BBC opens Doctor Who to competitive tender as show’s future reviewed
The BBC announced it will open a competitive tender to find a new production partner for Doctor Who after the current production team exits. The tender invites external companies to bid to take over the series' production responsibilities previously handled by the outgoing team. The move is part of a formal review intended to secure the show’s long-term future and continuity. Handing production to a new partner could change the show's creative direction, key personnel, filming locations and commercial deals, affecting the look, cast and release of future episodes.
BREAKING: "After careful consideration, the BBC, Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf have collectively decided not to go ahead with the previously announced Doctor Who Christmas episode. www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
Scott Bryan81"This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans, but in order to set the show up for future series, it was decided that rather than bridge the gap with a one off special, we are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show..."
Eric Reese16The word that consistently defined RTD's return to Doctor Who for me was "careless". He'd consistently tee up big ideas and just whiff on the follow-through, so it goes to figure it would end like this.
Leftback15So Scott, how do you feel now about saying out loud 'I wish we were talking about something other than politics' so close to that monkey's paw?
The Smart-Casual Gamer9As one of like five people who would have happily watched several series with a Piper Doctor, I will now be amazed if she gets even a single episode.
David Glover-Aoki8Revert back to Sylvester McCoy, I say. Let’s see him regenerate into Sue Perkins or Dawn French.
Cats of Oxford8Lose the blue box, you say? Move with the times, you say?
thomasakent.bsky.social6Was looking forward to Piper as ‘the lead’ (whatever that might have meant). Ah well… we’ll see what happens over the next few years I guess.
Cliff6American Who fan asking what the hell does that mean? Over here a “tender” is an unsauced piece of fried boneless chicken breast, bigger than a goujon.
Chris Denton5Shocking but not entirely unexpected news. Nice press release sugar-coating, but the real story here is that Doctor Who has been axed.
MEMO (the comic strip)5I guess I was one of the few that liked the last Doctor and thought that those two seasons were fun and joyous. But, admittedly, it seems a good time to give the story a rest and let it percolate on a shelf somewhere for awhile.
James H-B4"collectively decided" That probably translates to "he walked before he was pushed"
theviolenceoftruth.bsky.social2my favorite classic dr who stories are from Pertwee when he is stuck on Earth with Unit. It would be great for the next team to go back to solid roots and story telling. I don't need multi season story arcs. Maybe it would be too hard to invent new aliens or green deaths.
Ed Parnell2You mean Russell T. Davies couldn't come up with the goods? SHOCKER.
Blaine Coughlan2I'm thinking 2028 or 2029 is not unreasonable, or actually unlikely. It's always incredibly exciting to anticipate the beginning of a brand new era, and this will be no exception. In the meantime, let's get on with filling those final "animations of missing episodes" gaps. #DoctorWho
Amazing how Doctor Who fans can read a statement that says "This year we're looking to commission a new series of Doctor Who" and interpret it as "Doctor Who has been cancelled"
Eddie Robson109The BBC as a broadcaster doesn't make programmes now. BBC Studios is a separate entity. So it needs to commission a production company to make Doctor Who, as Bad Wolf have been doing. Putting it out to tender isn't some kind of abdication of responsibility, it's just... how broadcasting works.
Jonny Morris25Meanwhile in a backstreet in Acton...
David Quantick21Doctor Who fans be like "we love he show for its radical views and acceptance of the new NO NOT LIKE THAT."
Iain Clark17There are so many fucking awful things happening right now and I refuse to get angry about an announcement that they want to make more Doctor Who.
David K. Barnes14Is it? Even speaking as creators in the industry, we know it's a desert out there. There's no money. It's never felt harder to get things made. A notoriously expensive show like Doctor Who being put out for auction doesn't seem like an ideal situation?
Tom Hunter12Announcing then cancelling the special was stupid though & even more so if nothing had been done about it
scott dagostino10A lot of DOCTOR WHO fans really need to learn and understand “the self-fulfilling prophecy.” Chibnall understood the show needed a soft reboot and fresh ideas but the nonstop shrieking and moaning during his era (and the next) made a lot of casual viewers feel they didn’t need to bother then 🤷♂️
Matt10Because we remember 1989 when they never cancelled it and it was over 6 years later before we got anywhere and 16 before it was back as an ongoing series
Hannah Cooper9The fact we were told “something is happening” and now we’ve been told “actually it’s not” has made many people sceptical about how soon we will see anything. “Cancelled” is a big jump but I think it’s realistic to expect a relatively large gap - at least 3 years I reckon.
Keith Say 50dw509Old people like me remember that’s what they said last time I suppose 🤷♂️
Philip Marsh7I think there are a bunch of fans who want it to be cancelled so that they can say that they were right about it.
