Two insiders said it was a mutual parting of the ways after all sides realized that Doctor Who required a level of surgery that could not be masked by the sticking plaster of a festive episode. This creative surgery is expected to take years, potentially keeping the show off TV until 2028 at the earliest, sources said.
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The BBC recently completed a tender process for long-running medical drama Casualty, during which BBC Studios retained the contract. Doctor Who is the highest-profile series yet to undergo the process, but the prospect is failing to inspire early enthusiasm.
Deadline contacted four respected UK drama producers to test their appetite for making Doctor Who. All had serious reservations about becoming a gun-for-hire.
The producers said they worried about not owning the rights to a series that would likely become a significant drain on resources and creative energy. They also harbored concerns about funding for Doctor Who after the Disney deal, while some expressed more fundamental fears about whether the Time Lord remains relevant to young audiences.
One top producer exclaimed that “you would have to be mad” to take on the show. “[It’s a] bit of a nightmare for any producer in this market with the shadow of the Disney fallout,” was the verdict of another highly-regarded producer.
This person added: “It’s hard to see another major U.S. studio replacing Disney. So the budget would be hard to get above £3M ($4M) [per episode] without significant co-pro or insane investment from the distribution arm [BBC Studios], which they will struggle to recoup on sales.”






