Russell T. Davies Officially Exits 'Doctor Who' Forever

Published Oct 13, 2026, 7:30 PM EDT

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 3000 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix’s Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom. You can also hear Jake every week as the resident film and TV journalist on Track Radio.

The long and storied trip through the Doctor Who time vortex came to a crashing halt earlier this year, when it was confirmed that the show had been put out to competitive tender. If you had jumped in the TARDIS and taken a trip back several years, this would’ve been far from what Whovians had expected. When Russell T Davies was confirmed to be returning, and he had brought fan-favorite faces **David Tennant **and **Catherine Tate **with him, the future of the long-running BBC sci-fi series looked bright.

Instead, what fans got was a mess of off-screen drama, declining ratings, and a new partnership with Disney that never really got going. The final nail in the coffin was the sudden and shocking departure of new Time Lord Ncuti Gatwa, with **Billie Piper **chosen as the band-aid on the gaping narrative wound. Earlier this year, many months on from this disastrous finale, the show was given the ax by the Beeb, with the hunt for new owners beginning.

There were many names considered at fault for the decline in Doctor Who, according to fans, and showrunner Davies was a name at the top of the list, despite him successfully reviving the series in the first place back in 2005. As the first stories appear about what the future of the show might look like, and in whose hands it will be, Davies has confirmed whether or not he plans to be part of the show once more. In an interview with BBC Radio 2, Davies said categorically, “It’s nothing to do with me, I’m not going to do it for a third time!” “But apparently,” he continued, “they’ve just announced who’s going for the tender, so that’s exciting.”

Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.

You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.

You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.

You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.

You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.

You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.

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