The BBC has confirmed the future of Doctor Who with a Christmas 2026 special written by Russell T Davies.
The announcement comes alongside confirmation that the show’s partnership with Disney+ has come to an end after two seasons and upcoming spinoff The War Between the Land and the Sea. Despite this, the BBC insisted it remains “fully committed” to the show and will announce plans for the next series “in due course to ensure the Doctor’s adventures continue.”
That’s pretty much all we have for now, although Lindsay Salt, the BBC’s Director of Drama, did offer a comment:
“We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea. The BBC remains fully committed to Doctor Who, which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026. We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”
The War Between the Land and the Sea will be released on the BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year, the BBC added. There’s a brand-new Doctor Who animation series for CBeebies in development, too. The BBC did not announce a streaming partner for the global release of the Doctor Who Christmas 2026 special.
The future of Doctor Who has been hotly debated by fans and even people who worked on the show. Earlier this month, the executive producer of Doctor Who hit back at “rude” comments from a former writer who claimed the show was “as dead as we’ve ever known it.”
Jane Tranter, co-founder of Doctor Who production company Bad Wolf, said the comment by the former Doctor Who writer was “really untrue,” though went on to suggest that fans would have to “wait patiently to see” when the show might eventually return, and how it would “change” when it does.
Doctor Who has endured a mixed response to the series’ recent era and the departure of lead actor Ncuti Gatwa, whose exit scenes were added in reshoots. The shock return of former Doctor Who actress Billie Piper in the closing seconds of the series’ most recent finale also sparked much debate. Piper’s unexplained appearance — presented on-screen as a new incarnation of the Doctor, though deliberately left ambiguous — seemed to place the franchise in narrative limbo.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
