DOCTOR WHO May Be Canceled And Shelved For 5 Years Following Backlash To "Woke" Storylines

DOCTOR WHO May Be Canceled And Shelved For 5 Years Following Backlash To "Woke" Storylines

Doctor Who's future is once again in doubt as a new report points to the show being cancelled after the upcoming second season. In fact, it could even be shelved for the next half a decade by the BBC...

By JoshWilding - Feb 18, 2025 10:02 AM EST
Filed Under: Doctor Who
Source: SFFGazette.com

Say what you will about the British tabloids but they've always been pretty on point when it comes to Doctor Who gossip. As we first reported on SFFGazette.comThe Sun has run a story claiming that Ncuti Gatwa is indeed moving on from the series when the upcoming second season ends. 

The trades said that was a possibility last year and, according to the site's sources, "Ncuti doesn’t want to be tied to the series beyond this and plans to relocate to Los Angeles with several Hollywood projects standing by for him."

"His team also see a lot of fan backlash from the series, and don’t want the perception of him still being The Doctor to get in the way of any future work," the insider alleges. "The show has been poorly managed in recent years and there’s a lot of people who’ve been working on this show for years and now being cast aside due to poor leadership."

Showrunner Russell T. Davies' Doctor Who return has been widely criticised, and this same person points to what many have deemed "woke" storylines for much of the backlash and a decline in ratings. 

"People warned some episodes were getting too caught up on an agenda rather than telling a story and those people got shouted down, ignored," they explain, likely referring to episodes featuring a woman who saved the world because she was trans, a Drag Queen villain, and a gay romance involving the Doctor and Jonathan Groff's Rogue.

There's nothing wrong with any of those but the prevailing argument online is that almost every episode had a heavy-handed message...which has proven to be a turn-off for some. 

The report goes so far as to claim that the BBC is planning to shelve Doctor Who for at least the next five years. That's not overly shocking after previous reports about Disney's plan to end its deal with the broadcaster after the show proved to be considerably less popular on Disney+ than expected.

For what it's worth, a BBC spokesperson has told The Mirror, "This story is incorrect, Doctor Who has not been shelved. As we have previously stated, the decision on season 3 will be made after season 2 airs. The deal with Disney+ was for 26 episodes - and exactly half of those still have to transmit. And as for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines."

Between this and the aforementioned reports from the Hollywood trades, it very much sounds like Doctor Who's future is in doubt. The widely touted deal with Disney+ was meant to be a fresh start for the show, with Davies' return seen as a righting of the ship after Chris Chibnall's divisive stint in charge. 

Low viewership and so-so reviews may be a sign that Doctor Who being put back on the shelf for a while might be beneficial for a franchise which, in recent years, has seen interest decrease significantly. 

As always, stay tuned for updates as we have them. 

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luckypenny
luckypenny - 2/18/2025, 10:14 AM
The Sun is a garbage newspaper that have been wrong every single time they had a "scoop" on Doctor Who.
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 2/18/2025, 10:23 AM
@luckypenny - but they had page 3 back in the day which got me through my teenage years!😮‍💨
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 2/18/2025, 10:40 AM
@luckypenny - Sun is one of the least trustworthy rags going, has been for a long time, that isn't to say they are always wrong but even when half right there tends to be a lot of spin for clickbait reasons.

End of the day even if rumblings it still wouldn't negate the 'waiting to see' with season two and the spinoff adventure before any decisions are confirmed.

It isn't like viewing figures were low in the UK, still one of the highest viewed drama shows going (the anniversay Tennant episodes literaly had the single highest figure for drama, only beaten by a couple of reality shows and major events). It is just easy to be made to sound low as the number of channels compared to when it first returned and increasing trend towards streaming means overall TV viewership across the board has gone down (ie viewership of Dr Who has reduced in viewership less than almost everything else on traditional TV).
marvel72
marvel72 - 2/18/2025, 11:46 AM
@BraveNewClunge - Remember doing a paper round in the morning and The Sun, The Star and The Sport set me up for the day.
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 2/18/2025, 12:08 PM
@marvel72 - 🤣🤣🤣😅 those were the days.
DrTabooSun
DrTabooSun - 2/20/2025, 7:13 PM
@Apophis71 - LOL! What!? More people watch the typical middling YouTube channel than the global audience for Dr. Who. What fantasy world do you live in that they had good ratings?
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 2/20/2025, 7:53 PM
@DrTabooSun - So you have zero idea how they calculate viewing figures in the UK, what is considered high or low then as the Tennant specials literaly had the single highest viewed episodes of any drama shown that year, not even close, the lowest viewed of those specials was higher than the highest for any other drama on UK TV that year.

UK numbers are cross referenced with TV licences and ipsos polls to ensure that the numbers are reflective as accurately as possible to actual viewers, not total views elevated by repeat viewing on multiple platforms.

We have a population of 67million with 480 available TV channels plus streaming and youtube etc. ANYTHING getting over 2million viewers in the UK isn't just considered good, it is considered a BIG HIT and the most recent episodes ended at around the 3.5million viewer mark in the UK. Sure it isn't the 10million from when most only had 5 channels and no high speed broadband here but...

...as to global audience, not seen them published reliably anywhere to comment but was specificaly talking about UK viewership of what is still primarily a British TV show even if now also on D+.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 2/18/2025, 10:14 AM
Damn. The last season wasn’t a return to form but was SIGNIFICANTLY better than the last three series. I actually am enjoying Ncuti Gatwa in the main role. Wish he got his full 3 seasons to flesh out his take.

But the series has been kind of struggling for a while and maybe it is best it takes another hiatus for 5-10 years and comes back with new, fresh energy.
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 2/18/2025, 10:15 AM
User Comment Image
OrgasmicPotatoe
OrgasmicPotatoe - 2/18/2025, 10:58 AM
@harryba11zack - hold it right there buddy guy, i'm gonna need to see some registration first before you get to post that content
RaddRider
RaddRider - 2/18/2025, 10:17 AM
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 2/18/2025, 10:18 AM
the good news keeps on coming.
Batmangina
Batmangina - 2/18/2025, 10:19 AM

RETIRE THE POOP SHOOTY RETARDIS
Thing94
Thing94 - 2/18/2025, 10:24 AM
Hahahahaha good
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