Doctor Who writer addresses show's future after Disney deal: "It's never going to be Star Wars"
"When it tries to be like something else, it's not Doctor Who."
Doctor Who legend Mark Gatiss has opened up about the show's future following the end of the deal with Disney.
In October 2025, it was confirmed that, after a 26-episode deal (which resulted in two seasons of Doctor Who and spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea), Disney would not partner on any more future seasons.
However, Doctor Who will continue on the BBC, with showrunner Russell T Davies returning to pen a Christmas special this year.
Gatiss, who wrote Doctor Who episodes across multiple eras of the show, including The Unquiet Dead, The Idiot's Lantern, The Crimson Horror and Robot of Sherwood, spoke to Radio Times at the Radio Times Covers Party 2026 about what the end of the deal might mean for the show.
Watch Mark Gatiss talk to RT below:
"It's never going to be Star Wars," he pointed out.
"I mean, it's been a thing since Michael Grade took it off in 1985. It's like, 'Audiences are used to Star Wars' and you go, well they are, but it's never gonna be Star Wars. What it is, is Doctor Who, and I think that's the key."
He added of the recent seasons: "It looked great. The Disney money obviously did something, but in the end, it's essentially a spooky show. It's a weird show. And that's what I've always adored about it. It's not like anything else. And actually when it tries to be like something else, it's not Doctor Who.
"I think, in the end, the thing to absolutely cherish and cling onto is that it's very much its own thing and that's why we've always loved it."
The writer also recently spoke out about the shock regeneration twist, which saw Ncuti Gatwa's Time Lord regenerate into returning star Billie Piper.
"Russell [T Davies] does chutzpah like no one else," he said.
"I don't know much about what happened, if Ncuti Gatwa was going to do three years, but only did two – it was certainly a surprise that he was going, wasn't it? So I think if you have this sort of... it's like the ultimate cliffhanger, isn't it?
"It's like Sherlock in The Reichenbach Fall. It's like, 'Well, this is a big one'. And I mean, in a funny kind of way, it absolutely bookends the 2005 new show onwards - it's all about Billie! And then guess what?!
"So I haven't a clue. I know there's a Christmas special this year. And after that, who knows?"
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Authors
Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
