BBC declares that Doctor Who is 'going nowhere'
BBC Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips gave an update on the future of Doctor Who at the Edinburgh TV Festival insisting the sci-fi show is "going nowhere".
Doctor Who is "going nowhere", the BBC's Chief Content Officer has claimed.
Fans of the corporation's sci-fi series - affectionately nicknamed Whovians - feared the show faced an uncertain future due to falling ratings and the departure of the Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa, 32, in the finale of the programme’s 15th series in May.
Since then, the BBC and Disney+ - which co-funded the last two series of Doctor Who - have remained tight-lipped about the show's future, but now the broadcaster's Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips has given an assurance that the BBC is committed to the time travel show.
Asked if the BBC would be willing to keep the show going if the streaming service pulled out, Kate Phillips said at the Edinburgh TV Festival: "Absolutely.
"Any Whovians out there, rest assured, Doctor Who is going nowhere.
"Disney has been a great partnership, but going forward, with or without Disney, Doctor Who will still be on the BBC."
Pressed on when the BBC will make an announcement about Doctor Who - which began in 1963, was cancelled in 1989 and then revived in 2005 - Philips answered: "Soon, don't worry."
Later in the session at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Lindsay Salt, appeared on the stage and backed up Philips' comments about the show's future, and insisted the BBC was "committed" to the programme.
She said: "There's no update at the moment, but honestly, we will share as soon as we do have an update.
"The BBC is committed to the brand. For drama, it's the biggest brand for the under-35-year-olds.
"So it's very important to us and we're committed."
Ncuti - who took over the controls of the TARDIS in 2022 - left Doctor Who in June after two seasons, citing he was "getting old and my body was tired".
The show has received criticism on social media for its apparent "woke" and "boring" storylines and focusing too much on diversity, with the inclusion of trans and non-binary characters.
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies - who was responsible for bringing the show back to screens in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor - previously said he did not know about the show's future, and complained about the show's "online warriors" who criticise the show for its apparent wokeness.
Russell, 62, told BBC Radio 2: "What you might call diversity, I just call an open door. Someone always brings up matters of diversity.
"And there are online warriors accusing us of diversity and wokeness and involving messages and issues."
