Rylan Clarke just admitted an uncomfortable Doctor Who truth 

Doctor Who is in a bad way – thankfully, a physician has finally arrived in the svelte form of Rylan Clarke. 

Yes, you read that right. 

While hosting a panel with Russell Tovey at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the former X-Factor star turned TV icon launched into a passionate defence of the beleaguered sci-fi series.

‘Save Doctor Who! Make sure it comes back, because it’s a British institution,’ he told Russell, who’s starring in the Doctor Who spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea. 

‘We can’t not have Doctor Who,’ he continued. ‘I’ve been the biggest fan of Doctor Who, personally, since the reboot back in [2005] with Christopher Eccleston, and I’ve loved every single episode.’

Now it’s easy to write Rylan’s comments off as sycophantic or obsequious (no one loved The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos), after all, he’s hosting a Doctor Who panel.

It’s not like he was ever going to turn around and say ‘I’d rather descale the kettle with my tongue than spend 20 mins watching the Doctor battle baddies made of tin foil.’

Still, even if Rylan is exaggerating his Whovian credentials (we’ll make sure to test him next time we speak to him), his diagnosis is an astute one. 

Doctor Who is a British institution, and it needs people like Rylan to speak up for it right now because if the show were a patient in a hospital, you’d be getting the crash cart ready. 

The last series – despite being a critical hit – wasn’t particularly well received by fans and suffered low viewing figures. 

To make matters worse, there are rumours that Disney has pulled out of a co-production deal, a move which delayed filming on the next series and forced Ncuti Gatwa to leave the show early. 

There are even people whispering that perhaps the BBC can’t afford to finance a new series and needs a new partner, otherwise Doctor Who will be banished to TV purgatory. 

None of this is helped by the BBC and Disney‘s decision to remain tight-lipped on the series’ future, which has left the former jewel of Saturday night TV in a very odd place. 

It sort of feels like Schroedinger’s TV show – both cancelled and still in production at the same time. 

So I’m delighted that Rylan has spoken up for Doctor Who because it feels like he’s the first person to acknowledge what a lot of people in the media are too scared to admit. 

Doctor Who isn’t the pop culture juggernaut it once was – the shelves aren’t packed with Doctor Who toys, kids aren’t trying to exterminate each other in the playground, and the ratings speak for themselves. 

Rylan wouldn’t be saying the show needs ‘saving’ if the franchise were in good health. 

If we pretend that everything is hunkydory in the land of Who, then we put the show at risk of dying with no chance of regeneration. 

That sounds blunt, I know, but once we’ve acknowledged the issue, we can start to deal with it. 

And while Rylan’s pleas to save the show may make it sound like the Doctor has a terminal condition, I think he’s unintentionally hit upon the cure for the malaise that’s come over this iconic series. 

As Rylan himself admits, he’s been a fan since the ‘reboot’ when the show underwent a drastic change from an old-fashioned serialised story to a more modern and romantic show. 

Sure, the revived Doctor Who kept the spirit of the original run, but it was its own thing at the same time. 

For Doctor Who to be saved, it needs to embrace that spirit of change again to bring on a new generation of fans, just like how Russell T. Davies‘ reboot brought Rylan on board. 

This change should take inspiration from Russell T Davies’ revival, which used the Time War to wipe the Doctor’s slate clean and then slowly build in the older canon as viewers grow to love this new incarnation of the show.

I’m thinking a new Doctor, a new supporting cast, a new production team, and new writers. Let’s embrace what Doctor Who could be by injecting fresh blood and new ideas both on and off screen. 

That’s the future of Who. 

Or to quote the Thirteenth Doctor: ‘We’re all capable of the most incredible change.’

‘We can evolve while still staying true to who we are. We can honour who we’ve been and choose who we want to be next.’

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.