Pete Dillon-Trenchard7I take your point, but the story is that the BBC doesn't have the money or appetite to make it themselves, and they've ditched Bad Wolf, leaving the show on this weird, sour note and hoping someone will come along and pay to resuscitate it. Good things might come of this, but it's a shaky outlook.
Roeland van Zeijst 🇬🇱7The BBC has lied about this before... Also, viewers who were invested in the increasingly messy Disney era Whoniverse were probably hoping to get some resolution but it looks like most of the plot-threads will never be resolved. It's probably for the best if they find some way to do a softish reboot
Matthew Smith6Because it reads the same as a struggling company issuing a statement that says, "We're really excited about the future with (INSERT NEW CORPORATE PAYMASTER HERE) at the helm." Anybody who can read even slightly between the lines knows that everything's going down the tubes.
Nick Barlow6I'm assuming we'll get similar stories from the same news sites that were claiming two weeks ago that a Sixteenth Doctor announcement was imminent.
lilbitwytchie.bsky.social6'Looking to commission' is very different to 'there will be a Christmas Special', and with the latter now not actually happening, I can understand people being concerned, tbh 🤷♀️
waltydunlop5I have a memory of some people responding to news of a definite commission for another couple of seasons - was it early on in the Moffat years? - like it was the end of everything. I was just thinking "well, that's nice, we've got some more seasons guaranteed, what's wrong with everybody?"
David Pattie4The BBC: Look, we need this show, the whole thing makes us so much money, someone help us, oh god, please help us Dr Who fans: YOU'RE KILLING THE SHOW YOU BASTARDS HOW COULD YOU
James Kettle4Yeah, all it means is that the BBC and Bad Wolf can’t agree a budget which the latter thinks would allow them to make a profit.
AdamT4The Christmas Special has been cancelled, and there's no schedule published on when the next episodes will be made. We're starting into an abyss.
Gaby3I'm so done with any fandom, but most with those where the loudest shouters won't let anyone else enjoy it because they only like the original of decennia ago that was made in a different time for a different audiences... DW and Star Trek are the worst that I'm 'affected by'...
Kaion System 🏳️⚧️🍉3They also said the same in 1989 tbf
Sami Kelsh is a tired bear3maybe it's because i have experience of (within a different sector) the tendering process, or because i still haven't caught up with the most recent seasons of the show, but having seen the announcement after a bunch of "oh no the show is cancelled" posts, idk how folks reached that conclusion.
Sam Lowe2Look, we’re rabid addicts, we need our fix
Andrew Lawston2As I just posted, I'm certainly staring down the barrel of my entire family and everyone I've spoken to in the last year checking in for my thoughts on the matter. Every single time. It's more fun when it's stuff like "so what do you reckon to that Ncuti bloke then?"
Zarius2Knew this would be the cope. See ya in 16.
“Chakoteya”2*sigh*. CGI and AI incoming. Think I’ll just go stare into the Untempered Schism while listening to a BFP audio.
How do you know if someone's a massive Doctor Who fan? They absolutely hate Doctor Who.
Donna Rees8Who'd want to be Doctor Who, it's more toxic than being England manager.
Paul Putner8A few years ago I met a young actor who said he adored Doctor Who. I asked if he liked the original series. He said he's barely watched any of it regarding it "old and creaky". Ok, fair enough, he's young. What did he think about the revived series? "The only good era was Tennant, the rest? Meh."
Hogne Bø Pettersen 🏳️🌈5Oh, so just' like Star Wars fans, then? Nobody hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans
Welp. Russell T Davies is out at Doctor Who, this year's Christmas special is canceled, and the franchise will have to start over yet again. The Davies 2.0 era was mostly a mess, other than Ncuti's performance, but still. Very tenuous days.
Alan Sepinwall60Between this, the Disney deal ending, etc., this is the most precarious spot Who has been in since before Davies revived the show in the 2000s. And I wonder if whoever eventually succeeds RTD will decide to deal with the Billie Piper of it all or just start over completely from scratch.
michael6Now that it’s all in the past, I feel confident in declaring the Capaldi Era the modern equivalent of the Tom Baker Era. Truly a golden age.
Well! It's all changing with Dr Who! No Christmas special, Russell T Davies is out, and the show is going out for tender - so it looks like we're a couple of years away from a new episode at least! What do you think is coming next? #DoctorWho #WibblyWobbly @whoculture.bsky.social
Cody12I feel like sci-fi franchises in general are going to be up in the air for a little while, they’ve always been expensive in comparison to other genres, the global economy is very unstable right now and that means people will be less likely to take risks. It’s like post-2008 all over again.
