Eleanor Service |
Steven Moffat has been the executive producer and head writer of the ‘Doctor Who’ series since 2010, and has been working on the show for six seasons. He is stepping down from this position after the next season airs, season 10 in the latest iteration of this iconic franchise. His farewell episodes will involve the 2016 Christmas Special and another full season, which airs in the Spring of 2017. Under Moffat’s guidance the show has rapidly expanded all over the globe, with 70 million views recorded internationally.
The new writer being brought in to fill Moffat’s place is Chris Chibnall. He will begin running the show in the show’s eleventh season, after Steven Moffat’s departure, and will be leaving his work on the popular BBC show, ‘Broadchurch’.
A statement has been made on the subject by Moffat, as he said:
“Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out. While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him. It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future.”
During his many years working on ‘Doctor Who’, Moffat has introduced the eleventh and twelfth doctors, the former portrayed by Matt Smith and the latter by Peter Capaldi. He has also given us two companions, the first being Amy Pond (Karen Gillan). The second being Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), who is confirmed to be leaving the show, to take a new part in a new ITV period drama, where she will be playing Queen Victoria. Moffat has also introduced such memorable characters as River Song (Alex Kingston), Missy (Michelle Gomez) and Rory Pond (Arthur Davill).
Chibnall has been a huge fan of the show since he was a child, and has shared his excitement on being given the opportunity of taking over such a beloved franchise:
“Doctor Who is the ultimate BBC program: bold, unique, vastly entertaining, and adored all around the world. So it’s a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama. I’ve loved Doctor Who since I was four years old, and I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore. Steven’s achieved the impossible by continually expanding Doctor Who’s creative ambition, while growing its global popularity. He’s been a dazzling and daring showrunner, and hearing his plans and stories for 2017, it’s clear he’ll be going out with a bang. Just to make my life difficult.”
Chibnall’s debut season will air in 2018.
