Alarm bells started ringing across time and space following an explosive rumor going viral that’s scarier than an army of Daleks — a rumor claiming that Doctor Who is on the edge of cancellation. The British institution is officially the longest-running sci-fi TV series in the world, having first aired 62 years ago in 1963, although it was previously off the air for a full 16 years between 1989 and 2005.
For the past 20 years, however, Doctor Who has been an unshakeable small-screen staple and has morphed into a true international success. So the news that it could be calling it a day after its 2025 season is naturally leaving Whovians brandishing their sonic screwdrivers in anger and crying into their TARDIS sweatshirts (or is that just me?).
Thankfully, things aren’t quite as bad as they appear as the BBC has issued an official statement in response to the rumors that makes clear what’s really going on.
Has Ncuti Gatwa really ‘quit’ Doctor Who?
The sensationalist rumor was first shared by tabloid newspaper The Sun, which claimed that Barbie star Ncuti Gatwa — who has played the Fifteenth Doctor since 2023 — is looking to move on from the series after a supposed intense backlash and a desire for this not to taint his status as one of the industry’s biggest emerging talents.
“Ncuti doesn’t want to be tied to the series beyond this and plans to relocate to Los Angeles with several Hollywood projects standing by for him,” The Sun‘s “sources” claim. “His team also see a lot of fan backlash from the series, and don’t want the perception of him still being The Doctor to get in the way of any future work.”
OK, let’s take this as fact for a second. While its current lead leaving so soon would be a blow, this is Doctor Who, which has the handy-dandy storytelling device of regeneration to allow for the main character to be recast for infinity. So why would Gatwa leaving threaten the entire show’s existence? Per The Sun, the show is “facing the axe” after “abysmal ratings” and “shoehorning wokery into storylines.” Elements from the 2024 season, including Gatwa’s Doctor being portrayed as gay and drag queen Jinkx Monsoon featuring as a villain (both widely celebrated by fans, FYI), were cited as examples.
In response to the rumor gaining widespread attention, the BBC has put out an official statement — and it makes clear that The Sun‘s report is either way off base or, at the very least, massively jumping the gun.
“This story is incorrect, Doctor Who has not been shelved,” the BBC declared (via The Mirror). “As we have previously stated, the decision on season 3 will be made after season 2 airs. The deal with Disney+ was for 26 episodes — and exactly half of those still have to transmit. And as for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines.”
Disney Plus has partnered with BBC on producing Doctor Who since 2023 and, like the statement says, it has long been the plan for the Mouse House to review the deal after the new season airs. Of course, in an ideal world, Disney would’ve been blown away by its streaming performance so much that a renewal would’ve been handed out already, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a no.
Besides, even if the worst did happen and Disney withdrew from the deal, the BBC is extremely unlikely to give up and hit the kill switch. Doctor Who was just named as one of its biggest exports in 2024 so the corporation would no doubt simply enter into negotiations with another streamer that could match Disney’s costs (e.g. Amazon or Apple).
And, as for Gatwa, he said himself on The Graham Norton Show in October that he was gearing up to start “filming a third series next year.” Not only does this suggest he’s fully committed to the role, it also indicates he’s got total faith that Doctor Who as a whole isn’t going anywhere. Seeing as we don’t have a TARDIS and so can’t travel into the future, let’s just stay hopeful, beware of false stories, and take new developments as they come.
