Doctor Who recently concluded its 60th anniversary on the 2023 TV schedule, but not before massively shaking up the franchise. After the series revealed the fates of David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa's Doctors as the first ones to experience bi-generation on-screen, many wondered what this meant going forward. Now, Russell T. Davies has shed a little light on the situation and his plans for the immediate future now that we know the Fourteenth Doctor is still around.
Russell T. Davies participated in a Q&A press conference following the premiere of "The Giggle," in which DailyMail.com and others were present. Someone asked him about the plans for Tennant going forward now that he's still in Doctor Who and his character didn't transform into Ncuti Gatwa's incarnation. For those hoping we'd be getting news of a Tennant-led Who special to binge with our Disney+ subscription in the near future, I wouldn't hold my breath based on the showrunner's response:
Sorry, it's the age of Ncuti now – it's 'David who?...No plans, genuinely, yet, because it's a busy TARDIS - these two [Gatwa and Millie Gibson as companion Ruby Sunday] are gonna just sail across the universe and capture your heart, so it's time to look at these two.
It looks like, for the time being, Russell T. Davies is going to remain focused on building up Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor and telling the story of him and his new companion, Ruby Sunday. The showrunner already teased a big reveal about Millie Gibson's character ahead of the Christmas special, which could lead into a carryover story from Jodie Whittaker's run as the Thirteenth Doctor. Clearly, there's already a lot in store.
The positive of this news is that the fear of Ncuti Gatwa's inaugural run as The Doctor being stepped on by David Tennant's return can officially subside. It appears that Russell T. Davies understood the importance of letting the new Doctor get time to shine. Knowing that there are no immediate plans to use David Tennant may help those who tuned in just to see the former Tenth Doctor give the new iteration of the time lord a shot.
The reveal is curious, however, especially given how monumental the bi-generation was for the Doctor Who universe as a whole. For those unaware, Russell T. Davies dropped a major reveal during the commentary track for "The Giggle." He said that when the Fourteenth and Fifteen Doctors bi-generated, the entire line of Doctors did as well. This would feasibly mean that every Doctor is currently alive and available to appear in their own standalone specials, depending on the willingness and ability of former Doctor actors who left the show.
While this option was always available thanks to the show's time travel, the new knowledge that the Doctors technically never regenerated allows for them to age as humans do, and actors looking older does not need to be something explained by the story.
If there are no immediate plans to use David Tennant or any of the other former Doctors in stories, then why did Doctor Who do the bi-generation? Perhaps Russell T. Davies doesn't want to spoil any potential plans without setting up the story for the new Doctor, which is understandable. It's also possible he wanted to do something big for the franchise but doesn't have a long-term plan in place for how it will work. I guess we'll just have to wait, see and hope that we get to see some of the old Doctors again.
Tune in for the Doctor Who Christmas special on Monday, December 25th on Disney+ to see the Fifteenth Doctor's first official adventure. I know I'm excited for this new era and to see what Ncuti Gatwa can do as The Doctor. I'm also grateful we'll get some time with him without having to worry about him sharing the spotlight with other Doctors in the process.
