RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Billie Piper has finally discussed her bizarre Doctor Who cliffhanger, and said "everyone needs to chill out and wait" while the show is on hiatus.
Piper appeared in the closing seconds of last season following the regeneration of Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor, though exactly who she was playing was left deliberately unclear. Was she the Doctor's next regeneration, or a version of her previous character, the beloved companion Rose Tyler?
Speculation around her appearance was fuelled by reports that it was a last-minute addition to the series, amid uncertainty over its future. Indeed, the finale's last third consisted of scenes added in reshoots, as Gatwa had quit the show and required some form of exit sequence.
Now, more than a year on, Doctor Who's future seems no more secure. The BBC has said it will put the franchise's production up for tender, a process in which external companies can bid to make the series. However, several more months have passed since this announcement, and last week Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss stated that the series' return would "quietly won't happen" as it now needed to be rested.
With all this in mind, it's no wonder that Piper was quizzed about her future in Doctor Who at this weekend's For the Love of Fantasy & Sci-Fi convention in London. And while the actress remained fairly tight-lipped, she did confirm that she was "not the next Doctor" in waiting.
"I am not the next Doctor, I am Rose Tyler in hiatus," Piper said. "Sorry that's a really cryptic answer but because I'm not currently filming Doctor Who as the Doctor I can't lie and say otherwise. I'm sweating, I hate this.
"I think you've all gotta be very patient," she continued. "It'll be worth it when it comes. I think what we need to celebrate is the show the fact has been on air for 26 years, the new incarnation. It's been around a very long time, it's massively successful and it's impacted so many people's lives positively. It's had a bit of a rough time lately and I think everyone needs to chill out and wait for what comes from having this space and time."
Piper mentioning the show's recent "rough time" appears to be a reference to the series' production struggles in the wake of previous co-funding partner Disney losing interest in the show, in the wake of middling ratings and criticism of its quality. Showrunner Russell T. Davies and existing production company Bad Wolf both confirmed they would no longer be part of the series' future earlier this year, at the same time as the BBC confirmed its intention to put the series out to tender.
A previous report by Deadline suggested there was now hesitation among production companies to take on Doctor Who , despite — or perhaps because of — its legendary status. "You would have to be mad," one source said. "[It's a] bit of a nightmare for any producer in this market with the shadow of the Disney fallout ," said another. A third suggested the series' budget would likely be around $3 million per episode — half of the budget for the episodes Disney previously funded, inviting difficult comparisons.
All of which tallies with comments from former Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury, who last year suggested it would likely be "five or six years before we see anything new," as the series' next incarnation is determined. "At which point, it will be the children of 2005 who will be bringing the show back, just as Russell predicted. As ever, time will tell."
Image credit: Jody Cortes/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
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