Former Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall reveals Jodie Whittaker's final season came very close to being cancelled by BBC. Whittaker made history in 2017 when she became the first woman to portray the Doctor following Peter Capaldi's run. She portrayed the 13th Doctor from season 11 to season 13, before making her final appearance in the Doctor Who special "The Power of the Doctor." Like many actors who portrayed the Doctor before her, she followed the three-season rule - but she came very close to having her stint cut short.

While appearing on the Radio Free Skaro podcast, Chibnall reveals Doctor Who season 13 almost didn't happen. Doctor Who season 13 premiered on October 31, 2021, just off the backend of the COVID-19 lockdown. Hence, while filming ultimately took place during the pandemic, there was one point when BBC was ready to call it off due to lockdown, scheduling, and financing concerns. Check out Chibnall's statement below:

There was a week where [Doctor Who: Flux] was not going to be made. And because the BBC was just like — the BBC studios, and it’s like, where’s the money coming from? How are we going to do this? Is it too difficult? And it literally went down to the wire of like, yeah, there was an hour on one day when it’s like, it was done. And yeah, we had to do — there are certain things I had to do to get that season made. Because they couldn’t find a way to do it. [Jodie Whittaker gave up several jobs] to do the third season, which, obviously because it had moved in the schedule, you know, she had stuff lined up for when we were supposed to finish shooting, but then was delayed by the pandemic.

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The Nearly Cancelled Doctor Who: Flux Changed Doctor Who History

Viewers may not have realized just how close Doctor Who season 13, titled Doctor Who: Flux, came to being cancelled by BBC. However, it was known that the pandemic did interfere a bit with the season. Chibnall previously opened up about how he was forced to reformat his vision for season 13 and condense it into a shorter run of just six episodes. As a result, he came up with a different idea to have all six play into a single, overarching story, rather than interjecting standalone episodes as the show is known to do.

Additionally, Chibnall dove into Doctor Who mythology for this storyline and, in doing so, changed series history. Changing Doctor Who lore is something Chibnall had done before: In season 12, for example, it was unveiled that the Doctor wasn't a Time Lord, but a being called the Timeless Child. Many feared the retcon would largely be ignored, as the Doctor chose not to let her past define her, but Chibnall further probed the idea in Doctor Who: Flux, in which the Doctor sets out on a personal mission to recover her Timeless Child memories.

The major facets of the show that Doctor Who: Flux changed were the nature of time and the rules of time travel. The show has always vaguely described time as a fourth dimension of the universe, but Chibnall changed this by establishing time as an actual force in need of restraint. Additionally, the season introduced an entirely new species, the Mouri, as the true entities who are tasked with controlling and regulating time. Although Russell T Davies is now Doctor Who's showrunner again, Chibnall's season 13 still managed to leave an indelible mark on the show's lore.

More: Doctor Who: Amy & Rory's Timeline, Explained

Source: Radio Free Skaro