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Doctor Who: Peter Capaldi on Show Being Tendered, RTD's Departure

Peter Capaldi addressed Doctor Who being put out to tender, Russell T. Davies's departure, and whether he would return when the show does.

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Article Summary

  • Peter Capaldi says Doctor Who being put out to tender does not mean the BBC sci-fi series is going anywhere.
  • Capaldi addresses Russell T. Davies' departure, predicting Doctor Who will return the same but different.
  • The former Twelfth Doctor leaves the door open to a comeback, saying you can never say never in Doctor Who.
  • Steven Moffat insists Doctor Who has not been cancelled, calling the tender process an active search for its future.

Wow. We've got two Peter Capaldi-themed Doctor Who updates to run in one day. Earlier, we took a look at what Capladi had to say about the long-running series and how there have been "too many regenerations." But shortly after, Capaldi had some comments to share about the show being put out to tender and Russell T. Davies's departure as showrunner. "Doctor Who has been great to Russell [T Davies], and it has been great to everybody who's worked any of it, and it will continue to be great. It's not going anywhere. Maybe it will disappear for a while in time and space, that's what the Doctor does," Capaldi shared with Digital Spy during the Into Film Awards, adding that the show "will be the same but different" when it returns. As for the possibility of a return of his Twelfth Doctor, it sounds like Capaldi isn't closing the door on the possibility. "You can never say never. You never know what happens in the future; anything can happen in the future, [Capaldi's Doctor] can do that, he can't do it. You just never know in the universe, and if he's going to do that, he can do that."

Doctor Who
Image: Gaydio Screencap; BBC

Writer and ex-Showrunner Steven Moffat also had some thoughts to share on the matter during the Utopia 2026 convention, tackling the topic of the Christmas Special being canned and the show's being shopped for a new creative team. "Doctor Who has not been cancelled. Yes, Christmas has been cancelled. Well, to be clear, not all of Christmas, the day will still take place, even if Doctor Who's not on it," Moffat shared. "Quite honestly, I'm not altogether sure why they bother doing that, but yes, Christmas, and that's a black mark." On that topic, Moffat added, "I don't like the fact there's not gonna be a Christmas special. There should always be a Christmas special. There's not going to be that, but the show will return – very, very definitely."

As for those comparisons between what the long-running show is going through now and when it was shut down in 1989, Moffat says that there's a very important difference. "This is not like… those of us who are old remember it was 16 years of, 'Well, we'll maybe tell you something next week,' – it's not that situation, right? So, out to tender is not out to grass. Out to tender means actively seeking a future for Doctor Who," Moffat explained. "It may take a little bit longer. Oh, so what? How much Doctor Who do you need? I mean, on your iPhones right now is every episode ever made, except for the ones we accidentally lost! So watch those for a while."

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Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
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