Russell T Davies's return to Doctor Who was not the rousing success most fans had expected it to be. Ratings steadily declined throughout both seasons, and while the BBC's partnership with Disney+ helped give the series a big budget feel, Davies's "woke" storylines split opinions and the show never really found a huge international audience.
The Doctor Who franchise has often been praised for its diversity. However, many felt that the showrunner was being too heavy-handed with storylines about incels, same-sex relationships, and non-binary aliens.
We still don't know whether Disney+ will continue to invest in the series, though it seems doubtful. Rumours are already swirling about the British broadcaster seeking a new creative partner, and a fresh start without Davies at the helm.
Ncuti Gatwa bid farewell to Doctor Who after just two seasons and a handful of specials, passing the baton to Billie Piper. She played companion Rose Tyler when the series returned to our screens in 2005, and there are heaps of theories about why the Doctor now wears Rose's face.
Appearing alongside Christopher Eccleston at this weekend's Florida Supercon 2025, Piper finally broke her silence on seemingly being cast as the Doctor (the most popular theory is that she's Rose herself or even "Bad Wolf").
"This is such a minefield - I have to really engage with how I answer this," she told a fan. "All I can say is I was approached very last-minute, and I can't talk about in what capacity, but I found it very emotional to film and I think it's a really great ending."
"As in, I just found it quite moving, and it was really fun to film because it had such a sort of cloak and dagger feeling about getting it made," Piper continued. "So, yeah, I have to lie a lot about anything to do with Doctor Who, it seems."
It's previously been reported that Piper was brought in last-minute, and that other plans either called for Gatwa to stick around or for us not to see who he regenerates into. Scooper Daniel Richtman (via SFFGazette.com) has weighed in on what the plan is for Piper's Doctor, explaining, "My understanding is that she'll be the Doctor, but more in the way David Tennant was the 14th Doctor, just for a short limited time."
Whether Davies returns or not, it seems we can expect Piper to pass the baton to the next Time Lord very quickly. Doctor Who is an institution, but placing the show back on the shelf for a while might be hugely beneficial to the beloved sci-fi property.
As always, stay tuned for updates on Doctor Who as we have them.