As far as TVWriter™ is concerned, the biggest news in the TV industry last week and therefore the perfect thing to kick off this one is that Russell T. Davies, the genius writer-producer who was the cornerstone of the 2005 re-launching of BBC’s mucho revered series Doctor Who, is returning as showrunner in 2022.
Here’s the scoop from the Doctor’s biggest and most reliable fan.
The Future’s Bright. The Future’s Rusty
by Keith Telly Topping
Screenwriter, producer and all-round top-bloke yer actual Russell Davies is to take charge again of Doctor Who, the BBC’s popular, long-running family SF drama which he helped to revive so successfully in 2005. Big Rusty, who was the drama’s showrunner until 2009, will take over when Chris Chibnall departs next year. ‘I’m beyond excited to be back on my favourite show,’ said Davies…who resumes his role as the Doctor Who prepares to mark its sixtieth anniversary in 2023.
One of Big Rusty’s first responsibilities will be to decide who will take over the TARDIS controls following Jodie Whittaker’s exit. The actress is set to hang up her Sonic Screwdriver and get back into some normal clothes after one further six-part series to be broadcast later this year and then three 2022 specials. In a statement, Davies said it would be ‘time-travelling too fast’ to speculate at this early stage as to what will actually happen when he returns to the production.
Not, as this blogger has noted previously, that such a detail will stop much idle, ill-informed, crass and downright daft speculation being publishing in the popular media, argued over on the Interweb or talked about, loudly, in pubs. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, dear blog reader. ‘There’s a whole series of Jodie Whittaker’s brilliant Doctor for me to enjoy, with my friend and hero Chris Chibnall at the helm,’ Rusty continued. ‘I’m still a viewer. For now.’ Chibnall his very self said it was ‘monumentally exciting and fitting’ that Davies would be back in charge for the series’ sixtieth birthday. ‘Russell built the baton that is about to be handed back to him,’ the current showrunner and producer continued….
Read it all at LB’s favorite blog, “From the North…”