Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: doctor who

Doctor Who Tender: Quay Street Passing; Pete McTighe "Approached"?

The latest Doctor Who tender update: Quay Street Productions says, "Thanks, but no thanks," and Pete McTighe is apparently being "approached."

Who's ready to step up and grab the baton being passed by ex-showrunner Russell T. Davies and Bad Wolf? While we await that answer, we have some very real updates about the Doctor Who tender process to pass along. It's "A Tale of Two Updates," with the first update spotlighting one production company that's passing on pitching – and making it official. Meanwhile, it seems a certain familiar name from "The Whoniverse" has been getting hit up by production companies looking to pitch. Here's a clue: their name rhymes with "Pete McTighe"…

Quay Street Productions Taking a Pass: Speaking with RadioTimes, Quay Street Productions (Tip Toe, The Stolen Girl, Fool Me Once) founder Nicola Shindler made it clear that the company won't be getting into the Time Lord business any time soon. "It's not for me. I can say that definitively. I think what Russell did with it was absolutely brilliant. I really enjoyed that last series, both of them. I've enjoyed all of them actually, but it isn't my forte," Shindler shared. "I don't think it'd be my strength. I think there's way better people out there who could do it."

Pete McTighe Getting "Approached" By Production Companies: It appears Doctor Who writer Pete McTighe (The War Between the Land and the Sea) has been getting calls from production companies looking to involve him when they pitch. During the latest edition of the Who's He? podcast, Phil Cannon shared what McTighe had to say while the two were at a panel at Whooverville 17 on September 5th. "Pete McTighe did say that some production companies have approached him to partner with them to tender for the next series," Cannon said. "He actually did sort of come out and say that he has been approached by production companies to partner," Cannon continued. "He didn't say he'd committed to anything. He basically said, you know, watch this space. See what happens."

BBC Studios: Back in July, BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell made it clear that the production company plans on jumping into the mix. "We've been the producer for 60 years, and we want to be the producer for another 60 years, so we will be going for that tender with gusto," Fussell shared with Deadline Hollywood. "We are in it to win it." As for what that might mean specifically – for example, will it be one or several banners under the BBC Studios umbrella pitching, Fussell wouldn't say. "We've got the full breadth of our studio to look at that, and we will do the best for an absolute adored brand. As the distributor and commercial licensor [of Doctor Who], we understand those fan relationships and can build on that. Doctor Who is something that people in this organization care passionately about," he added.

Electric Entertainment: Previously, there had been rumblings that Dean Devlin's production company, Electric Entertainment (The Librarians: The Next Chapter), were "in talks" with the BBC. In addition, those same rumblings had Devlin expressing an interest in bringing back the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors, David Tennant. Of course, the biggest red flag to that rumor would be the idea that the BBC was speaking with anyone before the tender invite had gone out – that's a huge no-no on a number of levels. In a statement to Radio Times, Devlin said that his company would definitely be interested in making its case when the time is appropriate – but no talks have taken place. "It is untrue that we have had negotiations with the BBC. Preliminary or otherwise. When the proper time comes, when they are prepared to speak with people, we certainly hope to have a discussion with them."

Disney+: Just f***ing with you! At this point, it feels like The War Between the Land and the Sea is being held streaming hostage, with 2026 looking a whole lot more like 2027.

Prime Video: Oliver Jones, Senior Commissioner for UK Scripted at Amazon's Prime Video, had an interesting response when asked about a possible interest in Doctor Who. His words were potentially even more telling when combined with what he and Nicole Clemens, Amazon MGM Studios' London-based VP of International Originals, shared about their goal for UK production. "I love 'Doctor Who,' and we welcome any conversations around IP," shared Jones, not exactly shutting down the idea. From there, Jones and Clemens discussed plans for "across-the-board" increases in spending on UK programming. "The UK budget now sits in the UK, and the decision-making sits with me," said Clemens. "I wanted to let people know that we're open for business," they added, noting that funding was available for scripted and unscripted programs.

"We want broadly commercial shows, but they still need to have a sense of authorship, originality, with deep, multi-faceted characters and a real sense of lean and propulsion. We're a local UK team, we're programming for UK audiences, and we're programming across all of the regions. Ideally, they also have universal themes, universal subject matters, which means that they could travel and get bigger audiences," Jones explained during their time at this year's Edinburgh TV Festival. "If it doesn't work in the UK, it won't travel," Clemens added.

Netflix: Also during the Edinburgh TV Festival, Anne Mensah, Netflix's VP of Original Series, may have won the award for addressing the tender situation and the streamer's potential interest in it in a way that was as middle-of-the-road as possible: "I love 'Doctor Who.' Anything that stays brilliant this long will have many, many lives," Mensah shared with session mediator Boyd Hilton, keeping things short, sweet, and respectful.

But it seems that Mensah had more to share on the matter during an exclusive with Radio Times. "I was obsessed with Doctor Who. Okay, so in complete truth, like Russell T [Davies] is like my person most missed in my life. I love Russell's work. So, yeah, the better question would have been, but would I love to work with Russell T Davies? Yes, I would love to work with Russell T Davies because he's a freaking genius," Mensah shared. "I think Doctor Who belongs on the BBC, and I think all of its iterations. I was there when Jane Tranter [former Controller of Drama Commissioning at the BBC and Bad Wolf co-founder] relaunched it. It's a really special show, but it belongs on the BBC. We've got Supacell!"

World Productions: "It's interesting, isn't it? There's definitely people in my team who are really interested in it, but I imagine there'll be lots of companies interested. It's a discussion point, isn't it? I grew up on it and then my my kids were brought up on the new iteration. But it's a show that has its challenges, so you have to think very carefully," shared Simon Heath, CEO and creative director of World Productions, with RadioTimes. "I think you have to go into it knowing you've got a plan. I think I know what I would do with it, but whether that means anyone would listen, I don't know."

When asked about possible plans for Doctor Who, should things fall that way, the head of the company behind Line of Duty, Vigil, Malpractice, Showtrial, and a number of other impressive efforts chose to say spoiler-free. "Well, I don't want to give that away really, before the tender process. But look, I don't know. We may go for it, we may not. It's not decided yet. The process hasn't been outlined yet, to see what we'd have to go through. You want to take a look at that really before you make any decision," Heath added.

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