Doctor Who director says "something went wrong" with Disney deal: "It wasn't a better show with more money"
Peter Hoar, who directed The Robot Revolution and Lucky Day, was speaking about his new "genre-based" production company.
Peter Hoar, the director behind two of the most recent episodes of Doctor Who, has said that "something went wrong" with the series in its most recent era, when the show was co-produced with Disney.
The director, who worked on two season 15 episodes, The Robot Revolution and Lucky Day, was speaking in an interview about his new "genre-based" production company Multitude Productions, which he's founded with executive producer Matthew Bouch and West End producer Jason Haigh-Ellery.
Talking to Deadline, Hoar said of the sci-fi's latest iteration: "I don’t think anybody would doubt the skills at the front line of that show but something went wrong.
"I think there were lots of areas you could point fingers at but ultimately it wasn’t a better show with more money. And that’s a good thing, because we haven’t got the money anymore, nobody has."
Bouch also said that the "well-publicised dropping off of Doctor Who" gives them the sense that there is a gap in the market in the UK for "genre-based British IP", which they are looking to fill – in part – with their new reboot of Blake's 7.
Hoar was not only behind The Robot Revolution and Lucky Day, but also directed an episode from the Matt Smith era – season 6's mid-season finale A Good Man Goes to War.
Elsewhere he has directed episodes of Daredevil, The Last Kingdom, The Umbrella Academy and The Last of Us. He was behind all five episodes of current Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies's Channel 4 drama It's a Sin, and all three episodes of his ITV show Nolly.
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Doctor Who's Disney deal came to an end with last year's spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea, but the main show will return later this year for a Christmas special.
That episode will be written by Davies, but nothing else is currently known about it – including whether it will be produced as part of a new deal with another production and distribution partner, or whether the BBC will go it alone once more.
Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
