blast from the past

Russell T. Davies Will Return to Doctor Who After 12 Years

Photo: Joe Maher/Getty Images

No, you didn’t just time-travel. Russell T. Davies, the man fans credit with reviving the BBC sci-fi hit Doctor Who, is set to take over the TARDIS once more after 12 years. Davies brought Doctor Who back to TV in 2005 with collaborators Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, who also return, producing under Bad Wolf. The television creator is behind shows including Queer As Folk, A Very English Scandal, Years and Years, and It’s a Sin. He succeeds Chris Chibnall, who departs next year along with current Time Lord Jodie Whittaker. Davies makes his return for 2023 for the show’s 60th anniversary and “series beyond.” “I’m beyond excited to be back on my favourite show,” Davies said in the announcement. “But we’re time-travelling 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.”

“It’s monumentally exciting and fitting that Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary will see one of Britain’s screenwriting diamonds return home,” Chibnall added. “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.”

Russell T. Davies Will Return to Doctor Who After 12 Years