Please wait...
Please wait...

Russell T Davies returns as Doctor Who showrunner 16 years after reboot

Russell T Davies

Russell T Davies will return as showrunner on the BBC’s classic sci-fi drama Doctor Who after launching a revival of the show 16 years ago.

The BBC first ordered a reboot of the drama in 2005, which was helmed by Davies, before the It’s a Sin creator left in 2009.

Since then, there have been 12 seasons of Doctor Who, starring actors such as David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker, as well as two spin-off series, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Current showrunner Chris Chibnall will leave the series next year, with Davies to take over the reins for the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who in 2023.

Bad Wolf will also join BBC Studios as the show’s coproducer. The UK- and US-based prodco was set up in 2015 by Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, the former BBC execs who had previously worked on the Doctor Who reboot and Torchwood.

Davies said: “I’m beyond excited to be back on my favourite show. But we’re time-travelling too fast, there’s a whole series of Jodie Whittaker’s brilliant Doctor for me to enjoy, with my friend and hero Chris Chibnall at the helm – I’m still a viewer for now.”

Chibnall said: “It’s monumentally exciting and fitting that Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary will see one of Britain’s screenwriting diamonds return home. Russell built the baton that is about to be handed back to him. Doctor Who, the BBC, the screen industry in Wales – and let’s be honest, everyone in the whole world – have so many reasons to be very excited indeed about what lies ahead.”

RELATED ARTICLES

Please wait...