Russell T Davies Returning as Doctor Who Showrunner

Russell T Davies is coming back to take charge of Doctor Who, the show he helped revive in 2005, the BBC announced today.

Davies, who ran the show until 2009, will take over when Chris Chibnall departs next year. High on his to-do list will be picking the successor to actress Jodie Whittaker, the first female to play the Time Lord, who will leave in 2022 after the show’s 13th series, the last overseen by Chibnall.

“I’m beyond excited to be back on my favorite show,” said Davies, who resumes his role as Doctor Who prepares to mark its 60th anniversary in 2023.

In between Davies and Chibnall, Steven Moffatt helmed the show.

Davies’ return was also welcomed by Bad Wolf, the production company founded in 2015 by former BBC executives Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter. Gardner and Tranter both worked with Davies on the Doctor Who relaunch and will collaborate with him again when he returns as showrunner.

14 thoughts on “Russell T Davies Returning as Doctor Who Showrunner

  1. Paul- Why? Davies span as showrunner Was pretty stellar, and I can’t recall any news about him being a bastard. Admittedly, I haven’t watched Who in years, but is there a reason he’d be a bad choice?

  2. I’m very pleased with his return as his tenure was spectacular indeed. I’ve got the HBO streaming service so I’m planning on rewatching all of the modern Doctor Who this winter. His two Doctors in particular were amazing indeed.

  3. @Brendan I agree with you and Cat that his run was spectacular…but it feels like a reaching back to the past rather than looking forward…which unnerves me, somehow.

  4. Paul Weimer says I agree with you and Cat that his run was spectacular…but it feels like a reaching back to the past rather than looking forward…which unnerves me, somehow.

    Why? He’s a showrunner and scriptwriter. They build off what they’ve done before and he’s had a quite spectacular career — Doctor Who, Torchwood, Wizards v. Aliens and the Sarah Jane Adventures. I’ve no doubt his second act at Doctor Who will be well worth seeing.

  5. I’d rather have Russell T. Davies as showrunner than some of the names that were bandied about, who may be great at making others kind of TV, but who have no genre experience.

    Davies is a fine writer and showrunner, he knows SFF and he is a die-hard Doctor Who fan. Yes, I would have liked to see someone given a chance who hasn’t done Who before, but there are not all that many people who have the profile and the genre experience to pull it off.

  6. I think he’s only gotten better over the years… his recent SF show Years and Years was really good. Looking forward to this.

  7. Maybe I am being too cautious…but I also remember, back in the 80’s, in the drama of the Colin Baker years, there was a thought of bringing back Tom Baker…which felt really really wrong, to “go backwards” like that.

    Bringing back DAvies also feels like that. Although they could do FAR worse, conceded.

  8. I am cautiously excited. I hope he has improved on women characters and people of color, which were a bit weak in his tenure. I have high hopes that LGBT characters will make a comeback – they were much less present after he left. All of this is based on my overall impressions, not anything rigorous.

  9. Lenore Jones (It is REALLY hard for me to type your first name correctly 🙂 )

    Well, aside from Bill, who was the first openly gay full time, not merely recurring, companion, although Moffat really needed to be forcibly reminded why “Kill your gays” is considered a poisonous trope, even if Heather didn’t technically die.

    I’m cautiously optimistic; I recognize where Paul Weimer’s feelings come from, but I also don’t think bringing someone back is of necessity regression in the same way.

    I do regret that Whitaker gets inextricably tied to Chibnall’s weaker writing by them arriving and departing together.

  10. Just talking major characters, Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint were Moffat’s creation as was Canton Everett Delaware III. Clara was also bisexual (although that is more clearly stated in the novelisation) as was River Song.

    There has been a fair bit of LGBT representation in Chibnall’s era too.

    So I reject the premise that LGBT characters were less present.

  11. Lenora Rose and Andy Leighton, you make excellent points. Thank you.

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