How the timey-wimey have fallen. It wasn’t long ago that it felt like the future of Doctor Who was in safe hands, as former showrunner Russell T. Davies, who had helmed the series’ best modern period, returned to steer a once-sinking ship. However, this second stint for Davies, which saw him rely heavily on nostalgia and fail to turn around dropping ratings, ended in disaster. Even exciting new Time Lord Ncuti Gatwa seemingly exited earlier than expected, with his final episode a rushed, unconvincing mess.
It was recently announced that Doctor Who had been put out to competitive tender, with the once-promised 2026 Christmas special and hunt for a new lead, in fact, not true all along. Since this announcement, many have had their say, from Davies pulling the rug from beneath fans’ feet to former stars mourning the loss. Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall, who is cited as the showrunner who began this downward spiral for Doctor Who, has now candidly admitted on the WHO Corner to Corner podcast exactly what the main reason is behind this mammoth decision.
Chibnall revealed that it’s “very easy to miss the point that this is primarily about money,” adding, “It’s very hard for the BBC to fund their programmes right now because of what’s been done to them in terms of funding agreements over the past 15 years and the slow whittling away of that, and the increase in big Hollywood monoliths and conglomerates really taking over the market.” After a new regime at the BBC saw budgets slashed and many shows affected, this is hardly a surprise. “Really, what you’ve got is the BBC can’t afford to fully fund any drama now, and it certainly can’t afford to fund Doctor Who,” he added. Chibnall continued:
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“Any discussion around it is about money more than anything else, and I think that that’s been missed a little in the discourse that I saw around the show. There’s all kinds of other things and obviously it’s hugely disappointing and hasn’t been handled brilliantly. But really, the big story is, look, this is a BBC that cannot afford to make shows that it wants to make. The BBC wants to make Doctor Who. Don’t be in any doubt about that.”
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
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🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
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01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
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02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
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03
What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
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04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
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05
You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.
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06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.
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07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?
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08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
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Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
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Arrakis · Dune
Paul Atreides
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.
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You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.
USS Enterprise · Star Trek
Captain Kirk
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.
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You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
The Rebellion · Star Wars
Princess Leia
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.
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You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
The Nostromo · Alien
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
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You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.
The Wasteland · Mad Max
Max Rockatansky
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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You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
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Will ‘Doctor Who’ Return?
As a show with change at its heart (or two hearts), Doctor Who and its millions of fans are no strangers to uncertainty. However, things haven’t felt this uncertain since the show first went off air all those decades ago. So what now? Will Doctor Who return? As one of the BBC’s flagship shows and one of the most famous sci-fi shows in the world, it’s unlikely Doctor Who will ever truly disappear. But will it return in its current form? That remains to be seen, but if BBC Studios can purchase the rights, then fans will have the best chance of seeing the timey-wimey show they know and love back on their screens.
You can stream the most recent Doctor Who seasons on Disney+. Stay tuned to Collider for the latest updates.
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Release Date
2024 – 2025-00-00
Network
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BBC One
Directors
Alex Pillai, Peter Hoar, Ben Chessell, Julie Anne Robinson, Jamie Donoughue, Amanda Brotchie, Dylan Holmes Williams
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Writers
Steven Moffat, Pete McTighe, Kate Herron, Inua Ellams, Juno Dawson
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