It's time for someone new to take the TARDIS key. Well, it will be in a couple of years. And no, Peter Capaldi isn't leaving just yet, but Steven Moffat is, handing over the reigns of Doctor Who to regular writer Chris Chibnall.
There had been signs this was coming for a while now – Moffat has made no secret of the pressure that even a dream job such as producing the current iteration of Who brings, and he's also been busy working on Sherlock. So it's perhaps not a big surprise that he's ending his run at the top after six series. He's not leaving immediately, however: Moffat will create a Christmas special for this year and his swan song season will air in 2017 before Chibnall takes over in 2018. Yes, that means no full series of Who this year, but a combination of his Sherlock workload and the Beeb wanting to delay the series until next year has resulted in the situation as it stands.
“Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out," says Moffat. "While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him. It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip.”
Chibnall has written several scripts for Who and spin-off Torchwood as well as creating Broadchurch and Malaterra, among others. The choice may be a controversial one among fans, who haven't always loved his work, but he is someone who knows the show. "Doctor Who is the ultimate BBC programme: bold, unique, vastly entertaining, and adored all around the world," he says. "So it's a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama. I’ve loved Doctor Who since I was four years old, and I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore. Steven’s achieved the impossible by continually expanding Doctor Who's creative ambition, while growing its global popularity. He’s been a dazzling and daring showrunner, and hearing his plans and stories for 2017, it’s clear he’ll be going out with a bang. Just to make my life difficult."