Overview
- The BBC announced on June 10 that the planned 2026 Doctor Who Christmas special has been canceled and that showrunner Russell T Davies will leave the series.
- The broadcaster said it will put Doctor Who out to competitive tender this year so external production companies can bid to make the next era of the show.
- Davies posted that there was no completed script for the canceled special and that no actor had been approached to play the next Doctor.
- Industry reporting says Disney+ ended its co-production after two seasons, reducing international funding and making it harder to find backers, which could mean a multi-year hiatus before live-action episodes return.
- The BBC will keep the programme’s intellectual property and has BBC Studios handle global distribution and licensing, while a separate Doctor Who animated project for CBeebies remains in production.