Doctor Who: Mark Gatiss Feeling "Very Doomy" About Tender Process

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Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: doctor who

Doctor Who: Mark Gatiss Feeling "Very Doomy" About Tender Process

Ex-Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss agrees with the BBC's tender decision, but explains why he doesn't expect the show to return anytime soon.

Published Wed, 19 Aug 2026 07:37:09 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

  • Mark Gatiss says Doctor Who may be headed for a long hiatus, echoing the show's 1989 cancellation and 2005 revival.
  • The ex-Doctor Who writer backs the BBC tender process but warns it could quietly stall, just as it did before.
  • With Russell T. Davies gone and Bad Wolf out, hopes for a near-term Doctor Who return have sharply dimmed.
  • Gatiss argues Doctor Who may need a proper break so fans miss it and a new generation can bring fresh ideas.

After a 26-year run (1963-1989), the BBC's Doctor Who was put out to pasture, not returning to screens for another 16 years (2005). Could history be repeating itself? Ex-Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss (Bookish) thinks so – and based on what he had to share with Radio Times, that could mean another very long pause is on the way. "F Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives, and I think that sort of sometimes goes for showbiz as well. I think the fact that Doctor Who had a second act of 21 years is absolutely amazing. Amazing!" Gatiss shared. "And for it to come back possibly even more popular than it was in the first run… but I think maybe it's just time for a break, because all good things come to an end."

Images: BBC; BBC (edit)

After the promise of a Christmas Special was announced last fall, the rug was pulled out from under the possibility of a Doctor Who return earlier this year when Russell T. Davies departed as showrunner, Bad Wolf departed as a producer, it was announced that the Christmas Special never actually existed, and the BBC officially announced that the long-running show would be put out to tender. With all of that in play, Gatiss thinks hitting the pause button was "a perfectly great idea" in the big picture – but not so great for those keeping a candle burning that the show will be returning anytime soon.

"I think the BBC putting it out to tender is a perfectly great idea, but we've been here before. When it was cancelled in 1989 the BBC made a big statement saying 'We're committed to taking Doctor Who through the '90s,' Gatiss noted. "They put it out to tender then, and then it just quietly didn't happen, and I have a feeling maybe that's what's going to happen. I feel very doomy, but it's true. It's fine. I think the fact it's come back so successfully means it will come back again. It's not a one-off 26-year run, but I think maybe it's just time for a proper break, because you want people to miss it and have fresh ideas, and probably someone to run it who grew up with David Tennant as the Doctor, rather than Tom Baker."

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