Former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat reveals that he has talked to Russell T. Davies about his plans for the show, calling his ideas "fantastic". The two showrunners worked together during Davies's time in the role from 2005 to 2009. Moffat took over the position of showrunner following Davies' departure after the episode, "The End of Time".
Davies will return to the position of showrunner in 2023 following the departure of current showrunner Chris Chibnall, as well as current Doctor Jodie Whittaker. Davies era will be kicked off with the show's 60th-anniversary special, before being followed by the show's 14th season and beyond. Though plans for the future of Doctor Who are currently unknown, Davies' new era is already shaping up to have some of the biggest changes in the show's modern run, as not only will the series now be a co-production between Bad Wolf Studios and BBC, but Davies is reported to have complete creative control over the future of the Doctor Who franchise. With Davies gearing up for his new era, one former collaborator has revealed that he knows what the returning showrunner has in store for The Doctor.
Speaking before a crowd at a Q&A at Oxford Union, Moffat was asked about his thoughts on Davies' return, as well as Chibnall's time as showrunner. After discussing his experience and thoughts on what it takes to take the job, Moffat revealed that Davies emailed him before the announcement, much to Moffat's disbelief. After a phone call where Moffat reminded Davies of the stress, the latter told Moffat his plans for the show. Moffat called Davies' plans fantastic, praising him as one of the best television writers and calling his return good for Doctor Who. Check out Moffat's response below:
"I had no idea Russell was gonna do that, he told me the night before, he sent me an email, and I read it. I was just coming home from a restaurant and I thought 'Is that real? I'll see if that email's still there in the morning and see if that's real.' And then I phoned him up and I said 'Have you read 'The Writer's Tale'? Have you read it? Because I think you should.' He said 'Oh no! I want to do it again! I'm just--I'm excited, I'm thrilled!', and he told me his plans, and they're so fantastic. I mean he's the single best writer in television drama, and he wants to do Doctor Who again. Great news for Doctor Who."
Though he left the show in 2017, Moffat has continued to support Doctor Who. In 2018, Moffat wrote a novelization of the 50th-anniversary episode "The Day of the Doctor" as part of the revival of the Doctor Who Target Novelization line. Moffat also penned the webcasts "Pompadour" and "The Best of Days" during the Doctor Who: Lockdown watch-along events, which continued the stories of his television episodes "The Girl in the Fireplace" and "World and Time Enough/The Doctor Falls".
While fans wait for details of what lays beyond Chibnall and Whittaker's departure, Moffat's hints at Davies' plan are promising. It is also welcome to see that all the showrunners continue to have a strong friendship following their times on the show. With both Chibnall and Moffat having worked with Davies through his initial era of Doctor Who, it is possible they could at some point return to write episodes in season 14 and beyond.
Source: Oxford Union