A former Doctor Who showrunner, the man who brought the series back from its decades-long snooze in 2005, is returning to the franchise after more than ten years. But would current executive producer Chris Chibnall also entertain the possibility a few years down the road?
In a recent chat with RadioTimes, Chibnall was asked this very question, though his answer is hardly what many Whovians would want to hear.
“Absolutely never again! Clear red line, final script. I never expected to come back after working with Steven [Moffat], really, and I’d turned it down a couple of times after that. I never thought I’d be offered the job and built into that is why I wanted to keep it to a very specific three-series thing. Supervising teenagers’ revision is taking up my time now and there’s lots of other things to write! I will happily sit back and watch. For all that it’s been gorgeous all along, now it’s like, ‘Oh I remember this. This is what real life is like.'”
Chibnall further elaborated on this point by bringing up something Moffat told him before he left: “I miss the work, but I don’t miss the workload.” Funnily enough, Moffat himself recently echoed these sentiments, saying “I can confidently say I’m done showrunning Doctor Who,” so the workload must really be taxing on these creatives.
Doctor Who is returning on April 17 with an Easter special episode, titled “Legend of the Sea Devils.” After that, Chibnall and Whittaker will come back for one last hurrah, the Thirteenth’s regeneration episode, whereupon they’ll give up the mantle to Russell T. Davies and the next Doctor.
As for Davies, his first episode will be the 60th anniversary special, rumored to include former incarnations of the titular character, such as Matt Smith, and David Tennant.