After taking charge of the franchise's return way back in 2005, Russell T Davies has become a beloved figure among Doctor Who fans. While he happily passed the reigns of the hit sci-fi series to other creatives following a successful run, the news of his return has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response.
Davies will oversee this year's specials starring David Tennant before forging ahead with a new era of storytelling revolving around Ncuti Gatwa's (Sex Education) Fourteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson (Coronation Street) as his companion, Ruby Sunday.
Despite having a loyal, fairly large, fanbase, it feels like Doctor Who has never quite managed to break into the mainstream the same way as other fantasy and sci-fi shows. However, BBC's deal with Disney+ looks set to bring the property to a wider audience than ever before, while the movie has also resulted in a significant budget increase.
Now, Davies has confirmed that the "Whoniverse" is going to expand with new spin-off stories.
"I thought - with no criticism whatsoever towards the people who were running it at the time, because they were running it within the BBC's measures - it was time for the next stage for Doctor Who," he told GQ (via SFFGazette.com) of his plans for the franchise. "I thought the streaming platforms are ready, the spin-offs are ready. I always believed in spin-offs when I was there."
"I did Torchwood as a spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures as a spin-off. Those spin-offs declined when I left, and I can see why," Davies adds. "And I very much left after 2008, when the money became scarce, I think that's fair enough for the public service broadcaster that the money is spent on other things."
We're assuming Disney+ has pushed to expand Doctor Who now they hold those streaming rights outside the UK, and this isn't the first time Davies has shared his hopes to expand the series beyond the core show. In 2021, he even suggested ideas like The Nyssa Adventures (a reference to a classic Doctor Who companion) or a team-up with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors.
There's no word on what form the upcoming projects he's teasing here will actually end up taking, but if you're a Doctor Who fan, it's fair to say now is a very exciting time to be a Whovian...