Several production companies have implied they may enter bids to run Doctor Who during the BBC’s tender process.
Following a mixed-bag two-season stint co-produced by Bad Wolf and Disney, Doctor Who is now facing an uncertain future.
The BBC announced in June that the show would be put out to tender, with the process due to get underway before the end of the year.
Since then, fans and industry insiders have wondered who will take up the task of producing Doctor Who and give it a new lease of life.
BBC Studios happy to keep ‘Doctor Who’ in-house
Like Casualty before it, Doctor Who could end up being produced by BBC Studios.
CEO Tom Fussell has confirmed that BBC Studios will throw its hat in the ring, during a conversation with Deadline on BBC annual report day.
“We’ve been the producer for 60 years and we want to be the producer for another 60 years so we will be going for that tender with gusto,” said Fussell.
“We are in it to win it.
“We’ve got the full breadth of our studio to look at that and we will do the best for an absolutely adored brand,” Fussell explained.
“As the distributor and commercial licensor [of Doctor Who] we understand those fan relationships and can build on that. Doctor Who is something that people in this organisation care passionately about.”
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This would be a fairly natural solution, but questions would arise about the necessary budgets that BBC Studios could conjure in order to produce Doctor Who successfully.
Presumably, a distribution deal with a third party for international broadcast would help with some of the costs, but as fans of classic Who will tell you, the show has often flourished when working with pennies.
It’s the story that counts after all.
Electric Entertainment could bring back David Tennant again!
Another production house that is seemingly interested in Doctor Who is Electric Entertainment.
CEO Dean Devlin told the Radio Times that the LA-based company hopes “to have a discussion” with the BBC over running the show.
Further reporting suggests that Electric Entertainment would want to reinstate David Tennant to the lead role, which, frankly, feels like a worn-out gimmick.
Electric Entertainment’s work includes shows such as The Ark and The Librarians.
What about the big American streamers?
The thoughts of Prime Video and Netflix were recently gauged at the 2026 Edinburgh TV Festival, where the senior commissioner of the former’s UK scripted arm, Oliver Jones, said, “I love Doctor Who, so we’d welcome any conversations.”
Like Electric Entertaiment before it, Prime’s interest appears to be just that at the moment: interest, rather than serious consideration.
Netflix, meanwhile, appears to be keeping out of things with Anne Mensah, VP of Content at Netflix UK, saying that Doctor Who “belongs on the BBC.”
‘Line of Duty’ producers announce interest in ‘Doctor Who’
The production house behind Line of Duty, one of the UK’s most successful shows in the 21st century, is also interested in producing Doctor Who.
World Productions CEO and senior creative Simon Heath told the Radio Times as much during the 2026 Edinburgh TV Festival.
“There’s definitely people in my team who are really interested in it, but I imagine there’ll be lots of companies interested,” Heath said.
“I grew up on it and then my my kids were brought up on the new iteration. But it’s a show that has its challenges, so you have to think very carefully.
“I think you have to go into it knowing you’ve got a plan. I think I know what I would do with it, but whether that means anyone would listen, I don’t know.”
It certainly sounds like Heath has given it some thought, and when probed by the Radio Times about what those thoughts were, he played his cards close to his chest.
“Well, I don’t want to give that away really, before the tender process,” he said.
“We may go for it, we may not. It’s not decided yet. The process hasn’t been outlined yet, to see what we’d have to go through.
“You want to take a look at that really before you make any decision.”
Heath’s reluctance to divulge any details could be down to the fact a bid is being prepared, and it would certainly be a positive for Doctor Who if a team like World Productions took it on.
Line of Duty is returning for a seventh season next year, after its Season 6 finale received a record 12.8 million viewers five years ago.
That figure was the largest viewership for any drama, excluding soaps, since modern records began in 2002.
World Productions has a track record of great British television, including Bodyguard and Vigil.
One could imagine them producing a slick, six-episode Doctor Who miniseries, focused on a single storyline, if they won the bidding war for the beloved sci-fi series.
When will ‘Doctor Who’ return?
At any rate, Whovians will have to wait a while for Doctor Who to return.
With the tender process yet to get underway, the earliest a new custodian for the show could be confirmed is late 2026 or 2027, meaning production for a new series is unlikely to commence until late 2027.
So if the stars align, fans might see the Doctor return in their amazing TARDIS sometime during 2028.
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