ChrisTrekkin 💜🖖11It definitely feels like we're in a new post-Survival era now, minus the clean break that Survival ended on To straight-up lie about having a Christmas special written seems like... a choice But I'm all for the series coming back when it's 100% ready to come back
Kevin Hawley7The line, “Come on Ace! We’ve got work to do!”, comes to mind.
Sean6I was just annoyed with RTD after the way it ended but now with that Instagram post, I’m actually angry at the flippant disregard he has. Outright saying he deliberately misled everyone and then trying to twist it into virtue is kinda galling.
Jeff Hendrix5There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke, and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace – we've got work to do!
Marcsharp825It's 1989 all over again. And it ended on a frustrating cliffhanger. For me, the show is a mess, a break is definitely needed. But that's just my own opinion, I happily admit I'm in a minority on this one.
Richard Swift4Bet they try Steven Moffat again? He has had less success post Who, would be cheaper than Davies, wrote two of the more interesting episodes of the Disney era, but has the nostalgia safety that Davies also had. Use him to tie up the Tennant/Piper lose ends while buying time to find a new voice.
John Wells4While I’m understandably upset, I also think it’s probably the right decision. For the past year, things have been really uncertain and messed up, with all sorts of rumours cropping up. We now not only know for certain, I’m also reassured because I was around for the last “break”. It will be back!🥲
Redmond Geek3I feel like they need to go back and re-edit The Reality War to restore the original ending and leave it more open ended so the new production team doesn’t have to deal with whatever the hell happened with Billie Piper if the show comes back.
Phillip W. Serna, Double Bass, Baryton & Violas da Gamba3I was not impressed when they brought back RTD & David Tennant (although the e anniversary specials were okay). A complete debacle.
Malcolm Wood3It’s not totally unexpected news. it’s not like the 80s. I think Amazon will pick it up or maybe Netflix. It needs some fresh blood.
Keira Incognita2Calling it now: if Doctor Who returns — not when as I don’t think anything is for certain in this day — it’s going to be a complete blank slate reboot. Not what I want. But I expect it’s what they’re going to do.
King Blackbird2As I just said under Ellie’s video about it, we’re in the wilderness years again, aren’t we? I just hope they resolve THAT cliffhanger! The plus side is, people will be excited for Doctor Who again WHEN it returns & it’ll build up a new fanbase like the 05 revival did!
Ant2does this mean that we're getting another Wilderness years? At least there's the CBeebies animated show for the kids.
Amy Raven - Crash Magnet2I'm glad RTD is out, but disappointed that we're not getting any Doctor Who for a while. It especially makes that cliffhanger pointless
Five years working in Forbidden Planet in the 90s taught me that Doctor Who is, by an order of magnitude, the most annoying fandom and nothing has happened in the last 30 years to change my mind
Tits McGee22An ex of mine was massively into Doctor Who and took it incredibly seriously, while denying he would even be classified as a fan The first thing he did upon waking every day was to log on and check the Digital Spy forums to see if any lost episodes had been found But sure, not a 'fan'
ian.fenrisgames14my biggest numbers ever Tweet was on the announcement of Jodie Whitaker : "Whoflake: typically male Dr Who fan who will loudly decry any and all changes that don't meet their own internal version of the characters, especially if those characters aren't white dudes."
bergmanesque2Used to get Whovian stuff spill into my Twitter feed. The impression I got was that the fans all hate the show, each other, and themselves.
Sheepy2I didn't realize it was so bad. I like the show but never participated in the fandom. That's disappointing but not surprising I suppose 🙃
verystrangefish.bsky.social2Counterpoint. I was a supervisor at Smiths during the 00s and there was a lady who brought her son in to buy every old episode DVD collection when they came out and he was soooooo excited. And a lovely bloke and we'd chat for at least 20 mins a time.
Well, the Doctor Who news is disappointing but not entirely unexpected, given the state of the BBC and the UK TV industry in general.
Lou Morgan5Does feel a bit of a mess, though, doesn’t it?
Margaret Brown4So we need to cheer ourselves up by buying Doctor Who stuff from that auction
Paul Arthur4TV is having a tough time for sure but it does feel like Bad Wolf significantly mismanaged their time at the helm.
Michael Mills3Yeah, Doctor Who is very much the dye in the water.
Tim Worthington3Apparently it's alright because Tip Toe.
Babelfish Soup3giant sigh from the other side of the planet. Goddamnit.
Frank Collins2Yes, the TV industry is running on fumes at the moment. Getting money for Doctor Who is going to be extremely tough when the streaming investment has withered away. Let’s see.
