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Topics: BBC, Doctor Who, Film, Money, TV, TV and Film, UK News, Disney, US News
Tom Earnshaw
Topics: BBC, Doctor Who, Film, Money, TV, TV and Film, UK News, Disney, US News
The future of the BBC TV Licence is well and truly up in the air, with everything potentially changing forever in just a few years time.
But for one boss of the network's flagship show, Doctor Who, the real change could be that the Beeb as a whole could be closing in on its natural end.
It comes as the TV Licence will be increased by £10 in just a few days time, going up from £159 to £169.50 a year.
And its an increase that could continue for a few more years to come before all is set to change forever after 2027 at the end of the current BBC Charter.
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Just about to get under way is the BBC Funding Model Review, which will look at potentially 'enormous' changes to the licence fee from 2028.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) last week selected an expert panel made up of nine industry heavyweights who will advise on what the future could look like for funding the BBC.
But speaking this week, the show-runner of Doctor Who has said the end of the BBC is 'undoubtedly on its way in some shape or form'.
Russell T Davies made the comments while appearing on the They Like to Watch podcast.
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It comes after the BBC made a decision to co-produce the series of the legendary sci-fi show, bringing in Disney+ for funding reasons, reportedly putting £100 million in to production.
Whilst the BBC have retained the rights to the show, Disney+ will be the exclusive streamer of the show in the United States of America.
On the new partnership, Davies said it was a move for the show to 'prepare' to live outside of the Beeb.
"Before they (the BBC) approached me, I had already said in various interviews I think Doctor Who would have to become a co-production, there’s no way the BBC is going to fund that," he said.
"You’ve also got to look in the long term at the end of the BBC, which is somehow, surely, undoubtedly, on its way in some shape or form.
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“Is Doctor Who going to die then? No, you’ve got to prepare for that kind of stuff.”
He added: "If Disney collapsed tomorrow and we had to go back to making Doctor Who on a normal BBC budget, you know what, we’d all rally round and make it and suddenly the stories would become claustrophobic ghost stories and a lot of people would like that."
But Davies said it would be a 'real shame' if the show couldn't be viewed alongside 'big hitters' like The Mandalorian.
The new series of Doctor Who, starring Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa and former Coronation Street actress Millie Gibson, will begin with a double bill on 11 May.