Doctor Who Opened Up to New Production Bids as BBC Plans Next Phase

Image: BBC Press

By Jon Donnis

The BBC has confirmed that Doctor Who will be opened up to outside production companies, with different studios invited to submit proposals to continue the series. The idea is straightforward. Different creative teams will pitch how they would handle the show, and the BBC will decide who takes it forward, with the intention of securing its long term future.

A planned Christmas episode has also thankfully been dropped. The BBC, Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf have agreed not to proceed with the special, instead focusing on building the next full series so that the return of the programme comes as part of a more complete relaunch rather than a one-off episode.

The BBC retains full ownership of Doctor Who, while BBC Studios continues to manage international distribution, licensing and commercial activity. Further details of the new production arrangements are expected to follow.

Alongside these structural changes, audience figures across recent eras have become part of a wider debate about the show’s woke direction. Under Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor between 2018 and 2021, Series 11 is stated at 7.96 million viewers, Series 12 at 5.40 million, and Series 13, Flux, at 5.16 million. Under Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor in 2024, Series 14 is stated at 3.95 million viewers.

It is pretty clear that those numbers are taken as evidence of a significant decline over time, particularly when compared across eras. That view is often tied to arguments about the creative direction of the franchise, including claims that the show has moved towards woke identity politics, and that this shift has alienated a huge part of its traditional audience, that just wanted good, fun sci fi, and not to have political agendas forced down their throats.

What is clear from the numbers provided is that the show has moved through a noticeable drop in reported audience figures across the periods cited, while now entering a structural reset in how it is produced and commissioned going forward, we can only hope that a competent company takes over, and delivers what the people want.