Doctor Who is going through a regeneration, with a new production team being selected to usher the series into a new era – and one figure has reportedly put their name forward to take it on.
Earlier this year, after Russell T Davies quit the series, the BBC announced it was putting Doctor Who out to competitive tender, allowing production companies to pitch for the show, and they had until last week to do so.
According to Deadline, one person who has lobbied for the series is Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, whose production company Hat Trick Mercurio (HTM) is said to have submitted a pitch.
Other production companies that the outlet has claimed are throwing their names in the ring include World Productions and STV Studios, the production company behind BBC hit Blue Lights.
The Independent has contacted HTM, World Productions and STV Studios for comment.
“Doctor Who remains an important part of the BBC and this tender underpins the BBC’s continued commitment to Doctor Who, ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come,” the BBC said in a statement earlier this year.
Whatever deal is struck, the corporation will retain the rights for the programme and continue to air it.
Doctor Who’s latest update comes after the show hit a number of hurdles over the last year – with Ncuti Gatwa suddenly leaving the role as The Doctor and Disney dropping out as a production partner with the BBC.
In May, reports claimed that the show was struggling to move forwards as producers had “found it difficult to find anyone who’ll take on the part of the 16th Time Lord” following Ncuti Gatwa’s departure last year, in part because of the “baggage of the most recent series”.
The idea that Doctor Who had become a poisoned chalice for actors would have felt unbelievable when the show was rebooted by TV writer Russell T Davies in 2005. Even as recently as 2023, there was a huge amount of hope around the long-running sci-fi franchise.
In an “unprecedented” deal, Disney had joined as co-producers and international distributors (via Disney+), with a large cash injection and significant marketing campaign around Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the regenerating Time Lord.
The mega-corporation clearly had aims of turning Doctor Who into a Marvel-esque franchise, but was reportedly left unimpressed by the lack of buzz around the show.
After two seasons, it was announced in December that the Disney deal had unceremoniously come to an end, with a “former Disney executive” telling Deadline: “It was pretty apparent from early on that this wasn’t for the long term. Everyone got the impression that it wasn’t doing what it needed to do [on Disney+] to be sustained.”
Disney’s exit came on the tail of Gatwa’s own departure, as his second season had ended with the Doctor regenerating into former companion Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper. Gatwa, 33, said that he had left the show after two seasons because he was “getting old”, saying: “It takes a lot out of you: physically, emotionally, mentally. So it was time.”
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