It’s been a busy week for Doctor Who fans, with the debut of a new season trailer (available above) and a lot more detail coming out regarding the monsters, character development and other changes in store for the Doctor in the new run. Amidst all of this, though, Chris Chibnall has had to consistently downplay rumors that he’s leaving the show after his second year, and has now confirmed he’s on board for season 13. Indeed, Chibnall is already working on the next run of the series, so don’t expect a new showrunner any time soon.
Speaking to the Radio Times, he had this to say about talk of him departing the long-running BBC show:
“Please write this verbatim – somebody made that up, it was a lie. It’s 100% grade-A… shall I say nonsense, or shall I say bulls–t?”
It’s not the first time that someone involved in Doctor Who has had to call out speculation over their future, with series star Jodie Whittaker also dealing with exit news back in the summer. Furthermore, there’s been various pieces of so-far unsubstantiated information about the future of the show, including a Doctor Who movie adaptation. We’re not surprised, then, that Chibnall has been forced to spell out the reality to those expecting him to leave the production he took over from Steven Moffat.
In more positive news, Chibnall has shared his excitement about season 12 of Doctor Who expanding on his first year, with bigger moments and, as acknowledged by this weekend’s trailer, returning monsters. Of course, there’ll always be a vocal minority of fans who won’t get on board with the work Chibnall and Whittaker are doing, but the majority of viewers and critics were happy with the direction the show took in 2018. From what we’ve seen in the new trailer, things will only be getting more spectacular in season 12, too, although we’d appreciate an official release date for a series that’s been off our screens for too long.
