Doctor Who returned with a blast in 2005 but two decades into the reboot – is it at risk of following Classic Who’s demise?
The flagship BBC series has become the longest-running sci-fi show in the world since it started in 1963, following the adventures of the Time Lord known as the Doctor and his travelling companions.
The show has seen 15 different iterations of the Doctor (with David Tennant playing him twice), somewhere around 50 sidekicks in some shape or form, and explored the past, distant future, and edges of the universe.
But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the widely-loved series.
Only 26 years into its existence, in December 1989, the BBC decided to indefinitely rest the show after a stint of plummeting viewing figures and restlessness from senior figures in the company to move onto greener pastures.
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One person who vividly remembers this time is Doctor Who historian and longtime fan, David Howe, who has written more than 30 books associated with the sci-fi epic.
‘It was a bit rocky in the 80s,’ he told Metro.
‘People were generally still enjoying it and it was still trying to be innovative, trying to push forward what it could do in entertainment.
‘But in 1984 there was a hiatus [because] Michael Grade, who was BBC One controller, didn’t like the show. He basically decided that he wanted to take it off air.’
It’s a deep dislike that Grade has maintained over the years. In 2019, he told the Evening Standard that he ‘hated Doctor Who.’
At the time, he added: ‘I said to the producer, “Do you go to the cinema much? Have you seen Star Wars or ET?” He said yes. I said, “I’ve got news for you so has our audience. What we were serving up as science fiction was garbage”.’
And although the show had reached heights of even 10-13 million viewers under the First Doctor William Hartnell, it was averaging a poor 4 million by Sylvester McCoy’s run in the late 80s.
This was after a period of wildly fluctuating figures and even Colin Baker’s time in the Tardis (1984-1986) seemed to be pulling in reliable (although decreased) viewership around the 8 million mark.
But the decision to pull the plug was still fraught given its still-devoted fanbase, and from David’s memories, he recalls the launch of EastEnders in 1985 as a significant blow for Doctor Who.
‘[The BBC] wanted to have some money [for Eastenders]. So they thought, “well, we need to cut some things then so let’s get rid of Doctor Who.” But there was such a backlash they backtracked and said, “we haven’t cancelled it. We’ve just rested it.”‘
Although there were still plenty of fans enjoying it, the BBC decided to end it in December 1989 to which David simply said: ‘Of course, the fans were upset, but nobody could do anything about it, because it was gone.’
The fandom remained strong off-screen, producing books, magazines and Big Finish Productions started producing audio content by the late 90s. And, of course, In 1996, Paul McGann starred in the Doctor Who TV movie.
So the stage was set for a return under showrunner Russell T Davies on March 26, 2005.
And from the perspective of many of the fans, this reboot was everything the show needed.
In fact, the way David describes the feeling sounds similar to how the new Disney+ deal has been approached, offering new money and the latest visual effects.
He said: ‘And then when they eventually announced in 2004 that it was coming back under Russell T Davies, everybody was just ecstatic.
‘When it did appear there was this amazing up-to-date effect, money and budget. It was just everything everybody wanted to see – Doctor Who dragged, kicking and screaming, into the new century.’
And the reboot kicked off with a promising start as Christopher Eccleston took over as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper came on board as companion Rose Tyler.
The consolidated figures for the first episode, Rose, landed at an impressive 10.8million viewers overnight, the most the show had enjoyed since the the early 80s.
Although it is rarer for Doctor Who to reach those highs today, it has maintained a consistent popularity despite the changing TV landscape as streaming reigns supreme.
When Davies returned as showrunner with 15th Doctor Ncuti Gatwa in 2023, the show underwent a metamorphosis once more as it launched a new partnership with Disney+ and reset to season one.
But there has been an increasingly vocal contingent of fans who are not only worried that Doctor Who will be axed, but are even calling for it.
Many have pointed to the middling viewing figures for Ncuti’s debut season, which seemed to average between 3.5m to 4.5m viewers – and have compared it to the situation Doctor Who faced in the 80s.
But the comparison is not as clear-cut as some may believe, not least that plenty more fans now watch the show in catch-up rather than just on the night (as was the case during the Classic Who era).
And that’s not the only change.
‘I think it was a little bit different back in the 80s. Doctor Who wasn’t – at that point – a massive, massive brand,’ David explained.
‘So if they’re looking to save some money, I don’t think Doctor Who would even register in that discussion because it’s bringing in so much.
‘Why on earth would you not make it? It’s ridiculous. Of course, you’re going to make it – it’s making a fortune for you.
‘The difficulty is that it’s a very different market nowadays.
‘We’ve now got all the streamers, we’ve got Netflix, we’ve got Disney, we’ve got all of these different areas, so we’re all vying for a viewer’s attention. So that discussion about money becomes a whole lot more complicated.’
The BBC’s 2023/2024 annual report even had Doctor Who as the front page image, as well as listing all its major successes.
‘Production of the hit series contributed an estimated £134.6 million in GVA to the Welsh economy between 2004 and 2021 and £256 million across the UK overall,’ the report states at one point – and is mentioned over 20 times overall throughout.
And Ncuti’s Christmas special, The Church on Ruby Road, ended up as the most-watched scripted show on Christmas Day in the UK. What’s more, the 2025 special Joy to the World, scored an impressive 5.9 million viewers in consolidated 7-day figures.
Meanwhile, in the lead-up to season two (launching on April 12), the BBC confirmed it remains one of the most watched programs on iPlayer, is the most popular show in the under-35 demographic and was a top-five show for Disney+ every week it aired last year.
Not too shabby.
The BBC had to issue a firm denial after cancellation rumours swirled earlier this year and Russell confirmed a decision on season three with Disney+ would be made after season two aired.
As put by David: ‘I don’t know where all these rumours about it being cancelled are coming from because the BBC hasn’t said that. Disney hasn’t said that.
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‘What [fans] are doing is putting two and two together and coming up with 63. Yes, you could jump to those conclusions.
‘Of course, Russell T Davies is working on new shows. Ncuti is an incredibly talented and popular actor, and they’re only making, eight episodes of Doctor Who a year so what’s he gonna do? Sit there for eight months of the year, twiddling his thumbs?
‘The climate today is very, very different from back in the 80s. The choice you’ve got today is immense and so is the competition. If you put yourself in the mind of a programmer for the BBC what do you think is going to make you more money?.’
Over 800 episodes of Doctor Who are available to watch on BBC iPlayer including the latest season. Doctor Who returns on April 12, 2025.
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