While this news was to be expected, it seemed more likely to drop after The War Between the Land and the Sea's premiere. Regardless, it's now been confirmed (via SFFGazette.com) that Disney+ is exiting its Doctor Who partnership with the BBC.
The streamer teamed with the British Broadcasting Company to bring the long-running sci-fi series to a global audience. That included a cash injection meant to give the show a big-budget feel, bringing it more in line with Game of Thrones and The Mandalorian, for example.
Unfortunately, the first two seasons of this latest Doctor Who revival struggled to find an audience. There were also repeated controversies surrounding showrunner Russell T Davies's so-called "woke" approach to the stories being told.
Ncuti Gatwa left the series in the Season 2 finale, regenerating into a female Doctor with Billie Piper's face (the actress played companion Rose Tyler when the series was brought back by Davies in 2005).
Now, the BBC has announced that Doctor Who will return in Christmas 2026 with a special episode written by Davies. It's unclear whether this will be his farewell meant to bridge the gap between his and the next showrunner's vision. Either way, the broadcaster has confirmed that it will "announce plans for the next series in due course to ensure the Doctor's adventures continue."
We'd imagine this episode will be more in line with the Doctor Who from before Disney+'s involvement, as the budget is likely to be lower. Still, the series thrived for years without a streaming partner, and the hope is that it will do so again.
In a statement, Lindsay Salt, Director of Drama, BBC, said, "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."
It's also been confirmed that The War Between the Land and the Sea is heading to BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year, along with a brand-new animated series for CBeebies, which is in development.
The Doctor Who Christmas special will be produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC. The news that the series is going nowhere will be welcomed by fans, but what its future looks like isn't clear, despite the promises above. For now, at least, it seems the BBC won't be teaming up with another streaming platform.