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Doctor Who Christmas Special? Nope, But RTD Did Write His Memoir

It seems ex-Showrunner Russell T. Davies was writing something Doctor Who-related over the past months. It just wasn't the Christmas Special.

Published Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:37:12 -0500

by Ray Flook

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While it's pretty clear now that it had nothing to do with the now-cancelled Christmas Special, it seems that ex-Showrunner Russell T. Davies was doing some Doctor Who-related writing over the past several months. For his memoir. Set to hit the streets on October 8th from Penguin Random House's Bantam Books, The Queerest of Folk: A Life in Television (according to the publisher's website) has Davies taking us "through his life in television, and behind the scenes on some of our favourite shows." That will include "taking us from his early days working on children's shows and soaps through to the giddy heights of relaunching Doctor Who and bringing queer relationships onto the mainstream screen."

The description continues: "We're offered a glimpse into the imagination of one of Britain's most celebrated writers – what it is to feel the spark and flood and burn of ideas popping into your head – coupled with the day-to-day business of meetings and pitches, the frustrations and the hoots, over a career that has spanned five decades. This is a memoir fizzing with a love for television and the power it has to draw us together in an increasingly fragmented world."

With a drop date of early October, the timing of the news that the Christmas Special was being cancelled, Davies and Bad Wolf parting ways with the show, and the show being shelved for the time being, couldn't be any sweeter – for Davies. Based on the description above – and the amount of time between now and the release date – he should be able to squeeze in an extra chapter about what went down by the time it needs to be readied for its street date. At this point, with the overall timeline of how this played out, it almost seems like Davies and Penguin Random House won't have to waste a lot of time working the press to sell books. Making Doctor Who fans potentially wait four months for answers is all the promo that they need – with the punchline being they'll actually have to pay to get the answers.

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