The BBC has confirmed that the previously announced Doctor Who 2026 Christmas special is no longer happening.
The festive episode, which was meant to be written by showrunner Russell T Davies, would have followed on from Ncuti Gatwa’s series finale in May last year, which saw his Doctor regenerate into Billie Piper in a shock cliffhanger.
In a statement, the BBC said: ‘After careful consideration, the BBC, Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf have collectively decided not to go ahead with the previously announced Doctor Who Christmas episode.
‘This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans, but in order to set the show up for future series, it was decided that rather than bridge the gap with a one off special, we are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show which ensures that when the TARDIS lands once more, it does so in all its glory.’
Elsewhere in the BBC’s statement, the national broadcaster confirmed that it planned to put Doctor Who out to competitive tender this year, which follows its deal with Disney Plus coming to an end after just two seasons.
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Meanwhile, in a separate post on Instagram, Russell declared ‘it was GOODBYE from me to Doctor Who but HELLO to a big new future for the show’.
He explained that, as a result of putting the show up for tender, it means that there is ‘no need for a Christmas special’ which was ‘only cooked to guarantee a future when no one knew what would happen.’
The TV legend continued: ‘You’ll have to wait a bit longer for new Doctor Who… but you’ll be waiting for MORE Doctor Who than a one-off. So it’s worth it!
For the record: there was no script, I never wrote it, and no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor. You may disagree; fine, sit in that chair and wait to be proved right.
You’ll wait a lonnng time. Now I’m as excited as anyone to see what comes next! Will they keep the theme tune? Will they lose the blue box? Will they bring back the Drahvin?! It’s all up for grabs, which is so Doctor Who, exciting and unpredictable and new!’
His words back up the network, who added that details of the tender will be announced in due course.
It continued: ‘Doctor Who remains an important part of the BBC and this tender underpins the BBC’s continued commitment to Doctor Who, ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come.’
The BBC reiterated that the CBeebies spin-off remains in production, which is now the only confirmed onscreen Doctor Who show confirmed for the forseeable future.
Exactly what comes next for Doctor Who remains unclear, with no word on whether Billie will return, who the next Doctor is or a release window for new episodes.
This will mark the second year in a row without a Doctor Who Christmas special, a lengthy hiatus for the major sci-fi show that is normally guaranteed to release either a Christmas or New Year’s special.
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