Doctor Who’s Chris Chibnall has commended the BBC on its dedication to the sci-fi show ahead of its centenary special, revealing that Doctor Who “would not exist” outside of the broadcaster.
The showrunner, who’ll be leaving the show after this Sunday’s special, told RadioTimes.com and other press at a screening for The Power of the Doctor that Doctor Who is “the most BBC show there is” and that without the channel, we wouldn’t have the show we know and love today.
“The thing that makes [Doctor Who] magical is the BBC, because the BBC has kept it on air,” he said. “The BBC created it in the first place, it was a group of people at the BBC who created it.
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“They kept it on air, they reinvigorated it by thinking of the idea of regeneration when they needed to recast, they’ve changed it into colour, they’ve changed it into different formats.”
Chibnall continued: “The faith of the BBC in this show… it’s the most BBC show there is. It would not exist anywhere else.”
The outgoing showrunner, who’ll be leaving Doctor Who alongside its current star Jodie Whittaker, also praised BBC boss Charlotte Moore for supporting the show and making it “really important to the BBC”.
Whittaker added that Doctor Who doesn’t restrict where its characters can go, who they are and “the social norms that often happen in TV”.
“And I think because of that, it always feels incredibly current as well as it feels completely other as well,” she said. “It’s a really difficult thing to distill down… obviously, it’s sci-fi, but it’s also historical, it’s also sometimes kitchen sink. It’s for children. It’s for adults, it’s for everyone.”
Doctor Who’s upcoming special, The Power of the Doctor, will see Whittaker’s Doctor fight for her existence as the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Master (Sacha Dhawan) rear their ugly heads once again.
The episode will also see the Thirteenth Doctor regenerate into a new form, which could be Ncuti Gatwa, who is set to become the next Doctor. However, with David Tennant also set to reprise his role as the Doctor, we don’t yet know who’ll be the next person to hold the key to the TARDIS.
Additional reporting by Morgan Jeffery.
Doctor Who returns to BBC One on Sunday 23rd October at 7:30pm for The Power of the Doctor. The show 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.
For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or visit our full TV Guide.
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