Disney+ has ended its three-year-old Doctor Who partnership with the BBC, which made the streamer the worldwide home of the sci-fi series outside the UK and Ireland.
The BBC, however, says it’s committed to continuing the show, and that everyone’s favourite adopted Mancunian screenwriter Russell T Davies will be staying on until at least the end of 2026, when he is scheduled to write the show’s always eagerly anticipated Christmas Special.
Lindsay Salt, director of drama at the BBC, said: “We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming [spinoff series] 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.”
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Disney+ and the BBC announced the Doctor Who streaming deal in October 2022, and it ultimately covered two seires of the long-running sci-fi with Ncuti Gatwa playing the 15th incarnation of the Timelord. Disney+ will continue to stream those two seasons, as well as specials produced during the partnership in the territories where it carries the show and imminent The War Between the Land and the Sea spin-off, which is expected to drop before the end of this year. A brand-new kids animation series for CBeebies is also in development at the BBC.
Rumours that Disney would end the partnership have been circulating for a while – although streamers are notoriously shy about releasing precise viewing figures unless they have something to shout about, the show never broke into the US Nielsen Streaming Top 10 during its run so far, which would likely be seen as a failure at the home of rival franchises such as Star Wars and the Marvel Universe.
Gatwa’s final fling on the show ended with the Doctor regenerating into the form of presumed 16th Doctor Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), previously the companion of the ninth and 10th doctors (Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant – keep up), although the BBC hasn’t confirmed for sure whether Piper will actually play the next Doctor or the creators are just messing with our heads, although whether she is or not the budget for the next Doctor seems likely to take an inevitable hit without the Mouse House’s involvement, which may well please hardcore fans of the show’s original cheap and cheerful aesthetic.
