Will ‘Doctor Who’ Return? BBC Boss Addresses Show’s Future

The future of Doctor Who — at least part of it — remains up in the air. From the 60th anniversary specials in 2023 and on, including the upcoming spinoff The War Between the Land and the Sea, the series has been a co-production of the BBC and Disney+. But should that continue to be the case, there would have to be a renewal of the deal, and there’s no word yet on whether that will happen.

But based on what Kate Phillips, the BBC’s new chief content officer, has now said at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Doctor Who fans don’t have to necessarily worry that the show is done. Rather, it’s just a question of a continued partnership with Disney.

“Rest assured, Doctor Who is going nowhere. Disney has been a great partnership — and it continues with The War Between the Land and the Sea next year — but going forward, with or without Disney, Doctor Who will still be on the BBC … The Tardis is going nowhere,” Phillips said (via Deadline). The BBC is also “committed” to the show, said Lindsay Salt, the BBC’s director of scripted.

Where Doctor Who could land in the future (and air in the United States, since it was released on Disney+ here via that deal) isn’t the only thing up in the air. There’s also the matter of what happened onscreen during its last episode.

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9 Burning Questions for 'Doctor Who' Season 3

The Season 2 finale shockingly ended up being Ncuti Gatwa‘s last as the Doctor. Usually, viewers know a regeneration is coming (and who will be taking over as the Time Lord) heading into an episode. Such was not the case this time. Instead, the episode featured the Doctor regenerating — and into a character played by Billie Piper. It’s important to note that the credits did not feature the usual “Introducing Billie Piper as the Doctor” as has previously been the case. Rather, they just read, “Introducing Billie Piper.” Piper previously starred on Doctor Who as Rose Tyler, companion to the Ninth (Christopher Eccleston) and Tenth Doctors (David Tennant). She could very well somehow be playing Rose again, Bad Wolf — who she became after looking into the heart of the TARDIS — could be coming into play, or something else could be going on.

Plus, the revival era — starting with Eccleston in 2005 and running through Jodie Whittaker‘s seasons — is no longer available to stream on HBO Max in the United States. We’ll have to see where that library ends up.

What are your predictions for Doctor Who‘s future — both when it comes to how the show will continue and what’s going on onscreen? Let us know in the comments section below.