After 12 years since Russell T. Davies exited Doctor Who, BBC has announced that Davies will officially make his return to the long-running sci-fi series for its upcoming 60th Anniversary in 2023. The announcement comes after it was confirmed last July that lead star Jodie Whittaker and current showrunner Chris Chibnall will be leaving the series after the upcoming thirteenth season and three 2022 specials.
“I’m beyond excited to be back on my favorite show. But we’re time-traveling too fast, there’s a whole series of Jodie Whittaker’s brilliant Doctor for me to enjoy, with my friend and hero Chris Chibnall at the helm — I’m still a viewer for now,” Davies said in a statement.
Chibnall added, “It’s monumentally exciting and fitting that Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary will see one of Britain’s screenwriting diamonds return home. Russell built the baton that is about to be handed back to him. Doctor Who, the BBC, the screen industry in Wales, and let’s be honest everyone in the whole world, have so many reasons to be Very Excited Indeed about what lies ahead.”
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Davies will be replacing Chibnall as the new showrunner and executive producer for the forthcoming fourteenth installment and beyond, which will be a co-production between BBC Studios and Bad Wolf.
The acclaimed writer-producer was the one behind Doctor Who‘s revival in 2005 after its 16-year hiatus. He led the revival’s first four installments, where it featured two actors taking on the mantle of the titular Time Lord which were Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. He is credited with propelling the show into a global phenomenon. His four-year tenure on Doctor Who oversaw a surge in popularity, which resulted into two spinoff series Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
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Doctor Who currently stars Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Mandip Gill as Yasmin Khan, and John Bishop as Dan. The 6-episode thirteenth season is expected to pick up right after the events of the series’ latest holiday episode “Revolution of the Daleks,” which aired earlier this year.
Season 13 will then be followed by three Specials, the first of which will transmit on New Year’s Day 2022, with another later in spring 2022. Whittaker’s final feature-length Special, where the Thirteenth Doctor will regenerate, will transmit in autumn 2022 as part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations.
