Doctor Who fans had their minds blown when Russell T. Davies was revealed to be returning to the series as the new showrunner last fall. Davies had seemingly put the Whoniverse behind him back in 2010, after steering the show through the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennants eras, so the It’s a Sin creator’s comeback is a big deal. It may even leave the door open for other key creatives from Who‘s past to make a return.
So what about Davies’ successor as EP, Steven Moffat, who helmed Who during Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi’s tenures? Could history repeat itself and see Moffat step back in once Davies has finished his second run as showrunner? As it turns out… No, not a chance. Moffat spoke to Radio Times and made abundantly clear that he can’t foresee a time when he would put himself through that high-pressure job again.
“I think I can confidently say I’m done showrunning Doctor Who,” Moffat admitted. “Everyone can stop worrying. I did it for six seasons on the trot. And I cannot imagine going back into doing that. I cannot. I simply cannot picture it. I loved the show. I don’t want anyone to think I didn’t love the show. And I loved every second I spent on it, although some of them were hellish. But I’ve done that. I have done it and I did it a lot. So no offence and no disrespect and certainly no disdaining of wonderful memories. But no, I will not be showrunning Doctor Who again.”
It’s fair enough that Moffat is enjoying his retirement from the Whoniverse as he actually holds the record for writing more episodes of the series than anybody. The Sherlock veteran went on to say that he actually hopes Davies’ return means his old colleague beats his own score.
“I did six seasons, and he’s got two seasons to catch up on. So that’s fine,” Moffat continued. “I actually don’t mind that, I would quite like him to overtake me. Because it’s really weird. It’s weird and strange and wrong for your own favourite show to be the one […] that you wrote the most of. That’s wrong. So I’d be quite happy for Russell to scoot ahead of me. That’d be nice. That’d be good.”
Davies’ new era kicks off next year, with November 2023’s 60th-anniversary special set to introduce the Fourteenth Doctor, who may have already been cast but whose identity remains a secret to the public. Various rumors are pointing to Davies bringing back either/both David Tennant and Matt Smith for the big birthday party, too.
For the moment, Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor — and current showrunner Chris Chibnall — have two episodes still to go before handing over the keys to the TARDIS. Doctor Who returns to our screens with an Easter special, titled ‘Legend of the Sea Devils’, this Sunday, April 17.
