Is the Future of ‘Doctor Who’ in Jeopardy?

If you believe the British tabloids, the latest iteration of Doctor Who will soon take a spin in the TARDIS for the last time.

This week, The Sun reported that the BBC is putting Doctor Who on pause and that Ncuti Gatwahas exited the sci-fi series’ title role after a “ratings nosedive.”

The outlet blames Doctor Who’s dip in the ratings on “woke storylines” and claiming — without providing evidence — that “fans have turned off amid plots about incels and characters such as nonbinary alien.”

And The Sun reports not only that Gatwa is leaving the series after his second season on the show, but that Disney+ will stop serving as a co-production partner and that the BBC will buy time to consider its options by not depicting the Time Lord regenerating into a new body in the upcoming season finale.

Plus, The Sun claims the BBC is “incredibly disappointed” that Gatwa pulled out of his gig announcing the U.K. jury scores at the Eurovision Song Contest, a decision attributed to “unforeseen circumstances.” A source told the site, “His withdrawal was incredibly embarrassing. It caps what has been a largely depressing tenure in the TARDIS for Ncuti.”

Michael Buckner/Getty Images

For its part, the BBC is keeping mum on Doctor Who’s future and dismissing those tabloid reports as speculation. “As we have previously stated, the decision on Season 3 will be made after Season 2 airs, and any other claims are just pure speculation,” the network said in a statement. “The deal with Disney+ was for 26 episodes — and we still have an entire spinoff, The War Between the Land and the Sea, to air. And as for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines.”

Citing seven-day figures from the United Kingdom’s official TV ratings body, Deadline reports that the first four episodes of Gatwa’s Season 2 averaged 3.1 million viewers, down from 3.9 million for his Season 1 and down from 5 million for Jodie Whittaker’s final season as the Doctor. The site does note, however, that these are only seven-day figures and not the 28-day figures that broadcasters and streamers prefer, but says that the final ratings will likely confirm the downturn.

Related

Will 'Doctor Who' & Spinoff 'The War Between the Land and the Sea' Cross Over?

Also, as Deadline adds, the BBC has denied reports that Gatwa was fired from Doctor Who — “Whilst we never comment on the future of the Doctor, any suggestion that Ncuti Gatwa has been ‘axed’ is pure fiction,” a network spokesperson told RadioTimes.com — but hasn’t denied rumors that the actor has quit the show.

Russell T. Davies, Doctor Who’s showrunner, told the BBC children’s show Newsround in April there “might be a pause” before the next season. “I kind of know that the Doctor’s reached the status of, like, Robin Hood,” he said. “Sometimes there might be a pause, and during that pause, the viewers of Newsround now will grow up a few years and start writing stories, and they’ll bring it back,” he said. “So I have absolute faith that that will survive because I am living proof of it, and that’s what happens to good ideas. No good idea ever dies.”

Doctor Who, Season 2 Finale, Saturday, May 31, Disney+