When Russell T Davies returned as the showrunner of Doctor Who for the show's 60th anniversary in 2023, he did so with a major new deal for the series, which saw episodes being co-produced and distributed globally by Disney+.
That deal encompassed three anniversary specials, two eight-episode seasons, two Christmas specials and a spin-off, titled The War Between the Land and the Sea.
However, before that latter show aired in December 2025, it was announced that the deal with Disney would not be renewed, and Davies has subsequently left the series, with it recently being put out to competitive tender.
Now, in his new memoir The Queerest of Folk, Davies has revealed that there were actually multiple streamers in contention for the Doctor Who deal back in 2022, and that he initially thought one would be struck with one of Disney's biggest competitors.
"We pitched to all of the streaming platforms," Davies wrote. "We did Netflix and Amazon as well as Disney. Actually, the Netflix meeting was in person, which was fun. I drew this little booklet for them that had illustrations of every single story. Cute pitch, yeah.
"I think we all thought it would go to Netflix. That was the assumption when we talked about these platforms, because we used the word Netflix in the way you use the word Sellotape: it's almost a generic term. And we did have a very nice time with them, but we couldn't quite make it work.
"I remember thinking the Disney option was the most impossible of all. I thought, that's not likely, because they do these very expensive Marvel shows, and Star Wars - they were way out of our league. But then they turned around and said yes! And they were very lovely. They were led by an executive called Charlie Andrews, who I love to this day. He's a clever, funny, fine and classy man."
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Doctor Who is now expected to return in 2028 or 2029, but in what format - and with which production company at the helm - won't be decided until spring 2027.
Earlier this year at the Edinburgh TV Festival 2026, Anne Mensah, VP of content at Netflix UK, told the Radio Times that she believes the sci-fi franchise doesn’t belong with the streamer.
She said: "I was obsessed with Doctor Who. Okay, so in complete truth, like Russell T [Davies] is like my person most missed in my life. I love Russell's work. So, yeah, the better question would have been, but would I love to work with Russell T Davies? Yes, I would love to work with Russell T Davies because he's a freaking genius.
"I think Doctor Who belongs on the BBC, and I think all of its iterations. I was there when Jane Tranter [former Controller of Drama Commissioning at the BBC and Bad Wolf co-founder] relaunched it. It's a really special show, but it belongs on the BBC. We've got Supacell!"
The Queerest of Folk by Russell T Davies is out now.
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