The Doctor Who Christmas special could be exterminated as the BBC is allegedly unable to find a new lead star.
The show is in a state of flux after ending its latest series in May 2025 with the sudden departure of Ncuti Gatwa as the Time Lord. Former companion Billie Piper appeared to replace Gatwa as the show’s new Doctor, when the character underwent a regeneration at the end of the episode.
Piper’s inclusion was a “very last-minute” decision, according to the star, and came after a sharp decline in viewership ratings. The BBC opted to put the show on hiatus for the remainder of 2025, meaning there was no festive special, but showrunner Russell T Davies wrote an episode, starring Piper, that was due to be released this December.
However, it’s been reported that the special might be scrapped as bosses are struggling to find anyone to take on the permanent role of the 16th Doctor, as Piper’s appearance will be for one episode only. Instead, the BBC would forge ahead with a new series airing Easter 2027.
“With less than seven months to go, [the special] looks like it’s hanging in the balance,” a source told The Sun.
“The problem is that they have found it difficult to find anyone who’ll take on the part of the 16th Time Lord, partly because it now feels like a role that comes with all the baggage of the most recent series.
The source added: “There are fears that even if they do manage to pull something together, it is going to be a poor cousin to previous Christmas specials which have always been adored by fans.” The BBC declined to comment.
Last year, the corporation’s new chief content officer Kate Phillips pledged her loyalty to keeping the British family favourite on screens.
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“Rest assured, Doctor Who is going nowhere,” Phillips said at the Edinburgh TV Festival, with Lindsay Salt, the BBC’s director of drama, saying they were “committed” to bringing the show back.
Phillips addressed a potential end to the BBC’s “great” production partnership with Disney+, adding: “Going forward, with or without Disney, Doctor Who will still be on the BBC. The Tardis is going nowhere.”
While the show saw ratings plunge in its recent 15th season, Salt maintained that the show was still watched by many younger viewers.
Piper first appeared in the series in 2005 as Rose Tyler, the “companion” to Christopher Eccleston’s ninth Doctor. Their pairing was especially adored by fans, though Piper would continue to star in the series when David Tennant took over the role, and returned in 2013 for the 50th anniversary episode “The Day of the Doctor”.
Speaking about the high level of secrecy around her involvement in the show, she said: “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. So, yeah, I have to lie a lot about anything to do with Doctor Who, it seems.”
Reflecting on her return earlier this year, Piper said: “It’s no secret how much I love this show.”
She added: “I have always said I would love to return to the Whoniverse as I have some of my best memories there, so to be given the opportunity to step back on that Tardis one more time was just something I couldn’t refuse, but who, how, why and when you’ll just have to wait and see.
Gatwa, 32, said he left the programme because “it’s a role that demands a lot of you, physically and emotionally and mentally”.
He added on companion show Doctor Who: Unleashed: “You know it’s gonna happen when you get cast. You’re like, ‘I’m gonna have to hand this baton over one time, it’s all gonna come to an end soon.’ So I feel like I’ve been in constant preparation for that.”
The Sex Education actor called his exit from the show “bittersweet”, adding: “I can imagine it’s been for all Doctors. Just looking at the console before regenerating was like, ‘My god, this console – it’s been here for 60 years. And I was here for some of those years. And how magic.’”
