Russell T. Davies called BBC director general Matt Brittin’s remark about an AI-made episode of Doctor Who “a clumsy thing to say,” and said “you’ll start to see production with a brand-new Doctor” in “summer next year.” The ORIGINAL_KEYWORD appears in this report to match the verified quotes and timeline.
Davies made the comments to BBC Radio 4’s The Media Show, telling the programme that Brittin’s wording landed badly because it affects writers and artists: “That’s a clumsy thing to say in an industry where he’s got writers and artists and it specifically affects people, they’re the first to take the blow,” Variety reported.
Variety also reported Davies said the BBC boss “hasn’t worked in television for that long and might not be so fruity with an opinion in future,” and that Davies — who revived Doctor Who in 2005 and returned in 2023 — expects new production to begin next summer: “You’ll start to see production with a brand-new Doctor, a brand-new companion, summer next year.”
The BBC has put Doctor Who out to competitive tender after Disney+ left as a co-financier, and several producers have submitted bids to reboot the series. Deadline reported that Jed Mercurio’s Hat Trick Mercurio is among the companies that submitted proposals to produce the next era of Doctor Who.
Deadline said the tender asks producers to propose a vision that could return the series in 2028–29, with interviews planned for January and the contract award expected in March; the BBC invited bids that may include third-party investment, Deadline added.
Davies’s remarks arrived after Brittin told the Royal Television Society conference he had been sent a 50-minute AI-generated Doctor Who episode and described it as “pretty good,” a comment that drew criticism from staff and creatives, Variety reported.
While Davies is stepping back from day-to-day involvement, he told The Media Show the pause will not be permanent and the series will continue under new producers chosen through the BBC’s tender process.
Sources
- Variety — Davies’s Radio 4 quotes, his comments about Brittin and the production timing.
- Deadline — BBC competitive tender details and Jed Mercurio among bidders.
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