Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies is reportedly developing a spin-off headlined by one of the BBC show’s former leading men.
Davies has made no secret about his plans to expand the Whoniverse since signing on for his second tenure as Doctor Who’s showrunner in October 2022. To date, only one side project set in the same continuity as the core show has materialized: the six-part anthology series Tales of the TARDIS.
Davies insists that other spinoffs are on the way soon, though, including a show centered on Doctor Who’s fictional military organization UNIT. Little is known about the UNIT spin-off at this stage, other than that Jemma Redgrave will reportedly reprise the role of UNIT leader Kate Lethbridge-Stewart.
Even less has come to light about the other Doctor Who-centric productions Davies is toiling away on, although a source close to the BBC may have just spilled the beans about one of them.
Doctor Who spin-off led by fan-favorite Doctor may be in the works
Per The Mirror, the source claims that Davies is working on a Doctor Who spin-off starring Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor. McGann first appeared as the Eihght Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie, and later reprised the role in the 2013 mini-episode “The Night of the Doctor” and the 2022 special “The Power of the Doctor.”
“Russell likes the idea of bringing back McGann with his own set of episodes in the TARDIS,” the source said. “Disney are on board as they want more original content and want to fully exploit the franchise as they know how big it could become.” The source’s reference to Disney refers to the recently struck international distribution deal that grants Disney+ the international streaming rights to Doctor Who content released from November 2023 onward.
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For his part, McGann seems keen on the idea of taking another run at the Eighth Doctor. As the Mirror notes, the English actor previously stated he “would be well up” for playing the role again. It’s worth noting that neither the BBC nor McGann are still yet to officially confirm that the Eighth Doctor spinoff is happening, however.
Russell T Davies talks Tales of the TARDIS
That said, a Doctor Who side series devoted to a past Doctor is certainly in keeping with Davies’ approach to spinoffs so far. Tales of the TARDIS features several franchise veterans, including former Doctors Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor), Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor), and Sylvester McCoy (The Seventh Doctor).
And while some fans assumed that Tales of the TARDIS’s legacy casting was largely a nod to Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary celebrations, Davies has since suggested that’s not necessarily the case. On the contrary, the showrunner recently hinted that Tales of the TARDIS forms a “bigger” part of his vision for the franchise’s future than is readily apparent.
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