Doctor Who

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Doctor Who fans have predicted a major comeback when it returns to the BBC(Image: PA)

Doctor Who fans have predicted a huge comeback when it returns to the BBC. The iconic sci-fi series has been under a partnership deal with Disney+ for the last two series with star Ncuti Gatwa at the helm, but on Tuesday, it was confirmed that the streaming giant will no longer be involved in the production of the show.

Lindsay Salt, director of drama at the BBC, said Disney+ had been “terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons”, before confirming that a Christmas special is on the way. She added: “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 for 2026.

“We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”

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Doctor Who

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Fans were shocked to see Ncuti’s Doctor regenerate into the likeness of Billie Piper when the last series wrapped up(Image: PA)

Following the news, fans instantly flooded social media with their reactions, with many praising show bosses for the move to step away from Disney. One wrote: “Maybe without Disney’s sanitized grip, Doctor Who can return to its roots, weird, dark, brilliant storytelling that doesn’t need a corporate logo to feel epic.”

Another said: “Time for Doctor Who to feel British again, not branded,” whilst a third joked of the streaming service: “this app is literally screaming at us all month to end our memberships.” Another fan simply said: “Good tbh. The Disney era was kinda meh!”

At the end of the last series, viewers were shocked to see Ncuti Gatwa’s doctor seemingly regenerate into the likeness of Billie Piper, who starred as Rose Tyler alongside Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant following the programme’s initial revival in 2005. A comeback for her has not been confirmed, and some fans seem to think that Ncuti could be stepping back into the role after all.

Doctor Who

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But fans now think that Ncuti will be heading back to the part of the titular Time Lord(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Dan Fearon)

One said: “Ncuti walking out of the Tardis on Christmas 2026 and pretending like nothing happened,” and another said: “billie is gonna go find 14 and then ‘fuse’ with him which will cause an ACTUAL regeneration and its just Ncuti again lmao.” A third agreed, writing: “I would LOVE for Ncuti Gatwa to be back!”

This festive season will be the first to not have a Doctor Who special for 20 years. The BBC said that the announcement about the 2026 Christmas episode had been prompted by Disney+ confirming that it would not be partnering on the next season of the sci-fi show – as widely anticipated – after international viewing figures proved disappointing.

In a statement yesterday, the BBC said that it remained “fully committed to the show and will announce plans for the next series in due course to ensure the Doctor’s adventures continue”.

At the end of this year, Doctor Who spin-off The War Between The Land and the Sea will air, as well as a brand-new animation series for CBeebies.