After we reported the news of reshoots on the finale of Doctor Who from earlier this year, and that news on the show’s return had been few and far between, we now have official word on the status of the new season and specials, and some big changes for the show’s future.
Firstly, Doctor Who will no longer be available on Disney+ outside of the UK, with the studio and filmmakers cutting ties with each other after a two-season stint. There had been rumours of a disbanding after disappointing ratings/streams, but now it’s official, with Lindsay Salt, director of Drama at the BBC, saying:
“We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’. The BBC remains fully committed to ‘Doctor Who,’ which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026. We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course, which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”
The show will now be available again on the BBC, and with the news comes official confirmations that a new Christmas Special is in production with a view to it airing in its usual Christmas slot, penned once again by Russell T Davies.
It will mark the debut of Billie Piper as The Doctor after the regeneration of Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor, who is departing the show. No word on how Piper’s role will fare in the new series, having played companion Rose alongside David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston, though fans assume, like Tennant’s return last Christmas, that it will be a “one-time deal” before the new official Doctor is announced.
Spin-off show The War Between The Land And The Sea, starring Being Human actor Russell Tovey, will air on BBC One later this year.
