Russell T Davies reveals Doctor Who secrets in new memoir
The acclaimed television writer’s new memoir lifts the lid on abandoned Doctor Who adventures, rejected Hollywood offers, uncomfortable encounters with powerful producers and the personal struggles behind his most celebrated programmes.
Russell T Davies has revealed how Doctor Who struggled from the outset of its Disney partnership, Billie Piper broke down during filming and a series of abandoned scripts left him heartbroken – in a memoir exposing the personal and professional turmoil behind some of British television’s biggest programmes.
The Welsh screenwriter, 63, makes the disclosures in The Queerest of Folk, which charts his career from Granada Television to reviving Doctor Who in 2005 and returning to oversee its latest incarnation.
Russell also reflects on creating Queer as Folk and the acclaimed Channel 4 drama It’s a Sin, his experiences as a gay man in Manchester and the death of his husband, Andrew Smith, in 2018.
The book includes encounters with Hollywood executives, previously undisclosed casting decisions and his fears about personal safety.
Russell said of the BBC science-fiction drama’s partnership with Disney+: “It just didn’t work on Disney+. Simple as that. To be honest, it didn’t work from day one. It’s an old show. It’s not particularly well known in America. It’s never been on the level of Star Wars or Star Trek, and maybe it didn’t suit supersizing.”
The arrangement had brought international distribution and additional financial backing to the programme, beginning with its 60th anniversary celebrations in 2023 and continuing into the era of Ncuti Gatwa, 33, as the Doctor.
Russell admitted he initially feared an American streaming company might ruin the series, with Netflix, Amazon and Disney all considered as potential partners.
He subsequently discovered that Disney executives were unfamiliar with some of the programme’s most celebrated episodes, including Blink, written by Steven Moffat, 64, and featuring the Weeping Angels.
He wrote: “As we began to work with Disney, we realised they didn’t know the slightest thing about Doctor Who – only what I’d told them.”
Russell also described the complicated release schedule, which included anniversary specials, a Christmas episode and a subsequent gap before the new series.
He added: “But no one could ever come up with a better, more financially secure plan.”
The partnership’s collapse meant plans for a third series starring Ncuti were abandoned, despite several scripts having already been completed.
The memoir also revisits Billie Piper’s difficulties during the original revival of Doctor Who, when her marriage to broadcaster Chris Evans was ending.
Billie, 44, played Rose Tyler opposite Christopher Eccleston, 62, before continuing in the role alongside David Tennant, 55.
Russell recalled finding Billie in tears during preparations for the second episode, The End of the World, as her separation attracted intense press attention.
He wrote: “She was crying in a cupboard and I thought, oh, God, she’s going to leave! But she just kept going like a demon… She was a pop star, and pop stars are the hardest working people in the world.”
Billie subsequently returned to the franchise for several appearances, culminating in her surprise appearance during Ncuti’s regeneration in the 2025 finale.
Russell also tells how he was approached about rewriting the screenplay for Skyfall, the James Bond film directed by Sam Mendes, 61, but declined because he was not particularly interested in the character.
After eventually watching the film, Russell regretted his decision.
He wrote: “I’m quite sure I’d have been one of 27 writers being sacked after two months, but I still feel like the man who turned down the Beatles.”
Russell also rejected an invitation from Star Wars creator George Lucas, 82, to work on an adult television series set in the science-fiction universe.
He explained: “I didn’t want to be the science-fiction man for ever.”
Another passage describes an uncomfortable conversation with Harvey Weinstein, 74, while Russell was seeking funding for his 2016 television adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Harvey suggested casting Cara Delevingne, 34, as Hermia, but Russell said he was troubled by the producer’s manner towards his colleague Faith Penhale.
He wrote: “The amount of power he wielded was unnerving. It was hard to say no.”
Russell said he subsequently distanced himself from Harvey, whose sexual misconduct became the subject of international investigations and criminal proceedings.
And Russell revealed he keeps a kitchen knife near his front door after becoming concerned that people hostile to his work had obtained his home address.
He wrote: “There are people out there who genuinely hate what I write, and who see me as the enemy.”
His memoir, published on Thursday, also examines the legacy of It’s a Sin, his acclaimed drama about young gay men living through the HIV/AIDS crisis, alongside his decades of work bringing LGBTQ+ stories to mainstream television.
