and Steven Moffat who did so during the Smith and Capaldi eras. Davies is returning to take over for both Tennant’s brief return to the role and the incoming new Fifteenth Doctor played by Ncuti Gatwa.
His return is being seen as something of a righting of the ship as the Chibnall era introduced some controversial choices from wiping out the Time Lords to the whole ‘Timeless Child’ backstory for The Doctor. Others see it as the show trying to effectively erase the events of that era.
What does Davies say? Writing in his regular column for the official Doctor Who Magazine October issue (via Radio Times), Davies addressed the talk with his usual fun sensibility:
“Oh my God, the TARDIS, the Jodie exterior, she has NOT been erased, and yet by not erasing her, are we erasing the argument that she’s been erased and therefore this is an act of erasure, IS IT?”
In other words, he’s not taking the talk very seriously at all. This marks a contrast to his answer in a prior issue of the magazine where he addressed the Fourteenth Doctor regenerating complete with his new costume – a first for the franchise.
In that instance he offered a lengthy answer addressing how the move was safeguard Doctor Who from online hysteria over drag and gender identity:
“I was very certain that I didn’t want David to appear in Jodie’s costume. I think the notion of men dressing in ‘women’s clothes’, the notion of drag, is very delicate. ’m a huge fan of that culture and the dignity of that, it’s truly a valuable thing, but it has to be done with immense thought and respect. With respect to Jodie and her Doctor, I think it can look like mockery when a straight man wears her clothes. To put a great big six-foot Scotsman into them looks like we’re taking the mickey.”
That indicates that on the issues that he thinks matters, Davies takes things into careful consideration. Davies is said to be currently looking over footage from the new season which was shot over the first half of the year and concluded filming in July.
The three Tennant specials will air in November, with Gatwa getting a Christmas/New Year special and a further eight episodes in 2024. The series will air on the BBC in the UK and through the Disney+ streaming service internationally.
