Russell T Davies planning on staying with Doctor Who for “years”

It may have been one of the biggest shock returns to Doctor Who in its 60 years history, but fans were certainly in high spirits when it was revealed that Russell T Davies was returning to the show for a second turn in charge of the sci-fi programme.

Previous Davies had been responsible for rebooting the programme in 2005, first with Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston and latterly with Tenth Doctor David Tennant, and bringing the show to a whole new audience who had been deprived of the BBC hit since it was cancelled in 1989.

And since returning there have been many exciting developments – not least a deal between Disney and the BBC which appears to have brought more money to the show and will allow an expansion of the programme with spin-offs, but also the return of David Tennant and the appointment of Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson to the TARDIS for season 14.

But with a hugely successful career outside of Doctor Who and surely vast numbers of offers to make other programmes, how long will Russell T davies be showrunner of Doctor Who?

Well, it seems like he’s planning on sticking around for a while.

When asked about how long he might work on Doctor Who, Davies told the Table Manners Podcast “for years I think actually, I will have to spend years on that”.

Asked about other projects he might work on right now he said: “Not for a while. I am sorry. Time to give these young people a bit of space.”

He also shared his thoughts on returning to Doctor Who after being away: “It is lovely. I only came back because I had things to do, things I wanted to do and stories I wanted to write. It doesn’t feel like I am going back, as cliche as it sounds. It feels like I am going forward.

“The fact that I have loved that show my entire life and it is my first memory in life, not my first memory of television but my first memory in life… and remember all those years later it becomes the number one show in Britain it’s like, how lucky am I? Very, very lucky.”

Doctor Who will return to our screens in November with three 60th anniversary specials starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. Yasmin Finney will feature as Rose and Neil Patrick Harris will also star.

There are also plans for an audio spectacular to celebrate the 60th which will see a multi-Doctor episode and the return of favourites like Georgia Tennant as the Doctor’s daughter Jenny.

This will be followed by a festive special starring Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor alongside his new companion Ruby Sunday, played by former Corrie star Millie Gibson.

The 2023 shows will be the first to air as part of the new deal between the BBC and Disney that will make Disney+ the streaming home of Doctor Who across the globe outside of the UK.

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