The REAL reason behind Disney’s brutal decision to sever ties with the BBC and Doctor Who has been revealed after the long-running sci-fi show was shelved for a year.
There was initially much excitement around the partnership, which was announced in 2023, but it did not take off as intended.
In fact, viewership numbers plummeted and the show found itself being slammed for woke storylines including the mistreatment of workers at a factory that’s been likened to retail giant Amazon.
A former Disney executive told Deadline: ‘It was pretty apparent from early on that this wasn’t for the long term.
‘Everyone got the impression that it wasn’t doing what it needed to do [on Disney+] to be sustained.’
‘The writing has been on the wall for ages. There has been a complete lack of enthusiasm over at Disney.’
The REAL reason behind Disney’s brutal decision to sever ties with the BBC and Doctor Who has been revealed after the long-running sci-fi show was shelved for a year
Viewership figures averaged at 3.8 million for Ncuti Gatwa’s season 15, despite the previous doctor, Jodie Whittaker’s final season pulling in an average of 5.2 million viewers
Deadline reports that the streaming platform could have invested as much as £168 million into the long-running sci-fi show, with a budget of between £6 and 8 million per episode.
To put the partnership’s failure into context, despite the huge financial investment, the show failed to even rank in Nielsen and Luminate’s streaming charts.
Viewership figures averaged at 3.8 million for Ncuti Gatwa’s season 15, despite the previous doctor, Jodie Whittaker’s final season pulling in an average of 5.2 million viewers.
News of why the partnership came to an end comes after the BBC confirmed the fate of Doctor Who earlier this month.
Despite rumours that the long-running show could be facing the axe, fans will be delighted to learn that there will be a Christmas special written by Russell T Davies, but not until 2026.
The broadcaster has stressed that while a new season of the show itself has yet to be announced, they are ‘fully committed’ to the show and plan to confirm it ‘in due course’.
Following Ncuti’s decision to leave his role as the Doctor in May, citing burnout, the character shocked fans by regenerating into his previous assistant, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper).
Lindsay Salt, Director of Drama at the BBC, said: ‘We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea.’
News of why the partnership came to an end comes after the BBC confirmed the fate of Doctor Who earlier this month
Following Ncuti’s decision to leave his role as the Doctor, citing burnout, the character shocked fans by regenerating into his previous assistant, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper)
The BBC stressed in its statement: ‘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.’
As well as the upcoming Christmas special, fans also have the spin-off series The War Between the Land and the Sea to look forward to.
While an exact release date has yet to be announced, it is expected to air in 2026.
The five-part series will centre on a war between humanity and an ancient species known as the Sea Devils.
As the show was produced prior to the show’s breakup with Disney+, it is set to air on the streaming platform, BBC1 and BBC1 iPlayer.
Its synopsis reads: ‘When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered.
‘With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war.’
The show has some big-name talent appearing, including Russell Tovey, 43, as Barclay and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. 42, as Salt.
Russell T Davis refused to answer when questioned about whether or not another streaming platform could partner with the show at the 2025 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, telling reporters: ‘We’re not going there.’
