Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

The partnership between Disney and the BBC over Doctor Who has come to an end – although the BBC has confirmed the show will be returning for Christmas 2026.

“We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea,” said Lindsay Salt, director of drama at the BBC. “The BBC remains fully committed to Doctor Who, which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026. We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course, which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”

So, the second (or is it third?) long dark night of Doctor Who fandom is coming to a middle, notes Alasdair Stuart. We have a return date and confirmation the House of Mouse is getting out of the TARDIS business.

We have, of course, seen minute linguistic dissection of this statement but we’re going to focus on facts.

Firstly, ‘another spectacular Christmas special’. Not ‘a final Christmas special’, not ‘one last bow’. ‘Another.’ This is language about an ongoing prospect, not a victory lap for a series coming into land.

Secondly, Davies is back, which implies he’s back running the next season too. I’ve got complex feelings about that, all of which can be neatly summed up in the fervent belief that there are more than three people qualified to run Doctor Who on Earth, not all of them are men and it would be really great if someone could realise that soon. But, when he’s on form, Davies is on form and we know he had plans past these two years.

Finally, the last sentence: trust but verify is always a good maxim but it’s hard not to look at this and see anything other than ‘It’s a flagship show and we’re doing more of it.’ The details, and God knows Doctor Who fandom loves the details, will come later. But for now, the facts. We’ve got a return date. We’ve got a format. We’ve got a writer. Everything else stems from there.

Although…

If I was a betting man I’d maybe put a fiver on The War Between Land and Sea setting up something that gets resolved, or at least addressed, in the Christmas Special. Maybe the sort of problem only a Time Lord could solve. Or cause.

Anyway! Facts it is! On we go!