It's about time: Doctor Who will be back next year, BBC says - but without Disney

Doctor Who will return to BBC One with a special Christmas episode for 2026 along with a new series to follow, but the international streaming partnership the show has with Disney+ will end, the corporation confirmed yesterday.

- Martin Belam

There was no indication in the announcement of who might play the Doctor in next year's special, which will be written by Russell T Davies and produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios.

Lindsay Salt, director of drama at the BBC said "we can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere", putting an end to widespread speculation that the long-running science fiction show was coming to an end amid record low ratings.

The final episode of the 2025 series, The Reality War, appeared to show a departing 15th Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, regenerating into Billie Piper who has previously played the companion, Rose Tyler, alongside Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.

Salt said: "We'd like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons. The BBC remains fully committed to Doctor Who, which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special."

Like many high-profile dramas, Doctor Who had been struggling with diminishing viewing figures on live TV.

Episodes in the most recent series were regularly pulling in fewer than two million viewers on BBC One, a historic low for the series.