Television

Russell T. Davies will return as Doctor Who showrunner in 2023

By Conor Clark

24th September 2021

Russell T. Davies is returning to Doctor Who as showrunner next year after Chris Chibnall’s departure.

Davies was the driving force in the show’s revival in 2005, as well as spin offs such as Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Confirmed by the BBC on 24 September, the It’s a Sin creator will once again be at the helm of Doctor Who to celebrate the show’s momentous 60th anniversary in 2023.

He will stay on for at least the following season, though no timeframe beyond that has yet been confirmed.

“I’m beyond excited to be back on my favourite show,” Davies said. “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.”

Davies’ original run on the series was met with overwhelming critical acclaim and has been widely attributed as a reason for the show’s success when it returned in the 2000s.

Since then, his success has never slowed down – with It’s a Sin winning Best New Drama at the National TV Awards this year.

Chibnall, the current Doctor Who showrunner, said: “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.”

Davies will be back working on Doctor Who in 2023 and BBC Studios will be working with Bad Wolf to produce.