Steven Moffat insists producers are already 'lining themselves up' for Doctor Who
Doctor Who is being put out to competitive tender, and now former showrunner Steven Moffat has given an update on the proceedings.
Steven Moffat says Doctor Who already has producers "lining themselves up to try" and land the franchise.
The iconic BBC show has been put out to tender by the broadcaster, and now former showrunner Steven has insisted the future is looking bright with some potential companies hoping to get involved with the next era.
He told the Peter Purves Podcast: "There are already people lining themselves up to try and get the show.
“The timing of it I’m not sure and I really, genuinely, would not wish to rush anyone.”
Steven insisted he has no doubt Doctor Who will "come back" in the future, although he hinted that fans should expect something "different" when that happens.
He added: "Do I think it will come back? I know it will. It will be absolutely fine. It’s too big. Its a monster of a show.
“It will be back and it will be different and it will be new.”
Last month, the BBC announced that Doctor Who is being put out to competitive tender, and the planned Christmas special has been cancelled.
The broadcaster said in a statement: "As part of securing the next phase of the show for future generations, and in line with the BBC’s Charter and Agreement requirements, the BBC will put Doctor Who out to competitive tender this year.
"Doctor Who remains an important part of the BBC and this tender underpins the BBC’s continued commitment to Doctor Who ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come.
"After careful consideration, the BBC, Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf have collectively decided not to go ahead with the previously announced Doctor Who Christmas episode.
"This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans, but in order to set the show up for future series, it was decided that rather than bridge the gap with a one off special, we are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show which ensures that when the TARDIS lands once more, it does so in all its glory."
TV producer and presenter Richard Osman, who has backed Saturday Night Live UK's George Fouracres to be Ncuti Gatwa's successor, recently insisted that being put out to tender is "the opposite of saying we're going to rest it".
However, he noted on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast: "As soon as you say you're putting it out to tender, you can't make the Christmas special, because the canon of the show will be affected so much by what they were about to do with [the regeneration of] Ncuti Gatwa to Billie Piper.
"You can't lay that on companies who are working on where they'll take the Doctor Who universe.
"If you're about to drop an enormous Christmas-shaped bomb in the middle of that, it makes that process impossible for everyone."
