Speculation about Doctor Who's future continues to run rampant, with things looking particularly grim after reports that the BBC has scrapped this December's Christmas Special.
In recent years, Doctor Who has consistently lost viewers. Some have blamed that on the series having a female Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), and later a Black, queer actor as the Time Lord (Ncuti Gatwa). While this led to claims that the show's decline in quality can be blamed on its apparent "wokeness," that's not entirely fair.
It just so happens that Whittaker's stint in the TARDIS coincided with Chris Chibnall taking over creative duties from Steven Moffat. The latter left big shoes to fill, and the Doctor's gender had little to do with the noticeable decline in storytelling quality.
As for Russell T Davies's Doctor Who return, while his episodes were a little heavy-handed on the "woke" themes, the consensus was that he'd primarily lost his touch when it came to sci-fi storytelling. Throw in the fact that Disney+ decided to end its partnership with the BBC, and there are some huge concerns about how Doctor Who can continue with a lower budget and a declining audience.
Now, Davies may have debunked claims that his upcoming Special has been scrapped by confirming that the next Time Lord has been cast.
"You will get an announcement...there's a press release lumbering through the BBC, which, as you know, is like the Jurassic period," he says in the video below after being asked when we'll learn the next Doctor's identity. "57 people have to sign off on every single word. I promise you in about a week or two weeks, there will be some sort of press release."
When Gatwa's Doctor regenerated, it was into a female Doctor with Billie Piper's face. She previously played Rose Tyler in the series and was once exposed to the heart of the TARDIS as "Bad Wolf." That and the fact that she was never actually introduced as the new Doctor has led to speculation that this is a temporary change before the true 16th Doctor is revealed.
The biggest shock is that, despite this press release floating around the BBC, there has been no word on who is taking over the role. Either way, we can clearly expect some big news on what's next for Doctor Who later this month.