“It would be career madness,” says the BBC sci-fi’s former showrunner.

By Louise Griffin

Published: Thursday, 02 February 2023 at 12:00 am


Former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has created some of the series’ most iconic episodes and monsters – and now he’s addressed whether he could be back to write any more episodes during Russell T Davies‘ second reign.

Moffat – who’s also known for BBC’s Sherlock and, most recently, the drama Inside Man – previously said it’s too soon for him to follow in Davies’ footsteps and return as showrunner.

However, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com at the Radio Times Covers Party about the idea of returning to write a few episodes, he didn’t quite rule it out.

“It would be career madness, even by my standards, to go back in a junior capacity to a show I used to run,” he said. “I’d have to be insane to do that…”

Is that a twinkle in his eye we see there? We still have hope!

Moffat has created some of Doctor Who’s most epic monsters, including the Weeping Angels, which have often been voted the scariest monster of all time.

Steven Moffat and his Weeping Angel, photographed in 2015 for Radio Times by Richard Ansett

The terrifying creatures have returned various times to haunt the Doctor, most recently in Village of the Angels, written by Chris Chibnall and Maxine Alderton.

“There’s nothing better than seeing an idea you introduced to Doctor Who fly off with other creators,” Moffat said.

“That’s incredibly exciting. I was so thrilled when the Weeping Angels appeared in a story I hadn’t written or produced. That was great, that made them real somehow, I was thrilled by it. Village of the Angels, wasn’t it? It was a great story, loved it.”

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Russell T Davies
Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images

Fans were stunned when it was announced that Davies would be returning to helm Doctor Who once again after bringing the sci-fi back to screens in 2005.

He’ll be in charge of the 60th anniversary specials, which will see David Tennant return, this time playing the 14th Doctor, and Catherine Tate reprise her role as Donna Noble.

Also joining the cast are stars including Neil Patrick Harris and Heartstopper‘s Yasmin Finney.

Then, Ncuti Gatwa will take over the keys to the TARDIS, with Millie Gibson, who’s playing companion Ruby Sunday.

Davies is keeping tight-lipped on what we can expect, and Moffat is no different, telling us: “He’s told me loads! But I’m not telling you.”

Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.

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