BBC Wants Doctor Who Back in 2028/29, as Search Begins For New Production Team
· IGN
Doctor Who fans will need to wait until at least 2028 or 2029 for the BBC's flagship sci-fi series to return.
That's according to official documentation set out by the BBC today, as it begins its process to find a fresh production team to take on the long-running series.
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As previously announced, the BBC is beginning a "tendering" process where it takes pitches from various production studios to pick up the franchise and produce new episodes. As of today, this process has now officially begun, with the BBC setting out its own expectations for the series' future and criteria that any production crew will need to meet.
The headline here is the BBC's stated aim to air new episodes of Doctor Who in 2028/29 — a date that's still years away but still feels somewhat ambitious. There's also a sense of caution, as the tender would be for a single season of episodes, to only be extended to a second season "at BBC's discretion."
This situation follows the disastrous end to Doctor Who's most recent era, which collapsed after Disney chose not to renew its co-funding agreement, prompting star Ncuti Gatwa to leave in a reshot ending to the most recent season. Plans to wrap up the series' remaining narrative threads fell through, too, with an announced Christmas special from showrunner Russell T. Davies later confirmed to be scrapped.
Unsurprisingly, the BBC has stated that it wants to continue making Doctor Who as a multi-episode series (so no Doctor Who movies yet, then). There's also mention of the need to produce specials, which strongly suggests that the BBC wants to bring back the series' regular Christmas episode slot. (Hey, maybe Russell T. Davies will get invited back for that? Or, perhaps not.)
Digging a little deeper, the BBC has stated that it will only consider bids that meet at least two regional Ofcom critera. This refers to a list of considerations set out to ensure the BBC's output represents the whole of the U.K., grouped into three main categories: that the production has a substantive base inside the U.K. (but outside Greater London), and that 70% of production spend plus at least 50% of off-screen talent must fall under the same criteria.
Specifically, the BBC states, it "has a preference for a Wales qualification," reflecting the production base and cultural home of the series for the past few decades. Finally, the deadline for production companies to submit their tender bids is on October 1 — not long away at all.
All of that said, this first stage of the process requires only a three-page pitch document, with a brief editorial outline for the series and ideas for specials. Shortlisted bids will then be taken forward to the next stage of the process, which will last around six months in total.
Guidelines set out by the BBC state that the series must include a companion character to "serve as an access point for audiences whilst also challenging, supporting, and influencing the Doctor." Existing villains can also be encorporated, though the BBC states that it is keen to "not be overly reliant on existing Doctor Who lore." No preference is stated for the format of the season's storytelling, however, which could form one long story arc or "monster of the week" standalone episodes.
A timetable put forth by the BBC notes that interviews with production companies will take place by the end of January 2027, with the BBC's decision to be made in March. While several production companies have expressed interest so far, it's believed that the frontrunner to win the tender will be the BBC's own commercial arm, BBC Studios. Certainly, the documentation laid out today suggests the process might be more complicated for a U.S. company to navigate.
If all runs smoothly and a production company is found by next March, this would leave slightly more than 18 months for the writing, casting and filming of new episodes in time for a 2028 airing (let alone the need for post-production). My money would be on a 2029 return, but time will tell. Last month, former Doctor Who writer and actor Mark Gatiss believed that, despite this process, the show would likely not return anytime soon, in order to let the franchise rest for a while longer.