Unless you’ve been keeping tabs on the British tabloids or Reddit leaks this year, it probably came as quite a shock when the latest season of Doctor Who concluded with Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor regenerating into Billie Piper. Fans have been quick to speculate about what it means for the future of the long-running sci-fi series, but for a show that has been defined for over 60 years by the main character’s ability to change hands from one actor to the next, why would this regeneration feel like a red flag? Is the show really in danger, or has this been the plan all along? Unless Gatwa spills his guts on a convention panel in twenty years, we may never know for sure. While we wait for BBC and Disney to renew the series (or… not), let’s review what we do know.
That Regeneration Was Weird
Since Davies launched the Doctor Who revival in 2005, there has always been some build-up whenever the role of the Doctor changes hands. The BBC historically has announced in advance when a Doctor was leaving, as well as who would be replacing them in the TARDIS. For example, David Tennant’s 10th Doctor had an entire victory lap season of specials heralding his departure, and Matt Smith was announced as his successor a full year before the regeneration actually aired. In addition, the end credits of any episode with a regeneration have typically followed the same format: “And Introducing ACTOR’S NAME as The Doctor.” Viewers were quick to notice that at the end of “The Reality War,” the credit for Piper simply read “And Introducing Billie Piper,” not as The Doctor.
All of which is to say, this surprise regeneration is downright fishy. Could it simply be a brilliant gimmick to build hype in an effort to guarantee another season? Maybe! “You’ll have to tune in to see if Billie Piper really is the Doctor” is a helluva hook, and springing it on audiences in the final moments of the season backs Disney and BBC into a tight corner. The broadcasters have refused to announce any plans for the future of the show until after this season aired, but if they were hoping to pull the plug, they’ll be facing a lot of upset fans.
For what its worth, reports have been quick to point out that the Disney/BBC deal for Doctor Who was only for two seasons, but the BBC itself said that the deal was for 26 episodes in a statement to Radio Times, while denying rumors that the show was being shelved earlier this year. Counting the David Tennant specials preceding Gatwa’s tenure, only 21 episodes have aired, so theoretically there’s still five episodes’ worth of wiggle room in the deal — episodes that could have been used to tie up some of the 15th Doctor’s various plot threads. The Pantheon could perhaps wait for a new Doctor, but what about Jonathan Groff’s Rogue? He’s still stuck in that hell dimension waiting for the Doctor — his Doctor, the one he loves — to save him! Heck, Gatwa never even got to fight any Daleks! Following the assumption that the regeneration was a late addition to the season, fans have wasted no time scouring the final episodes of the season for evidence of reshoots (Ruby’s hair did look different in that final TARDIS scene…) and speculating about what the original plan for this season was (was Belinda really supposed to get saddled with a baby?!).
So was Davies always planning to recast the Doctor after this season, or did Gatwa decide to leave? In various interviews, Davies has mentioned that at least part of the upcoming season was already written, presumably with Gatwa in mind. The prevailing rumor is that, due to lackluster ratings, BBC and Disney were contemplating a pause before continuing the show, if at all, and with Gatwa’s career on the rise he decided to depart rather than be tied down to a show without a concrete production schedule in place. That story makes a lot of sense, and would go a long way toward explaining why the regeneration seemed rushed, although tabloids have long speculated that the BBC fired Gatwa (which the Beeb was quick to deny).
The Ratings and Disney
In the press release announcing the premiere of the latest season, BBC and Disney painted a rosy picture of NuNuWho’s success.
“Doctor Who remains one of the most watched programmes on iPlayer and was a top 5 series on Disney+ globally every week it aired, as well as being the BBC’s top drama for under 35’s this year making it one of the biggest programmes for the demographic across all streamers and broadcasters.”
Still, the UK ratings have been down year over year, with viewership of Gatwa’s tenure averaging millions below those of Jodie Whittaker’s turn as the 13th Doctor. As for Disney, the show can’t have been too successful considering the lack of marketing. Deadline noted that at the 2024 Disney upfronts, Doctor Who was essentially shunted off to the side with zero spotlight, which was remarkable considering how big this deal was from an industry point of view. Of course, nobody expected Disney to give a co-production as much promotion as it does properties it owns outright, like Marvel or Star Wars, but it doesn’t bode well either. Of course, it probably didn’t help Disney’s ratings that, in my experience, the Disney+ app populated the show terribly, with no full-series landing page and specials listed apart from seasons. But anyway…
Like the main character, Doctor Who never seems to die. Prior to the 2005 revival, the show was off the air for almost two decades (with the exception of one TV movie). BBC won’t cancel the show, but they may pause it — and a hiatus is nothing the series hasn’t overcome before. As for Disney, they’re still on the hook for Davies’s spin-off series, The War Between the Land and the Sea, and we likely won’t hear more about the state of their deal with the BBC until after that airs.
Ncuti Gatwa, of course, will be very handsome and absolutely fine. And if Davies needs another bit of stunt casting, perhaps something to piss off all the people complaining that the series has gone too “woke,” I personally think Gatwa would make a stellar 16th Doctor. One actor playing back-to-back Doctors? Even Tennant hasn’t managed that!
