Jodie Whittaker hasn’t made her exit on Doctor Who yet, but plans are well underway for the next season. Russell T Davies, returning showrunner to the sci-fi series, has revealed that several scripts are locked in, and everything will coincide with the upcoming 60th anniversary.
In an interview with The Guardian, Davies didn’t have much to add on what’s coming for the classic TV series, other than it all kicks off with the big six-oh. “I’ve already written some of the episodes,” he says. “The first will go out in November 2023 – that’s the 60th anniversary of the show.” When pressed, he remains tight-lipped, saying that auditions have only just started for the next stars, too, so we won’t be hearing who the next Doctor is for a while.
Whittaker’s last full season just finished, Doctor Who: Flux, a six-part event that had her face multiple villains in a universe-toppling storyline. Following this, we’ll get a trilogy of specials in 2022, starting with a New Year’s Day Special. These mark her and current showrunner Chris Chibnall’s swansong.
After that, Doctor Who moves into the hands of new custodians. Davies is a dab hand with the TARDIS and its Timelord by now, having heralded the reboot in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston. Speculation has been rampant on who the next Doctor could be, but we won’t comment, as we’ve already mentioned what we’d like to see.
For now, though, we have the Thirteenth Doctor’s goodbye to look forward to. You can catch the Doctor Who New Year’s Day Special on January 1.