Doctor Who legend reveals what he'd change if he returned to the series
Revered series producer Philip Hinchcliffe explains how he'd approach Doctor Who differently in 2025.
The future of Doctor Who may be somewhat up in the air – the BBC has confirmed that the legendary sci-fi series will continue, just not when it'll return – but a revered former series producer has an idea of how the show should change when it eventually rematerialises.
Speaking at a BFI Southbank event to mark the release of the Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 13 Blu-ray set, Philip Hinchcliffe – producer on the show from 1974-77 – explained what he felt the modern version is lacking.
Hinchcliffe presided over one of the show's most popular eras, delivering classic stories such as The Seeds of Doom and Pyramids of Mars that remain fan favourites to this day.
Though he insisted he'd "never be asked" to return to Doctor Who as a creative consultant, Hinchcliffe suggested that the series should return to its classic format of each story spanning 100 minutes, or four x 25-minute episodes.
"That's a very good time for a movie or a television story to be told, in 100 minutes," he said.
"That gives you room to introduce characters, to unravel an inciting event of the story – the mystery, and what's going wrong – and you've got the time to get to know the characters, to invest emotionally with the characters, not just the heroes, and there can be plot reversals, and suspense... it doesn't have to be action all the time."
He continued: "To try and tell an interesting story in 50 minutes is very difficult.
"I would want it to be of that length [100 minutes], because if you're watching something, you want to invest in the [supporting] characters, not just the Doctor – it gives you room to tell the story, so that would be my main point that I think would benefit it."
The most recent season of Doctor Who wrapped up in May, with Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor regenerating into none other than Billie Piper – though whether she is truly the next incarnation of the Time Lord remains to be seen.
Fans are still processing that jaw-dropping finale, while also waiting for clarity on when the series will return. Producer Jane Tranter has confirmed that Disney – which co-produces the show with the BBC – does not have to decide on further seasons until after the upcoming spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, has aired in 2026.
Still, BBC executives have stressed that the series is safe no matter what – chief content officer Kate Phillips reassured viewers at the Edinburgh TV Festival that Doctor Who is "going nowhere", adding that it will remain on the BBC "with or without Disney".
Meanwhile, repeats of Matt Smith’s debut season will begin airing on BBC Three this autumn, keeping Whovians entertained until fresh episodes arrive.
Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 13 is available to pre-order now and is set to be released on 20th October.
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
