Disney+ Officially Exiting ‘Doctor Who’ Partnership With BBC After Two Seasons
https://deadline.com/2025/10/doctor-who-disney-plus-pulling-out-bbc-christmas-special-1236600026/Open linkView original on startrek.websitehttps://deadline.com/2025/10/doctor-who-disney-plus-pulling-out-bbc-christmas-special-1236600026/Open linkView original on startrek.website
Good. Let's just put it all behind us and move forward.
Yeah TBH I'm just glad that Disney have finally decided, instead of stringing it along until after the spinoff airs (next year?) which is what I thought they were gonna do. At least now the BBC can just get on with it.
Kind of what I was expecting, although I'm not sure if a short break might not have been better. I guess we'll see what happens.
Now for the million dollar question: Who will be in the Christmas special?! :-)
With RTD still on board, he's all but guaranteed to do...whatever it is he has in mind with Billie Piper.
Whether it's a one-off or an ongoing thing is pretty hard to say.
A "search for the Doctor" arc could actually be an interesting change of pace, assuming Piper isn't playing the Doc.
Yeah, I'm curious to see what they decide to do there, especially after it seemed the fan response wasn't extremely positive. I know my wife was not impressed when she heard about it! I'm sure he'll be tempted to use 14 in some capacity since he's still presumably floating around somewhere too.
Either way, hopefully the break gives them a chance to regroup and come back fresh!
I feel like the obvious rewrites to cover Gatwa's exit were so jarring, it's hard to feel overly positive about the twist.
But taken in isolation...IDK, there's potential there. It's all about the execution.
We actually haven't gotten that far yet to see it ourselves, but I've heard that it felt a bit tacked on. I think I would be fine with Piper as the Doctor if they had some good stories, but to me it seems a little too much like nostalgia bait. Especially after 14!
Well, I couldn't stay away from this, could I? I for one am quite happy that Disney cut the ties, finally. That means the Beeb are free to find a new funding partner going forward.
As for Davies, so far he's only confirmed for that holiday special, and honestly I hope he signs off after that. His work has been uneven since he returned (with super high peaks, but cavernous troughs), and it's probably time for new blood.
My suggested opening scene for that next special would be: